Montana faces stiff road test at Southern Utah, Northern Arizona

Montana at Southern Utah / Thursday / 6:30 p.m. / Cedar City, Utah
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Montana at Northern Arizona / Saturday / 2 p.m. (MT) / Flagstaff, Ariz.
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Montana begins Week 3 of Big Sky Conference play, traveling on the road to Southern Utah (Thursday) and Northern Arizona (Saturday).

The competition level will be high, facing a Southern Utah team that was picked to finish 10^th in the Big Sky Conference, but has a winning record overall, including victories over Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and the Big Sky's preseason No. 2 Weber State. Northern Arizona was the preseason favorite to repeat as Big Sky champs.

While the opponents across the net will provide a tough challenge, Montana likes the team it is becoming, as well. The Grizzlies are coming off of their most productive week of the season, sweeping Eastern Washington in dominant fashion before taking Idaho to four sets, with Montana reaching 21 points or more in three of them.

TRENDING UP

After hitting above .160 just three times through 11 non-conference matches, Montana has done so in all four Big Sky Conference matches, twice hitting above .200.
Montana reached 20 points in a set 11 times out of 36 sets during non-conference play, but has already reached that figure eight times in just 13 Big Sky sets.
Last week, Montana swept Eastern Washington, holding the Eagles to just 26 combined points over the final two sets. The Grizzlies trailed for just one point the entire night.

NON-CONFERENCE VS. CONFERENCE
Through four Big Sky matches, Montana has looked like a more confident team, and the numbers back that notion up. The Grizzlies have improved in nearly every statistical category from non-conference to conference play.

Below is a look at Montana's non-conference numbers compared to its conference figures:

Category	Non-Conference	Conference
Hitting Percentage	.118	.186
Opponent Hitting Percentage	.298	.248
Kills Per Set	9.58	10.70
Assists Per Set	8.59	9.92
Service Aces Per Set	0.97	1.62
Digs Per Set	11.60	13.00
Blocks Per Set	1.86	1.62

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH

Southern Utah has been one of the surprise teams of the Big Sky Conference, entering the week with a 9-7 record, including a 2-2 mark in league play after being picked to finish 10^th out of 11 teams.
SUU's last three matches have all gone to five sets, with the Thunderbirds winning two of them – including upset wins over Weber State and Sacramento State, who were predicted to finish second and third, respectively, in the conference standings.
The Thunderbirds have the league's third-best hitting percentage (.229) and assists-per-set average (11.53), and rank second with 1.70 service aces per set.
The Thunderbirds have two players ranked in the top 10 in the Big Sky for kills, with senior OH Shannon Webb (3.75 on .256 hitting) and junior OH Stacey Hone (3.00 at a .261 clip) pacing the team. Webb is also averaging 2.60 digs per set, one of five players above 2.00.
The Thunderbirds have three players with at least 18 service aces, led by Katie Montgomery's 0.44. The sophomore MB also leads SUU for blocking (0.90 per set), narrowly ahead of junior OH Mckenzie Dowell (0.88). During league play, Montgomery is averaging 1.33 blocks per set (third) and ranks 10^th with a .308 hitting percentage.
Several individuals set school records last week, with Peterson tallying six service aces vs. Sacramento State; Thea Leiataua recording 33 digs vs. Portland State; and Montgomery tallying 11 blocks vs. the Hornets.
Peter Hoyer is in his second season leading the Thunderbirds. He previously was the head coach at Dayton, winning a pair of Atlantic 10 titles, before becoming an assistant at NC State and the associate head coach at UTSA.

SERIES VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
Montana is 6-5 since the two teams began playing in 2011. The Griz have won two of the past three meetings, including a five-set victory in Cedar City last October, when they rallied to win the final three sets by two points apiece. Ashley Watkins had a career-high 66 assists vs. SUU in 2017, while Missy Huddleston has recorded 22 kills in a match vs. the Thunderbirds. Sarina Moreno had 21 digs in a three-set match vs. SUU last November.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA

NAU enters Thursday's match vs. Montana State with a 9-7 record, but lost back-to-back matches last week, falling to Portland State and Sacramento State – both in five sets – on the road.
During non-conference play, NAU swept LSU (SEC) in Flagstaff, and two of NAU's non-conference losses came to top-15 teams nationally (Florida (3-0) and Michigan (3-2).
NAU enters the week having won 13 consecutive matches inside the Rolle Activity Center.
NAU has been paced by its defense recently, leading Big Sky play with a .171 opponent hitting percentage and 19.50 digs per set, and ranking second with 2.56 blocks per set.
Senior Abby Akin is one of the nation's top players, ranking 11^th in the NCAA for hitting (.428) and 16^th for blocking (1.44 per set). Akin has upped her hitting percentage to .449 during Big Sky play, where she is averaging .289 kills per set. She currently is on pace to finish her career ranked first in Big Sky history for hitting percentage.
Akin, a three-time All-Big Sky selection, has twice earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors this fall.
Junior right-side attacker Heaven Harris, the 2018 Big Sky Championships MVP, has not played the past three matches. Through 13 matches, she is averaging 3.10 kills per set on .322 hitting and was named to the all-tournament team of all four preseason tournaments.
With all-conference picks Akin, Harris and Ryann Davis back from last year's championship team, NAU was the unanimous favorite to repeat as Big Sky champions
Ken Murphy is 140-63 in six-plus seasons in Flagstaff, winning a pair of Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament championships (2015 and 2018).

SERIES VS. THE LUMBERJACKS
In 66 previous meetings, both schools have come out on top 33 times. The Lumberjacks, though, have won six consecutive in the series dating back to 2014, when current Griz assistant coach Janae Vander Ploeg was on NAU's roster. Last year in Flagstaff, Montana pushed the Big Sky champions in two sets, falling 25-23 in Set 1 and 26-24 in Set 3.

HATS OFF FOR HARPER
Freshman outside hitter Amethyst Harper put on a show last week, tallying 21 kills in a four-set match vs. Idaho. The figure is the second-most in a four-set match this season by a Big Sky athlete.

Amethyst Harper was unreal the other night. 21 kills for the freshman, and we've got all 21 right here! 👇#GrizVB #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/nntqLusvKv
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 9, 2019

Even more impressive, since set scores dropped from 30 to 25 in 2008, Harper is the third freshman in Montana history to tally 21 kills in a match, and the only one to do so in four sets. During conference play, Harper is averaging 3.62 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the league and first among freshmen.

ELSA'S ACES
Even head coach Allison Lawrence has a hard time explaining how Elsa Godwin is doing what she's doing from the service line. Over the past three matches, Godwin has 12 service aces, including five in a three-set win over Eastern Washington and four the following night vs. Idaho. Godwin's 12 aces during Big Sky play (0.92 per set) lead the league.
Her five aces vs. Eastern Washington are the third-most in a match this season in the Big Sky, and most in a three-set contest. She is the only Big Sky player with two matches of at least four aces.

ACES ALL AROUND
While Elsa Godwin paced the Griz with five aces vs. Eastern Washington, the Grizzlies kept the Eagles on their heels from the service line all around, tallying nine aces. Montana ranks second in Big Sky Conference play with 1.62 aces per set.

CONSISTENT GRIMSRUD
Senior middle blocker Janna Grimsrud has been Montana's top all-around player, leading the Griz for blocking (0.98 per set) and hitting (.288) and ranking second for kills (2.31 per set). She has led Montana for blocking 11 times, kills eight times and hitting on seven occasions.

Over the past seven matches, Grimsrud has hit above .333 five times, and during Big Sky Conference play, her .364 hitting percentage ranks fifth in the league. Last week vs. Idaho, she had 12 kills on .524 hitting, the third time this season she has hit above .500 in a match.

MORE FROM THE WEEKEND

Montana swept Eastern Washington, holding the Eagles to 26 combined points in Sets 2 and 3. The Grizzlies' 25-11 win in Set 3 was its largest margin of victory this season.
Montana led for all but one point in the match (2-1 in Set 3), and led by at least six points in each set.
The Grizzlies held the Eagles to .073 hitting, the lowest by a Griz opponent this season. Eastern Washington hit -.069 in the third set.
In a four-set loss to Idaho, a team that shared a Big Sky title a season ago and was picked to finish in the upper half in 2019, Montana reached 21 points in three of the four sets.
The Grizzlies and Vandals were tied 34 times in the match, with the lead changing hands 17 times. Through the first three sets, neither team ever led by more than four points.
Senior Missy Huddleston played in her 100^th career match. The right-side attacker has started 83 of those contests, accumulating more than 700 career kills and digs and nearly 100 blocks.

YOUTH ON DISPLAY
Eight Grizzlies have made their college debuts this season, with six freshmen starting at least three matches. True freshmen Amethyst Harper and Kelly Horning have started 14 of 15 matches apiece, while three other freshmen have started at least eight times. Montana has started at least three freshmen in every match this season.

What a fun homecoming weekend on campus! #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/1c0T5n6dzW
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 8, 2019

Montana faces stiff road test at Southern Utah, Northern Arizona

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Players Mentioned

Elsa Godwin

Janna Grimsrud

Amethyst Harper

Kelly Horning

Missy Huddleston

Sarina Moreno

Ashley Watkins

University of Montana Athletics

Montana faces stiff road test at Southern Utah, Northern Arizona

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elsa Godwin

Janna Grimsrud

Amethyst Harper

Kelly Horning

Missy Huddleston

Sarina Moreno

Ashley Watkins

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