Young Grizzlies drop pair on opening day of season

Friday, August 30

Davis, Calif.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

0-1

UC Davis

1-0

Montana

UC Davis

Janna Grimsrud vs. North Dakota - 8/23/19

Photo by: Derek Johnson

8/30/2019 2:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UM-UC Davis Box Score (PDF)UM-Pacific Box Score (PDF)

By: Montana Sports Information

DAVIS, Calif. – Allison Lawrence and the Montana volleyball team quickly learned that you can't rush experience. The Grizzlies – who had seven players make their collegiate debuts on Friday, including five who started – opened the 2019 season with a pair of 3-0 defeats at UC Davis (25-13, 25-17, 25-19) and to Pacific (25-8, 25-21, 25-17).

"We're figuring out our confidence and identity, and that doesn't happen instantly," Lawrence said. "This process is going to have its painful and uncomfortable moments because we're putting ourselves up against polished, good teams, and we're still learning."

There were some encouraging signs for Montana, particularly on offense, but the Grizzlies had little answers for stopping their opponents on defense. In the opener, UC Davis hit .443, including 13 kills on .812 hitting from Mahalia White and 11 kills at a .421 clip from Demari Webb. It was a similar tale vs. the Tigers, with Pacific hitting .384 as a team. The Tigers had four players record at least eight kills, with three of them hitting better than .400.

Both teams run an up-tempo offense that made it hard for Montana to stop. It didn't help, Lawrence said, that Montana wasn't serving tough enough, allowing opponents to set up what they wanted to do and put themselves in prime positions to score.

"Both teams played so fast," Lawrence said. "They were getting seams in blocks, they were winning one on ones and we weren't able to dig around them."

Montana had its moments on offense, as well, but the Grizzlies lacked consistency. Against UC Davis, Montana's middle blockers Janna Grimsrud and Kelly Horning combined for 15 kills on .520 hitting, but in the nightcap they were held to five kills at a .125 rate.

The highlight of the day came in Set 3 vs. UC Davis, when Montana hit an impressive .560 without recording an error (14-0-25). It marked the team's best hitting percentage in a set since 2016 and the first time since 2015 that the Grizzlies recorded zero attack errors in a set.

The problem, though, was that while Montana was nearly perfect in the third set, UC Davis was somehow even better. The Aggies made two errors but also had 17 kills, hitting .625 in the frame.

Montana is playing with just three players who had ever played in a collegiate match prior to Friday. Four freshmen started both matches, with six different freshmen starting at least one set throughout the day. The Grizzlies will close the weekend Saturday vs. San Jose State (1 p.m. MT).

"We're trying to have our weaknesses exposed in ways where we can have rapid growth from it," Lawrence said. "The biggest thing is how we respond. With how young we are, everything is brand new for this team. I want us to be under pressure and to be put in uncomfortable positions so that we have to keep resetting and relying on our training and preparation."

Match 1: UC Davis 3, Montana 0

Starting for the Grizzlies were Amethyst Harper (OH), Missy Huddleston (OPP), Janna Grimsrud (MB), Kelly Horning (MB), Isabelle Garrido (DS), Casey Stites (S) and Sarina Moreno (L). Harper, Horning, Garrido and Stites were not only making their first career starts, but were playing in their first collegiate contests. Fellow true freshman Catie Semadeni (OH) started the third set.
After hitting .000 in the first set (4-4-25), Montana hit .560 in the third frame, without recording an error (14-0-25). It marked the team's highest single-set hitting percentage since Sept. 24, 2016 vs. Idaho (.609) and was the first time the Grizzlies have recorded zero attack errors in a set since Sept. 19, 2015 vs. Illinois-Chicago.
The team's .282 hitting percentage was its highest in a loss since hitting .323 in a three-set defeat at Virginia on Aug. 31, 2013. It marked just the sixth time in the past five seasons that Montana hit better than .280 in a match.
The Grizzlies were playing without Ashley Watkins, who had started 62 of the team's past 63 matches at setter. Redshirt freshman Stites started in Watkins' place, recording 22 assists, two blocks and one kill. Watkins is currently working through some personal issues and her status is on hold for the time being.
Grimsrud led all Grizzlies with 10 kills on .500 hitting (10-2-16), in addition to three blocks. Her previous career high for kills was five. The senior scored three consecutive Griz points in the first set (one block, two kills), to get Montana within two, 11-9.
A pair of freshmen went the entire match without recording an error, with Semadeni recording six kills on 18 swings (.333) and Horning tallying five kills on nine attempts (.556). Horning also had a service ace in the first set.
As a team, Montana recorded just 15 digs, its lowest total since Sept. 11, 2004 vs. Nevada (15).
Set 1: After Montana scored the first point of the season, UC Davis scored the next eight points, forcing a Montana timeout. The run featured four UCD kills, a service ace and three different types of errors for the Grizzlies.
Set 1: Montana fought back to within two points, 11-9, before UC Davis responded with a 9-1 run to take command of the set.
Set 2: Once trailing by three, 9-6, Montana tied the score at 9-9 thanks to kills from Horning and Harper, in addition to a UC Davis attack error. Once UM tied the score, though, UC Davis scored the next five points to once again take control of the set.
Set 3: Montana jumped out to an early lead in Set 3, 3-1, its first multi-point lead of the match. The Grizzlies were as close as one point as late as 17-16, before the Aggies scored seven of the next nine points.

Match 2: Pacific 3, Montana 0

Montana recorded just 19 kills, compared to 48 for the Tigers. Pacific also had seven service aces and nine team blocks.
Senior Missy Huddleston led the Grizzlies with seven kills on .211 hitting (7-3-19), also adding five digs.
Redshirt freshman Elsa Godwin made her collegiate debut late in the second set. The Grizzlies went on a 5-1 run shortly after she entered – featuring her first two kills – to get Montana within two, 22-20. Godwin finished the match with four kills on .300 hitting (4-1-10).
Redshirt freshman Kelsey Nestegard also made her collegiate debut, serving in the third set.
Sophomore libero Sarina Moreno recorded 12 digs.
Freshman Kelly Horning had a service ace for the second consecutive match. The ace, both of her kills and two of her three blocks came in the second set.
Set 1: Pacific jumped out to a 3-0 lead and Montana never recovered, falling behind by scores of 7-1, 12-3 and 25-8.
Set 1: The Grizzlies recorded just one kill in the entire set, with their other seven points coming from three blocks, three service errors and a bad set. Pacific had 18 kills at a .556 clip in the frame.
Set 2: Montana built a 9-6 lead before Pacific went on a 7-0 run to take the lead for good.
Set 2: Freshman Isabelle Garrido had her first career service ace, cutting the Grizzlies' deficit to just 14-12.
Set 2: Montana used a 5-1 run – featuring four kills – to force a Tigers timeout and get within two points, 22-20, after trailing by as many as six.
Set 3: The two teams alternated the first 13 points before Pacific went on a 5-0 run. The Tigers would lead for the remainder of the night, including by as many as nine points.

Quoting Lawrence
(on improving in each set vs. UC Davis)
"We started to get on track in the second set, and then in the third set you saw a huge response. That's exactly what we're asking them to do. We're playing tough opponents who know how to control the ball really well, and the biggest thing for us is fighting for momentum."

(on Semadeni's career debut vs. UC Davis)
"Catie did such a good job of steady play. Even in bad situations she found ways to be terminal. She problem solved her way through things and really stood out as someone who led."

(on Godwin coming in off the bench vs. Pacific)
"I was proud of Elsa. We were struggling to get Catie (Semadeni) good looks and opportunities to score. Elsa came in and added a spark and did some wonderful things."

(on needing to start faster)
"That first set we came out slow and too relaxes, and this team really needs to control its tone and tempo rather than wait for things to happen to them. I thought we started to respond better after that."

Up Next
Montana will close the Aggie Invitational with a match against San Jose State (Saturday at 1 p.m. MT). The Spartans lost to Pacific, 3-1, on Friday afternoon and will play UC Davis on Friday evening.