Big opportunities in front of volleyball this week

Montana vs. Idaho State / Thursday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
Video: Pluto TV (ch. 537)
Stats: Live Stats
Tickets

Montana vs. Weber State / Saturday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
Video: WatchBigSky.com
Stats: Live Stats
Tickets

With each week, there are more and more tangible results. The first set win during the final week of non-conference play, followed by the first match victory later that day. Then came a conference sweep over Eastern Washington, and last week, a heartbreaking – but encouraging – five-set loss at preseason favorite Northern Arizona.

A group that started the season with just three players who had ever played in a collegiate match before is starting to gain some traction, winning at least a set in four consecutive matches, including the sweep over the Eagles.

The next step is to continue to build off of that momentum, and that could come this weekend when Montana hosts a pair of home matches.

Idaho State swept Southern Utah on the road and beat Portland State in five sets, but is 2-4 in Big Sky play and has lost 12 of its past 14 games dating back to the second week of the season. Weber State also enters the week with a 2-4 league record, holding wins over Idaho State and Portland State. The Wildcats, are 11-6 overall, however, going 9-2 in non-conference play.

"Like every weekend, this one presents an opportunity for us to get better," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We're at home, and I think we're hungry, and there's something about this group that feels like so much of our work is unfinished."

Even more encouraging for Lawrence is the fact that she can now pinpoint a few areas of needed improvement. Compared to the beginning of the season, when Montana was losing matches for a variety of factors across the board, now she can point to two specific areas – serve-receive and kills in tradition – that are preventing the Grizzlies from taking the next step.

That was the case last Saturday, when Montana had a near-signature victory over the defending Big Sky champs, but couldn't hold a 2-0 match lead, nor a 13-9 advantage in Set 5.

"I'm so proud of this group for going into the gym of the defending Big Sky champions and put them out of sorts in a lot of ways," Lawrence said. "The end result was hard, but I think the encouraging part is that, statistically, it's become very clear where we're falling short.

"Our weaknesses are very specific and tactical, and we have the ability to fix them. It's not this nebulous idea of wanting it more; it feels tangible in a way that keeps us really hungry."

While the results are still scattered, Montana is a better team than it was in the opening month of the season, when the freshmen were finding their footing and the Grizzlies were playing without their starting setter. The Grizzlies have increased in every statistical category since the start of league play, including hitting percentage from .118 to .184 and opponent hitting from .298 to .229. The Grizzlies are averaging nearly two more kills per set and three more digs per set, as well, while winning seven of their past 16 sets played.

PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK
Thursday will be dollar popcorn night, with fans being able to purchase popcorn for just $1. On Saturday, the Grizzlies will celebrate faculty & staff appreciation night. All UM faculty and staff, and their families, can receive free entry with their Griz Card. A faculty & staff appreciation video will be shown during the match.

If you love volleyball, the Griz or popcorn, Dahlberg Arena is the place to be tomorrow night!#GrizVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/QuQ8HzxcdP
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 17, 2019

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE

Idaho State enters the week with a 5-13 record, having lost 12 of its past 14 games since beginning the season 3-1. The Bengals have Big Sky wins over Southern Utah (3-0) and Portland State (3-2), in addition to two more five-set losses.
Senior Haylie Keck needs 307 digs to become the all-time digs leader in Big Sky history. In 2018, Keck was named the league's co-libero of the year and a second-team all-conference selection, ranking 11^th nationally with 635 digs. Keck also leads the Bengals for kills and service aces.
Two Bengals average at least 2.60 kills per set, led by Keck's 2.81 average. During conference play, that number is up to 2.88, with senior MB Brooke Pehrson (2.25) and sophomore OH Duquesne Moratzka (2.23) also contributing.
Pehrson is the Bengals' top blocker (0.93) and most-efficient attacker (.321). She was a second-team all-conference selection a season ago, ranking 20^th nationally for blocking (1.21 per set).
ISU went 19-14 a season ago, including 13-7 in Big Sky play while advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
ISU is under first-year head coach Sammi Sturt, who spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Utah State.

SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana holds a 42-36 advantage over Idaho State, including a 22-13 edge in Missoula. Missy Huddleston and Ashley Watkins have both had memorable performances against the Bengals. Huddleston has twice reached double figures for kills, including 13 kills on .297 hitting and 12 digs in 2017. A year ago in Pocatello, Watkins recorded 39 assists, 13 digs, five blocks, three kills and two aces in the win.

The series began in 1978, with the two teams playing every season since, except for 1981.
Montana won 11 consecutive matches in the series from 1991-95.
Prior to last season's road win, Montana had lost eight in the series, dating back to 2012.
Montana is hosting Idaho State for the first time since 2016, and is looking for its first home win in the series since 2011 (four consecutive losses).
The last two matches overall, and six of the past 10, have gone to five sets.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE

After going 9-2 in non-conference play, including a win over Kansas State, the Wildcats – who were picked to finish No. 2 in the Big Sky preseason poll, are just 2-4 in league play entering Thursday's match at Montana State. Two of their losses have gone to five sets.
WSU has one of the nation's best blocking defenses, ranking 19^th nationally with 2.66 blocks per set. Senior OH Megan Gneiting (1.00), junior MB Sam Schiess (0.97) and senior MB Hannah DeYoung (0.95) all average nearly a block per set. Gneiting and DeYoung were first-team All-Big Sky selections in 2018. Schiess was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year earlier this season.
Junior Ashlyn Power ranks 46^th nationally with 10.44 assists per set, setting up an offense that has three players with at least 2.45 kills per set.
Freshman OH Dani Nay leads the Wildcats with 3.02 kills per set, doing son at a .237 clip.
Five players average at least 2.31 digs per set.
WSU is coached by Jeremiah Larsen, who is in his fifth season in Ogden. WSU went 18-10 in 2018, including a 13-5 league record.

SERIES VS. THE WILDCATS
Montana holds a 48-31 all-time advantage over Weber State, including a 26-11 mark in Missoula. The Grizzlies' most-recent win in the series, though, came in Ogden, when Montana earned its first league victory of the 2017 season. Missy Huddleston and Ashley Watkins had monster matches that night, with Watkins totaling 63 assists in just four sets – in addition to 10 digs and five kills – while Huddleston led all players with 23 kills on .400 hitting.

The series began in 1980, a 3-1 Griz victory in Missoula. The two teams have played every season since, but just once from 2014-18 due to Big Sky scheduling. The two teams will play each other twice in 2019.
The Grizzlies have won 10 of the past 15 meetings and are 8-5 with Allison Lawrence on staff.
Montana is looking to snap a three-game home skid vs. the Wildcats.

MOVING ON UP
Montana hit .239 in a five-set road match vs. Northern Arizona last week, its second-highest percentage of the season. The Grizzlies have been moving up in that category, hitting above .200 in four of the past five matches after doing so just once through the first 12 matches of the season. Montana hit just .122 in non-conference play, but is hitting .184 during league play (seventh).

GO TO GRIMSRUD
Senior middle blocker Janna Grimsrud has been Montana's top all-around player, leading the Griz for blocking (1.05 per set) and hitting (.270) and ranking second for kills (2.34 per set). She has led Montana for blocking 13 times, kills nine times and hitting on eight occasions.

Over the past nine matches, Grimsrud has hit above .333 five times, including a career performance against Northern Arizona, tallying 19 kills on .462 hitting. No Big Sky player this season has recorded that many kills while hitting that well. A week prior, she hit .524 against Idaho, the fifth-best hitting percentage this season by a Big Sky player.

During league play, Grimsrud is averaging 1.09 blocks per set (sixth) while hitting .289 (seventh). She is one of five Big Sky players to rank in the top 10 in the league for both hitting and blocking.

Janna Grimsrud recorded 19 kills on .462 hitting last week at Northern Arizona.

No other #BigSkyVB player has that many kills on that good of hitting this season! #GrizVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/xi3ZdDwXcI
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 17, 2019

HATS OFF FOR HARPER
Freshman Amethyst Harper has been on a tear of late, recording at least 17 kills in three consecutive matches. The stretch includes a 21-kill performance vs. Idaho, as she became just the third Montana freshman to tally 21 kills in a match since set scores dropped from 30 to 25 in 2008. She's the only one to do so in four sets.

Harper ranks fourth in Big Sky play with 3.73 kills per set, the best figure by a freshman. A Big Sky player has reached 20 kills in a match 10 times this season, but again, Harper is the only freshman to do so. Over the past three matches, Harper is averaging 4.31 kills per set on .269 hitting.

ELSA'S ACES
During a three-match stretch from Sept. 26 through Oct. 4, redshirt freshman Elsa Godwin served up 12 service aces across nine sets. She had five in a three-set win over Eastern Washington, and four the follow night in a four-set match vs. Idaho. Both are the highest individual totals in three-set and four-set matches this season.

During Big Sky play, Godwin ranks second in the league with 12 service aces (0.55 per set).

It's @umontana Faculty and Staff Appreciation weekend!

Bring your Griz card and you and your families get in free to @MontanaGrizSOC on Friday and @MontanaGrizVB on Saturday! #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/bVqBHX51xv
— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) October 17, 2019

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving from Griz Volleyball! 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/EYJ43581H9
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 15, 2019

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Players Mentioned

Elsa Godwin

Janna Grimsrud

Amethyst Harper

Missy Huddleston

Ashley Watkins

University of Montana Athletics