Saturday, October 19
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
2-17, 1-7BSC
1
vs
3
Weber State
13-6, 4-4BSC
1
2
3
4
F
Weber State
25
25
23
25
3
Montana
18
15
25
15
1
Photo by: © Derek Johnson 2019
Wildcats beat Grizzlies in 4
10/19/2019 10:13:00 PM | Volleyball
MISSOULA, Mont. – Following a disappointing showing Thursday vs. Idaho State, Montana took a set off of Weber State on Saturday, a team that was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason poll.
After falling behind 2-0, the Grizzlies extended the match with a 25-23 victory in the third set. The Wildcats would respond in the fourth, however, to win the match (25-18, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15).
Montana was led by freshman Amethyst Harper, who had 15 kills at a .278 clip, including several kills at big moments. Senior Missy Huddleston was also in double figures for kills, totaling 10 on .318 hitting. Huddleston also added 10 digs.
As a team, Montana out-dug the Wildcats, led by Sarina Moreno's 17.
The night started as good as Montana could have hoped, with the Grizzlies jumping out to a 14-7 lead and forcing Weber State to burn both of its timeouts. During the start, Montana got kills from five different players, in addition to a block. Instrumental in the hot start was redshirt freshman defensive specialist Kelsey Nestegard, who earned her first career start and served to open the match.
"Kelsey works incredibly hard and is such a generous teammate," Allison Lawrence said. "We hadn't been point-scoring in that rotation recently, so we turned to Kelsey. She serves hard and I thought she set a great tone tonight."
Gallery: (10/19/2019) VB: vs. Weber State (10.19.19)
After doubling up the Wildcats early on, however, Montana would score just four more times in the set. Weber State used a 10-1 run to create separation before winning 25-15.
Montana fell behind early in Set 2, 9-3, but quickly got back into the set, getting to within 11-9 during a stretch that included Amethyst Harper kills on three consecutive Griz points. After Montana got within two points, Weber State scored the next three out of a timeout and kept the Grizzlies at least three points behind the remainder of the set.
The Grizzlies bounced back in the third set, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead that featured a pair of kills from Missy Huddleston and Catie Semadeni, plus a Nestegard ace and Harper solo stuff. Weber State would fight back to take the lead at 11-10 – and led by as many as three – but behind Harper, the Grizzlies scored four consecutive points to regain the lead 17-16.
The teams would be tied at the next three points before the Wildcats again took two-point advantages, including as late as 23-21. Weber State wouldn't score again, with Montana earning the final four points to win the set.
"I thought that was a really fun set," Lawrence said. "The energy was high and we were resilient, including winning points when our backs were against the wall."
Match Notables
(on performing against a strong Weber State team)
"Weber State is the most physical team that we've played in conference, and their middles are pretty tough to stop. We came out confident, and that's what I love about this team. They were focused and they didn't back down."
(on what went wrong against the Wildcats)
"Our problem continues to be counter adjusting to our opponents' adjustments. Tonight it was serve-receive, and I thought that made our offense scattered."
(on Harper's bounce-back match after being held in check on Thursday)
"Idaho State game planned to shut her down, and tonight she came hungry to play her game. She was risking it and, overall, was terminal. We talked to the team about swinging for kills, and she did that when we needed her most, which is hard for a freshman to do."
(on the support of the entire soccer team)
"It's incredible to have another team show up and bring that type of energy. Going into the third set, we were struggling for momentum, and they cheered us back to life and helped us continue fighting. I think team successes in a department are intertwined, and I think that's what makes our department so unique and special."
Looking Ahead
The next two weeks will be unique, with Montana splitting the week on the road, followed by matches at home. The Grizzlies travel to Sacramento State on Thursday before hosting Portland State on Saturday. The following week, Montana will play at Montana State before hosting Northern Colorado.
After falling behind 2-0, the Grizzlies extended the match with a 25-23 victory in the third set. The Wildcats would respond in the fourth, however, to win the match (25-18, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15).
Montana was led by freshman Amethyst Harper, who had 15 kills at a .278 clip, including several kills at big moments. Senior Missy Huddleston was also in double figures for kills, totaling 10 on .318 hitting. Huddleston also added 10 digs.
As a team, Montana out-dug the Wildcats, led by Sarina Moreno's 17.
The night started as good as Montana could have hoped, with the Grizzlies jumping out to a 14-7 lead and forcing Weber State to burn both of its timeouts. During the start, Montana got kills from five different players, in addition to a block. Instrumental in the hot start was redshirt freshman defensive specialist Kelsey Nestegard, who earned her first career start and served to open the match.
"Kelsey works incredibly hard and is such a generous teammate," Allison Lawrence said. "We hadn't been point-scoring in that rotation recently, so we turned to Kelsey. She serves hard and I thought she set a great tone tonight."
After doubling up the Wildcats early on, however, Montana would score just four more times in the set. Weber State used a 10-1 run to create separation before winning 25-15.
Montana fell behind early in Set 2, 9-3, but quickly got back into the set, getting to within 11-9 during a stretch that included Amethyst Harper kills on three consecutive Griz points. After Montana got within two points, Weber State scored the next three out of a timeout and kept the Grizzlies at least three points behind the remainder of the set.
The Grizzlies bounced back in the third set, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead that featured a pair of kills from Missy Huddleston and Catie Semadeni, plus a Nestegard ace and Harper solo stuff. Weber State would fight back to take the lead at 11-10 – and led by as many as three – but behind Harper, the Grizzlies scored four consecutive points to regain the lead 17-16.
The teams would be tied at the next three points before the Wildcats again took two-point advantages, including as late as 23-21. Weber State wouldn't score again, with Montana earning the final four points to win the set.
"I thought that was a really fun set," Lawrence said. "The energy was high and we were resilient, including winning points when our backs were against the wall."
Weber State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the fourth frame and never looked back, leading by as many as 11 points and hitting .469.Amethyst Harper, ladies and gentlemen!
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 20, 2019
Montana scores the final four points to win Set 3, 25-21! #GrizVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/kjfZq7J4yT
Match Notables
- In addition to her 34 assists, senior setter Ashley Watkins added a team-high four blocks and three kills. In fact, Watkins recorded back-to-back kills on dumps to give the Griz a 3-1 lead early in the match.
- Freshman Amethyst Harper led Montana with 15 kills, marking the third time in the past four matches that she has totaled at least 15 kills.
- Harper had six kills and a block in the Grizzlies' Set-3 victory. One of the kills was during a 4-0 Montana run to turn a 16-13 deficit into a 17-16 lead. She had four more down the stretch, including two during Montana's 4-0 run to capture the set.
- Senior Missy Huddleston had 10 kills on .318 hitting, her highest hitting percentage of the season.
- Redshirt freshman Kelsey Nestegard earned her first career start, opening the match at the service line. The defensive specialist served throughout the match, including a service ace early in the third set.
- Freshman middle blocker Kelly Horning had a team-high-tying four blocks, while recording three kills without an error (3-0-6).
- Freshman Catie Semadeni started the final two sets at outside hitter. She finished with two kills and a block.
- Montana out-hit Weber State in the third set, .257 to .216. The Grizzlies hit .237 over the final two sets, after hitting .131 through the first two frames.
Quoting LawrenceMissy Huddleston with the kill! Montana is doubling up Weber State early! pic.twitter.com/QsSvL1Og0H
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 20, 2019
(on performing against a strong Weber State team)
"Weber State is the most physical team that we've played in conference, and their middles are pretty tough to stop. We came out confident, and that's what I love about this team. They were focused and they didn't back down."
(on what went wrong against the Wildcats)
"Our problem continues to be counter adjusting to our opponents' adjustments. Tonight it was serve-receive, and I thought that made our offense scattered."
(on Harper's bounce-back match after being held in check on Thursday)
"Idaho State game planned to shut her down, and tonight she came hungry to play her game. She was risking it and, overall, was terminal. We talked to the team about swinging for kills, and she did that when we needed her most, which is hard for a freshman to do."
(on the support of the entire soccer team)
"It's incredible to have another team show up and bring that type of energy. Going into the third set, we were struggling for momentum, and they cheered us back to life and helped us continue fighting. I think team successes in a department are intertwined, and I think that's what makes our department so unique and special."
Looking Ahead
The next two weeks will be unique, with Montana splitting the week on the road, followed by matches at home. The Grizzlies travel to Sacramento State on Thursday before hosting Portland State on Saturday. The following week, Montana will play at Montana State before hosting Northern Colorado.
A 4-0 run has put Montana back on top! pic.twitter.com/pJX7seSEdJ
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 20, 2019
Nice try, Wildcats, but you're not gonna win that one! pic.twitter.com/HYnwYPxGby
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 20, 2019
Kelsey Nestegard, who earned the start tonight, picks up the service ace for the Griz! pic.twitter.com/3cg8Og1NgR
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 20, 2019
Team Stats
WSU
UM
Kills
60
44
Errors
15
22
Attempts
136
120
Hitting %
.331
.183
Points
76.5
51.0
Assists
57
43
Aces
6
1
Blocks
10.5
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOPP/MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballGriz Volleyball Weekly Press Conference - 9/8/25
Tuesday, September 09
Griz Volleyball Press Conference - 9/8/25
Tuesday, September 09
Griz Volleyball Weekly Press Conference - 9/1/25
Monday, September 01
Griz Volleyball Press Conference - 9/1/25
Monday, September 01
