Thursday, November 7
Moscow, Idaho
7 PM (MT)
Montana
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Idaho
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Montana
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Idaho
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Montana wins in Moscow for 1st time since 1991
11/7/2019 11:25:00 PM | Volleyball
MOSCOW, Idaho – The last time Montana beat Idaho on the road, not a single current Grizzly was born. It had been 14 unsuccessful trips to Moscow.
Until Thursday.
For the second time this season, Montana overcame a 0-2 deficit on the road, winning the final three sets over Idaho and beating the Vandals in Moscow for the first time since 1991 (20-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 18-16).
Montana also became the first Big Sky team all season to beat the Vandals in Moscow.
"This is the time of year where, as a team, you either take steps away from each other or you come together, and I think we're marching closer and closer together as a unit," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "Our seniors continue to find new levels to their game and new ways to give back to this program. I'm just unbelievably proud."
Early on, it looked like Thursday might be another match in which the Grizzlies were competitive, but couldn't quite earn the victory. Montana had two players temporarily injured before the match even started and couldn't ever fully get in rhythm, losing 25-20. In the second set, Montana hit a crisp .345, but the Vandals hit .368 and won the set, 25-19.
Finally, in the third set, Montana hit its stride.
The Grizzlies scored five consecutive points to take an 11-5 lead and cruised from there, never trailing and leading by five to seven points for the majority of the frame. The Vandals were held to -.029 hitting in the set.
"We were not playing very good volleyball and we expressed that to each other," Watkins said of the change. "We knew we had more to give so we challenged everyone to do that – and we did."
Montana again jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the fourth set, but this time the Vandals fought back to regain the lead at 14-13. Idaho led by as many as three points, 19-16, before the Grizzlies called timeout, regrouped and scored the next five points. The teams were tied at 22-22 and 23-23 but the Grizzlies closed strong with a Janna Grimsrud block and Sarina Moreno ace.
The fifth set started out perfectly for the Grizzlies, as Montana scored the first four points in the shortened set. With Elsa Godwin serving, Montana got a block from Missy Huddleston and two kills from Amethyst Harper, one which was set up from an incredible diving save from Isabelle Garrido.
Every time Montana would go on a run, though, the Vandals had a counterpunch.
Idaho called timeout and scored four straight to tie the set at 4-4. Once Montana took a 7-4 lead, the Vandals again tied the set at 7-7. Idaho took its first lead of the set at 11-10 and had two match-point opportunities at 14-13 and 16-15.
Montana fought off both, with a Missy Huddleston kill and an Idaho service error. Tied at 16-16, Grimsrud picked up a big kill in the middle to give Montana its second match-point opportunity. This time, Montana finished it off, with Harper producing a solo stuff to set off a celebration 28 years in the making.
"At the end of the match, I had a sense of calm," freshman Catie Semadeni said. "It was so exciting building to that last moment. Once we finished it, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief."
Harper was one of four Grizzlies in double figures for kills. Joining her were seniors Huddleston (13) and Grimsrud (11), in addition to Semadeni (11).
Semadeni – whose previous high was six kills – also hit a career-best .360, totaling 11 kills compared to just two errors.
Ashley Watkins had a great night setting up the offense, dishing out 49 assists while also leading the Grizzlies with 13 digs and a career-high four service aces. As a team, Montana had seven aces, in addition to a season-best 16 blocks. Huddleston led the charge with eight of them.
Gallery: (11/7/2019) VB: at Idaho (11.7.19)
Match Notables
"Really good serving and resilient passing made that point spread pretty dramatic pretty quick. Once we forced them out of system enough, where they only had a few options with their swings, I feel like we were playing really good defense and managing our game really well." – Allison Lawrence on the third set
"Something about that third set, I felt like we took more momentum than they did in those first two sets combined. The crowd got quiet and they got rattled enough." – Allison Lawrence on the swing of momentum after the third set
"In the fourth set, there were some huge defensive plays. We eliminated some comfort-zone options for them by being playmakers in the back row. I think that allowed us to feel really in control." – Allison Lawrence on the fourth set
"From the service line, if we hit our zone, we were able to hit our serve really well. I think that let us relax, knowing we could always go back to the service line and turn a point or two. Against a team like Idaho, who is so good offensively, you have to serve well." – Allison Lawrence on her team's serving
"We took some rips at the ball in big moments. They were scheming to really try to contain our middles, and our middles did such a good job of getting up and continuing to find ways to score." – Allison Lawrence on the team's resilient offense
"Catie Semadeni really stepped up. To me, this was her breakout match, and she came up with some big kills. To be able to run our offense through her on that side, it took some pressure off of our lefts and out middles. To have Catie execute at the level she did, it really changed our whole match." – Allison Lawrence on Catie Semadeni
"She made good adjustments, she made good decisions, and she set up kills for us really well down the stretch. She did so many things really well, including dig, serve and block. She had that huge block late in the fifth set (14-14)." – Allison Lawrence on Ashley Watkins
"This is a really hard environment to walk into, because they're a very organized team and are really good. Every year we know we have to play our best to get a win, and I think we did that tonight." – Ashley Watkins
"The first two sets were super frustrating. I told myself to go for it. My team was completely behind me and was really hyping me up. I wanted to walk out of that gym knowing I gave it my all. That helped gain some momentum that we needed." – Catie Semadeni
Looking Ahead
Montana has a quick turnaround, traveling to Eastern Washington on Friday night (7 p.m. MT). The Grizzlies swept the Eagles last month in Missoula. Eastern Washington lost in four sets to Montana State on Thursday, to fall to 3-10 on the season.
Until Thursday.
For the second time this season, Montana overcame a 0-2 deficit on the road, winning the final three sets over Idaho and beating the Vandals in Moscow for the first time since 1991 (20-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 18-16).
Montana also became the first Big Sky team all season to beat the Vandals in Moscow.
"This is the time of year where, as a team, you either take steps away from each other or you come together, and I think we're marching closer and closer together as a unit," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "Our seniors continue to find new levels to their game and new ways to give back to this program. I'm just unbelievably proud."
After weeks of talking about the team's growth, Montana is finally starting to see some results. The Grizzlies have won three of their past four matches, with two coming on the road to teams in the upper-half of the conference standings.It's a great week to beat the Vandals. What do you say, @MontanaGrizFB?!? #GrizVB #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/vUcWo6tuER
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
Early on, it looked like Thursday might be another match in which the Grizzlies were competitive, but couldn't quite earn the victory. Montana had two players temporarily injured before the match even started and couldn't ever fully get in rhythm, losing 25-20. In the second set, Montana hit a crisp .345, but the Vandals hit .368 and won the set, 25-19.
Finally, in the third set, Montana hit its stride.
The Grizzlies scored five consecutive points to take an 11-5 lead and cruised from there, never trailing and leading by five to seven points for the majority of the frame. The Vandals were held to -.029 hitting in the set.
"We were not playing very good volleyball and we expressed that to each other," Watkins said of the change. "We knew we had more to give so we challenged everyone to do that – and we did."
Montana again jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the fourth set, but this time the Vandals fought back to regain the lead at 14-13. Idaho led by as many as three points, 19-16, before the Grizzlies called timeout, regrouped and scored the next five points. The teams were tied at 22-22 and 23-23 but the Grizzlies closed strong with a Janna Grimsrud block and Sarina Moreno ace.
The fifth set started out perfectly for the Grizzlies, as Montana scored the first four points in the shortened set. With Elsa Godwin serving, Montana got a block from Missy Huddleston and two kills from Amethyst Harper, one which was set up from an incredible diving save from Isabelle Garrido.
Every time Montana would go on a run, though, the Vandals had a counterpunch.
Idaho called timeout and scored four straight to tie the set at 4-4. Once Montana took a 7-4 lead, the Vandals again tied the set at 7-7. Idaho took its first lead of the set at 11-10 and had two match-point opportunities at 14-13 and 16-15.
Montana fought off both, with a Missy Huddleston kill and an Idaho service error. Tied at 16-16, Grimsrud picked up a big kill in the middle to give Montana its second match-point opportunity. This time, Montana finished it off, with Harper producing a solo stuff to set off a celebration 28 years in the making.
"At the end of the match, I had a sense of calm," freshman Catie Semadeni said. "It was so exciting building to that last moment. Once we finished it, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief."
Montana tallied 12 more digs than the Vandals, with five players in double figures. Harper was one of them, with the freshman recording another stellar night all around, totaling a team-high 17 kills.Catie Semadeni with another kill! She has a career-high 9 on .529 hitting! pic.twitter.com/iYjFTTocYO
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
Harper was one of four Grizzlies in double figures for kills. Joining her were seniors Huddleston (13) and Grimsrud (11), in addition to Semadeni (11).
Semadeni – whose previous high was six kills – also hit a career-best .360, totaling 11 kills compared to just two errors.
Ashley Watkins had a great night setting up the offense, dishing out 49 assists while also leading the Grizzlies with 13 digs and a career-high four service aces. As a team, Montana had seven aces, in addition to a season-best 16 blocks. Huddleston led the charge with eight of them.
Match Notables
- Montana beat Idaho in Moscow for the first time since 1991. The Vandals had previously won 14 consecutive matches over the Grizzlies in Moscow and had lost just once overall since 1994.
- Montana is the first Big Sky team to beat the Vandals this season in Moscow. Idaho was previously 5-0 at home in Big Sky play.
- The Grizzlies have now won three of their past four matches, with two of the victories coming on the road to teams ranked in the upper-half of the Big Sky standings.
- Over the final three sets, Montana never trailed by more than three points.
- The shortened fifth set featured 10 tie scores, including at every point from 7-7 through 16-16, except for 11-11.
- Idaho entered the match hitting .237 on the season (second in the Big Sky), but the Grizzlies held the Vandals to a .161 clip.
- Montana posted as season-high 16 blocks, including four blocks over Montana's final eight points of the match. New middle blocker Missy Huddleston led the Grizzlies with eight blocks. Amethyst Harper added five stuffs and Ashley Watkins had four.
- Five different Grizzlies were in double figures for digs, leading to 75 on the night. Idaho had 63.
- Eight of Catie Semadeni's career-high 11 kills came over the final three sets. The freshman was hitting over .500 midway through the fourth set, recording nine kills before hitting her first error. Overall, Semadeni hit a team-best .360, a career high.
- Freshman Amethyst Harper led Montana with 17 kills. Eleven of them came during Montana's three sets wins, including three kills on Montana's final four points in a 25-20 victory in Set 3.
- Senior Missy Huddleston, who earlier this week was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week, recorded 13 kills and a team-high eight blocks. Three of her blocks and one of her kills came over Montana's final eight points in Set 5. She also served during a 5-0 run in Set 4 that turned a 19-16 deficit into a 21-19 lead.
- Senior Ashley Watkins had a career-high four service aces, including back-to-back in the first set. Watkins also led the team with 49 assists and 13 digs. It was her fourth double-double in her past nine matches.
- Janna Grimsrud recorded 11 kills, her highest total since breaking her finger in mid-October. She had five kills in Set 4 alone, including three during Montana's 9-5 start to the frame.
Quoting the GrizIt's coming down to the wire in Set 4... Ashley Watkins easily finishes the overpass to tie the score at 19-19! pic.twitter.com/QFkKthJ5tG
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
"Really good serving and resilient passing made that point spread pretty dramatic pretty quick. Once we forced them out of system enough, where they only had a few options with their swings, I feel like we were playing really good defense and managing our game really well." – Allison Lawrence on the third set
"Something about that third set, I felt like we took more momentum than they did in those first two sets combined. The crowd got quiet and they got rattled enough." – Allison Lawrence on the swing of momentum after the third set
"In the fourth set, there were some huge defensive plays. We eliminated some comfort-zone options for them by being playmakers in the back row. I think that allowed us to feel really in control." – Allison Lawrence on the fourth set
"From the service line, if we hit our zone, we were able to hit our serve really well. I think that let us relax, knowing we could always go back to the service line and turn a point or two. Against a team like Idaho, who is so good offensively, you have to serve well." – Allison Lawrence on her team's serving
"We took some rips at the ball in big moments. They were scheming to really try to contain our middles, and our middles did such a good job of getting up and continuing to find ways to score." – Allison Lawrence on the team's resilient offense
"Catie Semadeni really stepped up. To me, this was her breakout match, and she came up with some big kills. To be able to run our offense through her on that side, it took some pressure off of our lefts and out middles. To have Catie execute at the level she did, it really changed our whole match." – Allison Lawrence on Catie Semadeni
"She made good adjustments, she made good decisions, and she set up kills for us really well down the stretch. She did so many things really well, including dig, serve and block. She had that huge block late in the fifth set (14-14)." – Allison Lawrence on Ashley Watkins
"This is a really hard environment to walk into, because they're a very organized team and are really good. Every year we know we have to play our best to get a win, and I think we did that tonight." – Ashley Watkins
"The first two sets were super frustrating. I told myself to go for it. My team was completely behind me and was really hyping me up. I wanted to walk out of that gym knowing I gave it my all. That helped gain some momentum that we needed." – Catie Semadeni
Looking Ahead
Montana has a quick turnaround, traveling to Eastern Washington on Friday night (7 p.m. MT). The Grizzlies swept the Eagles last month in Missoula. Eastern Washington lost in four sets to Montana State on Thursday, to fall to 3-10 on the season.
For the first time since 1991, Montana beats the Vandals in Moscow!#GrizVB #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/9OJQ2cdViQ
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
How about this start to the 5th set?!? pic.twitter.com/0JPdxS28Gw
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
Do you think Isabelle Garrido wants this one?
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) November 8, 2019
LET'S GO!! #GrizVB #GoGriz #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/wU8Gfgzx6E
Team Stats
UM
UI
Kills
56
58
Errors
34
30
Attempts
165
174
Hitting %
.133
.161
Points
79.0
90.0
Assists
52
50
Aces
7
9
Blocks
16.0
23.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP/MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Volleyball
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