Thursday, November 21
Ogden, Utah
7 PM
Montana
6-22, 5-12BSC
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at
3
Weber State
21-7, 12-5BSC
1
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F
Montana
19
10
25
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Weber State
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Photo by: Robert Casey/Weber State Athletics
Weber State pulls away from Montana, setting up big finale on Saturday
11/21/2019 9:58:00 PM | Volleyball
OGDEN, Utah – Montana put up a strong showing Thursday night at second-place Weber State, but wasn't able to come away with the upset, falling in four sets. The Grizzlies bounced back from a poor second set to dominate the third, 25-15, before the Wildcats pulled away in the fourth (25-19, 25-10, 15-25, 25-17).
With Thursday's results across the league, all of the focus now turns to Saturday.
Thursday night was a big night in Big Sky volleyball, with Southern Utah officially punching its ticket to the Big Sky tournament and Eastern Washington and Idaho State being eliminated. That leaves two teams battling it out for one spot – Montana and Portland State.
The Vikings played their final match of the regular season on Thursday, losing in straight sets at first-place Northern Colorado. Portland State has six wins, one ahead of Montana's five.
With a win on Saturday at Idaho State, and the Grizzlies will qualify for the postseason for the second year in a row. Montana owns the tiebreaker thanks to its 3-1 victory over Portland State in the only meeting of the season.
"For all of our ups and downs this season, and our focus being on establishing who we are, we're now at the point where we get to play and fight for our postseason, which is exactly where you want to be," head coach Allison Lawrence said.
Montana began Big Sky play 1-8, but has surged in the second half to put itself one win away from a Big Sky tournament berth.
"That's absolutely the positive pressure that you want as an athlete," Lawrence continued. "We're playing really well and we're beyond excited to be in this position. I think we'll take things from this match – positive and negative – and be ready to go. I can't wait to get prepped and run at them on Saturday."
Gallery: (11/21/2019) VB: at Weber State (11.21.19)
While Montana is fighting to extend its season, Thursday showed the promise of the future. In addition to the way Montana has improved drastically throughout the season in its overall level of play, Thursday showed specifically what some of the future stars are capable of doing.
Montana's three kills leaders were all freshmen. Elsa Godwin had a team-high 12 kills on .310 hitting, while Catie Semadeni added 10 at a .300 clip. Amethyst Harped recorded 11 kills.
Weber State, which boasts one of the nation's top defenses – the Wildcats rank in the top 35 in the NCAA for both blocking and opponent hitting percentage – focused in on Montana's middle blockers, which have carried the Grizzlies through the past month.
With the middles being less of a factor, it made the performance of the freshmen pin hitters even more vital. The trio totaled 70 percent of Montana's kills and hit at a .272 clip.
"That was big-time," Lawrence said of her freshmen pin hitters. "They were smart, adjusted well and used multiple shots."
In the third set alone, Godwin had six kills and an ace, while Semadeni had five kills and a block.
"For Catie to carry the load through the middle of the match was so cool to see," Lawrence said. "She jumped and created kills in out-of-system situations. She played like a veteran."
The Grizzlies came out with urgency, leading for the majority of the opening frame. With Godwin serving, Montana went on a 5-0 run and led by one or two points throughout most of the set, including as late as 15-13. After winning the first few points, Weber State didn't recapture the lead again until 16-15, but once it did, the Wildcats took over. Weber State closed on a 6-1 run to win the set, despite Montana hitting .353.
The second set was all Weber State. The Wildcats scored the first three points and jumped out to a convincing 11-3 lead. Montana never recovered, falling 25-10, tied for the most lopsided set score in league play.
As has been the case several times recently, Montana showed its grit, fighting off Weber State and bouncing back with one of its best sets of the season. The Grizzlies quickly doubled up the Wildcats, 8-4, behind three Semadeni kills and service aces from Sarina Moreno and Isabelle Garrido, and shortly after, the lead grew to six points, and then eight, and then 10.
While Montana hasn't been able to consistently play at a championship-caliber level, Set 3 showed once again what this young Grizzlies team is capable of.
"In Set 3 we tried some different spots on the court with our serve and tried to be a little more aggressive, and that made all the difference," Lawrence said. "Our serving didn't come along until Set 3, and that was a big missing piece."
First serve from Pocatello on Saturday is slated for 7 p.m. MT.
With Thursday's results across the league, all of the focus now turns to Saturday.
Thursday night was a big night in Big Sky volleyball, with Southern Utah officially punching its ticket to the Big Sky tournament and Eastern Washington and Idaho State being eliminated. That leaves two teams battling it out for one spot – Montana and Portland State.
The Vikings played their final match of the regular season on Thursday, losing in straight sets at first-place Northern Colorado. Portland State has six wins, one ahead of Montana's five.
With a win on Saturday at Idaho State, and the Grizzlies will qualify for the postseason for the second year in a row. Montana owns the tiebreaker thanks to its 3-1 victory over Portland State in the only meeting of the season.
"For all of our ups and downs this season, and our focus being on establishing who we are, we're now at the point where we get to play and fight for our postseason, which is exactly where you want to be," head coach Allison Lawrence said.
Montana began Big Sky play 1-8, but has surged in the second half to put itself one win away from a Big Sky tournament berth.
"That's absolutely the positive pressure that you want as an athlete," Lawrence continued. "We're playing really well and we're beyond excited to be in this position. I think we'll take things from this match – positive and negative – and be ready to go. I can't wait to get prepped and run at them on Saturday."
While Montana is fighting to extend its season, Thursday showed the promise of the future. In addition to the way Montana has improved drastically throughout the season in its overall level of play, Thursday showed specifically what some of the future stars are capable of doing.
Montana's three kills leaders were all freshmen. Elsa Godwin had a team-high 12 kills on .310 hitting, while Catie Semadeni added 10 at a .300 clip. Amethyst Harped recorded 11 kills.
Weber State, which boasts one of the nation's top defenses – the Wildcats rank in the top 35 in the NCAA for both blocking and opponent hitting percentage – focused in on Montana's middle blockers, which have carried the Grizzlies through the past month.
With the middles being less of a factor, it made the performance of the freshmen pin hitters even more vital. The trio totaled 70 percent of Montana's kills and hit at a .272 clip.
"That was big-time," Lawrence said of her freshmen pin hitters. "They were smart, adjusted well and used multiple shots."
In the third set alone, Godwin had six kills and an ace, while Semadeni had five kills and a block.
"For Catie to carry the load through the middle of the match was so cool to see," Lawrence said. "She jumped and created kills in out-of-system situations. She played like a veteran."
Montana out-dug Weber State, 58-53, and hit 50 points higher than Weber State's season average, which ranks 33rd nationally. The Wildcats, though, hit at an incredibly high rate, finishing at .308, including .508 with zero errors through two sets.Catie Semadeni with the... spicy mustard?!? pic.twitter.com/yIRuOcEkXr
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2019
The Grizzlies came out with urgency, leading for the majority of the opening frame. With Godwin serving, Montana went on a 5-0 run and led by one or two points throughout most of the set, including as late as 15-13. After winning the first few points, Weber State didn't recapture the lead again until 16-15, but once it did, the Wildcats took over. Weber State closed on a 6-1 run to win the set, despite Montana hitting .353.
The second set was all Weber State. The Wildcats scored the first three points and jumped out to a convincing 11-3 lead. Montana never recovered, falling 25-10, tied for the most lopsided set score in league play.
As has been the case several times recently, Montana showed its grit, fighting off Weber State and bouncing back with one of its best sets of the season. The Grizzlies quickly doubled up the Wildcats, 8-4, behind three Semadeni kills and service aces from Sarina Moreno and Isabelle Garrido, and shortly after, the lead grew to six points, and then eight, and then 10.
While Montana hasn't been able to consistently play at a championship-caliber level, Set 3 showed once again what this young Grizzlies team is capable of.
"In Set 3 we tried some different spots on the court with our serve and tried to be a little more aggressive, and that made all the difference," Lawrence said. "Our serving didn't come along until Set 3, and that was a big missing piece."
Montana hung with Weber State initially in the fourth set, taking an early lead and being within a point at 11-10, before Weber State started to separate.Set 3 is ALL Montana. Let's keep it going! pic.twitter.com/rNpl1ZybS1
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2019
First serve from Pocatello on Saturday is slated for 7 p.m. MT.
Elsa Godwin with four quick kills. She's taking over in Set 3! pic.twitter.com/aIaKFKi8P8
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2019
5 straight points for the Griz, and Amethyst Harper puts us on top early in Set 1! pic.twitter.com/Md1NthKZgQ
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2019
Team Stats
UM
WSU
Kills
47
54
Errors
20
13
Attempts
126
133
Hitting %
.214
.308
Points
54.0
71.0
Assists
46
50
Aces
4
8
Blocks
3.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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