Friday, September 13
Missoula, Mont.
6 PM
Montana
vs
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Montana set to make home debut
9/12/2019 10:58:00 AM | Volleyball
The Montana volleyball team is staying home this weekend, and the Grizzlies are hoping it creates a spark of positive momentum. The first two weekends of the 2019 season have been a challenge, with Montana dropping all six of its matches.
The competition has been relatively strong – all six opponents have at least a .500 record, compiling a cumulative slate of 24-13 (.649). It doesn't help that two-thirds of Montana's starts have been by freshmen, including at least four freshmen starters in every match this season. Still, several things have to change for a team stuck in a rut, and the Grizzlies are hoping that begins this weekend.
"Being so young and new, I think the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd will make a big difference," third-year head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think we'll play more comfortable and confident, like we did in the North Dakota scrimmage."
Montana won five home matches a season ago, its most since 2013. More than that, Lawrence knows that it doesn't necessarily take much for a spark to ignite.
Last year at this point, Montana was just 1-5, before posting its most wins in a half-decade. In 2014, the Grizzlies went winless during non-conference play before winning six of their first 11 Big Sky matches.
"At any given moment, we can find ourselves and hit some big momentum and things can change," Lawrence said. "The way you go from a good player to a great player is your willingness to not run away from your shortcomings. We want to be a team that wants to be challenged, and I want them to love the grind of it. Part of the grind, sometimes, is losing, but getting back at it and not running away from it is a big thing we're focusing on."
The Farmers State Bank Invitational begins Friday morning and extends through Saturday afternoon. The Grizzlies will play CSU Bakersfield on Friday (6 p.m.) and UTEP on Saturday (noon). Also part of the tournament field, CSU Bakersfield will play UTEP, and both teams will also face visiting Montana State.
Fans can purchase one ticket for an entire day (three matches on Friday, two no Saturday). Additionally, all five matches will be streamed on WatchBigSky.com, with Montana's matches also available on Pluto TV (channel 537).
"This weekend will be great for our community to see teams from outside our region come and compete against us," Lawrence said. "We're excited to be home."
Farmers State Bank Invitational Schedule
FAMILIAR FOES
Montana played both CSU Bakersfield and UTEP a year ago, with the Grizzlies coming out on top against the Miners. In that match, Montana won in straight sets, with all three frames being decided by the minimum two points.
Montana also beat UTEP in 2017, which happened to be Allison Lawrence's first match – and win – as a head coach. Four current Grizzlies have played against the Miners, including Missy Huddleston, who is averaging 2.43 kills across seven sets against UTEP. In last year's meeting, she had eight kills as Montana hit .208 and recorded 10 team blocks.
Playing the Roadrunners in Bakersfield a season ago, Montana lost 3-1, but was competitive in each set, including the final frame, a 26-24 loss that nearly sent the match to a fifth set. Libero Sarina Moreno had 14 digs and three service aces.
HOME SWEET HOME
Despite playing two top-30 teams, Montana went 5-7 at home in 2018, winning five consecutive home matches from Sept. 1-Oct. 11. The Grizzlies averaged nearly 600 fans per home match in 2018, its largest figure in 23 seasons.
EARLY-SEASON TRENDS
With such a young lineup, Montana is using the four-week non-conference portion of its season to iron out details and aim to build momentum heading into Big Sky Conference action. Below are a few takeaways from the first two weeks of the season.
SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD
Montana and CSU Bakersfield have played just twice, but one meeting was last season, a 3-1 Roadrunners victory in Bakersfield. Sarina Moreno had 14 digs in that match, while Ashley Watkins had 43 assists. Montana hit. 199 but allowed CSU Bakersfield to hit .299. The two teams also met in 1991, a five-set CSU Bakersfield victory during Montana's historic 26-4 season.
SCOUTING UTEP
The Grizzlies are 4-0 all-time against UTEP, including two wins in the past two seasons under Allison Lawrence. In last year's sweep, all three sets were decided by two points. Missy Huddleston had eight kills and eight digs while Sarina Moreno had 13 digs. As a team, Montana out-hit the Miners, .208 to .150, and recorded 10 team blocks.
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE
Janna Grimsrud is making the most of her senior season, leading the Grizzlies with 1.17 blocks per set and ranking second with 2.22 kills per set. On Saturday she was named to the Gonzaga Invitational all-tournament team, her second consecutive recognition after earning Aggie Invitational honors the week prior.
In her first three seasons with the Griz, Grimsrud played sporadically, appearing in 35 matches while recording 28 kills and 57 blocks. During the spring, the senior emerged as not only a vocal team leader, but one on the court as well. She has started all six matches, and her blocks-per-set average ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference.
For comparison, across just six matches, Grimsrud already has 40 kills. She had six kills all of last season and 28 career kills entering this season.
YOUTH ON DISPLAY
With nine freshmen on its roster, Montana has been forced to heavily rely on freshmen. The first two weeks have been a perfect display of that, with eight of the 11 players who have taken the court making their collegiate debuts. Only Janna Grimsrud, Missy Huddleston and Sarina Moreno had played in a college match prior to the start of the season.
Not only have the freshmen played, but they have played key roles. Six of the eight freshmen have earned at least one start, with 24 of the 36 starts overall coming from a newcomer. True freshmen Amethyst Harper and Kelly Horning and redshirt freshman Casey Stites have started all six matches, while Catie Semadeni (three times), Isabelle Garrido (twice) and Elsa Godwin (twice) have also started.
Last weekend vs. Grand Canyon, five of the seven starting positions were by freshmen, and overall, the newcomers account for 96.6 percent of the team's assists, 81.3 percent of its service aces, 56.7 percent of its digs, 54.0 percent of its kills and 50.0 percent of its blocks.
LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will travel to the state of Colorado in back-to-back weeks, first coming next weekend to close non-conference play. The Grizzlies will play in a tournament co-hosted by Air Force and Denver, with a match against Santa Clara kicking the weekend off.
Complete match notes in PDF format, including charts, tables, player pages and more
The competition has been relatively strong – all six opponents have at least a .500 record, compiling a cumulative slate of 24-13 (.649). It doesn't help that two-thirds of Montana's starts have been by freshmen, including at least four freshmen starters in every match this season. Still, several things have to change for a team stuck in a rut, and the Grizzlies are hoping that begins this weekend.
"Being so young and new, I think the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd will make a big difference," third-year head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think we'll play more comfortable and confident, like we did in the North Dakota scrimmage."
Montana won five home matches a season ago, its most since 2013. More than that, Lawrence knows that it doesn't necessarily take much for a spark to ignite.
Last year at this point, Montana was just 1-5, before posting its most wins in a half-decade. In 2014, the Grizzlies went winless during non-conference play before winning six of their first 11 Big Sky matches.
"At any given moment, we can find ourselves and hit some big momentum and things can change," Lawrence said. "The way you go from a good player to a great player is your willingness to not run away from your shortcomings. We want to be a team that wants to be challenged, and I want them to love the grind of it. Part of the grind, sometimes, is losing, but getting back at it and not running away from it is a big thing we're focusing on."
The Farmers State Bank Invitational begins Friday morning and extends through Saturday afternoon. The Grizzlies will play CSU Bakersfield on Friday (6 p.m.) and UTEP on Saturday (noon). Also part of the tournament field, CSU Bakersfield will play UTEP, and both teams will also face visiting Montana State.
Fans can purchase one ticket for an entire day (three matches on Friday, two no Saturday). Additionally, all five matches will be streamed on WatchBigSky.com, with Montana's matches also available on Pluto TV (channel 537).
"This weekend will be great for our community to see teams from outside our region come and compete against us," Lawrence said. "We're excited to be home."
Farmers State Bank Invitational Schedule
|
Date, Time |
Teams |
Video |
Live Stats |
|
Friday, 10 a.m. |
CSU Bakersfield vs. UTEP |
||
|
Friday, 4 p.m. |
Montana State vs. UTEP |
||
|
Friday, 6 p.m. |
Montana vs. CSU Bakersfield |
||
|
Saturday, 10 a.m. |
CSU Bakersfield vs. Montana State |
||
|
Saturday, 12 p.m. |
Montana vs. UTEP |
FAMILIAR FOES
Montana played both CSU Bakersfield and UTEP a year ago, with the Grizzlies coming out on top against the Miners. In that match, Montana won in straight sets, with all three frames being decided by the minimum two points.
Montana also beat UTEP in 2017, which happened to be Allison Lawrence's first match – and win – as a head coach. Four current Grizzlies have played against the Miners, including Missy Huddleston, who is averaging 2.43 kills across seven sets against UTEP. In last year's meeting, she had eight kills as Montana hit .208 and recorded 10 team blocks.
Playing the Roadrunners in Bakersfield a season ago, Montana lost 3-1, but was competitive in each set, including the final frame, a 26-24 loss that nearly sent the match to a fifth set. Libero Sarina Moreno had 14 digs and three service aces.
HOME SWEET HOME
Despite playing two top-30 teams, Montana went 5-7 at home in 2018, winning five consecutive home matches from Sept. 1-Oct. 11. The Grizzlies averaged nearly 600 fans per home match in 2018, its largest figure in 23 seasons.
EARLY-SEASON TRENDS
With such a young lineup, Montana is using the four-week non-conference portion of its season to iron out details and aim to build momentum heading into Big Sky Conference action. Below are a few takeaways from the first two weeks of the season.
- Montana is still looking for its first win, and set victory, of the season. The Grizzlies have reached at least 20 points four times, but haven't been able to get over the hump.
- An area of strength has been blocking. The Grizzlies have been out-blocked just twice on the season.
- Janna Grimsrud has been solid at the net, averaging 1.17 blocks per set. Although it's very early, her blocks-per-set average is on pace to be Montana's best since Brooke Bray averaged 1.28 in 2013.
- Allison Lawrence spoke highly of Grimsrud throughout the spring, and the senior middle blocker has been as good as advertised. After playing in just nine matches last season, Grimsrud has led the Grizzlies for blocking in five of six matches and in kills three times this fall. She has been named to the all-tournament teams of both tournaments so far.
- Senior Missy Huddleston, the team's top returning attacker, had the top two matches of the season last Saturday, recording eight kills on .300 hitting vs. Grand Canyon and nine kills at a .192 clip at Gonzaga. She's been in double figures for digs in each of the past three matches, as well, averaging 4.22 per set.
- Montana has options, and depth, at the libero position. Dating back to Week 2 of her freshman season, Sarina Moreno started 31 consecutive matches at libero until true freshman Isabelle Garrido suited up at the position for the final two games of last week's Gonzaga Invitational. Moreno's 4.25 digs-per-set average last season was the 11th-best in school history, while Garrido averaged 4.50 digs per set, plus a service ace, during her two starts. Redshirt freshman Kelsey Nestegard also saw her first extensive action of her career last week vs. Grand Canyon, with the defensive specialist recording the first four digs of her career.
- Among the plethora of freshmen on Montana's roster, outside hitter Amethyst Harper is the most athletic. She's averaging a team-most 2.28 kills per set, including a 3.00 average last weekend. She had 10 kills against both Ball State and Grand Canyon and also ranks second among non-defensive specialists with 2.17 digs per set.
- Thrown in to a tough situation, asking to fill in for veteran setter Ashley Watkins – who ranks sixth in school history for career assists – redshirt freshman Casey Stites is beginning to find her footing at the setter position. The redshirt freshman had a career-most 29 assists vs. Ball State and is averaging 1.00 service aces over per past four matches. Stites, despite standing just 5-6, is the team's second-leading blocker.
- Overall, Montana has had spotty offense and is looking for a more consistent display. The Grizzlies are still looking for their first match with more kills than their opponent.
- Defensively, the Grizzlies have to do a better job of shutting down their opponents. All six teams have hit at least .279 against Montana. The Grizzlies did make improvements from Week 1 to Week 2, however, holding last week's opponents to a combined .304 hitting percentage after opponents hit .390 through the first week of the season.
- Montana has to also clean things up from the service line. The Grizzlies only have 16 service aces as a team, compared to 46 by their opponents. On the flip side, Montana has made 14 fewer service errors than its opponents.
SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD
- CSU Bakersfield is 1-5 on the season, with its lone win coming at Fresno State last weekend.
- Sophomore MB Brooke Boiseau leads the Roadrunners for kills (2.29 per set) and blocks (0.96 per set). A season ago, she was named to the All-WAC Freshman Team.
- As a team, CSUB has three players averaging at least 0.87 blocks per set.
- Mapuhola Sekona, a transfer from West Valley College, had a CSUB record seven aces in a five-set loss to Canisius.
- Sophomore OH Hayley McCluskey is averaging 2.09 kills per set, including a career-high 14 vs. Canisius.
- The 'Runners run a 6-2 offense, returning both setters from last season.
- CSUB was picked to finish sixth in the WAC preseason coaches' poll.
- CSUB has won the WAC and played in the NCAA tournament in two of five seasons under head coach Giovana Melo.
Montana and CSU Bakersfield have played just twice, but one meeting was last season, a 3-1 Roadrunners victory in Bakersfield. Sarina Moreno had 14 digs in that match, while Ashley Watkins had 43 assists. Montana hit. 199 but allowed CSU Bakersfield to hit .299. The two teams also met in 1991, a five-set CSU Bakersfield victory during Montana's historic 26-4 season.
SCOUTING UTEP
- UTEP is off to a hot start, earning victories over Louisiana, Incarnate Word, Coppin State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. At 4-3, the Miners are one win away from matching their season win total from a year ago.
- UTEP is led by Missoula native Cheyenne Jones (Valley Christian). The junior OH is averaging 2.34 kills per set on .241 hitting, plus 0.90 blocks per set.
- The Miners rank 42nd nationally with 1.86 service aces per set. They have three players who rank in the top 90 for that category, including freshman MB Irbe Lazda, who ranks in the top 60 for service aces (12) and blocking (0.97).
- Lazda was named this week's Conference USA Freshman of the Week after she had 16 kills on .700 hitting in a come-from-behind win over Texas A&M-CC.
- UTEP returned its setter, Kristen Fritsche, from last year's team, and now runs a 6-2 offense with Fritsche and Syenna Masaki.
- First-year head coach Ben Wallis comes to UTEP after a successful six-year stint as an assistant coach at New Mexico State, helping the Aggies to three NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons.
The Grizzlies are 4-0 all-time against UTEP, including two wins in the past two seasons under Allison Lawrence. In last year's sweep, all three sets were decided by two points. Missy Huddleston had eight kills and eight digs while Sarina Moreno had 13 digs. As a team, Montana out-hit the Miners, .208 to .150, and recorded 10 team blocks.
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE
- Montana won't play Montana State this weekend, since the two teams will meet twice during Big Sky Conference play, but the Bobcats will still travel to Missoula to play CSU Bakersfield and UTEP. The Grizzlies and Bobcats will open Big Sky play against each other on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in Missoula.
- MSU enters the weekend with a 2-4 record, beating Little Rock and Loyola University Maryland.
- The Bobcats have used the same starting lineup in every match this season and have three attackers averaging more than 2.4 kills per set.
- Libero Allyssa Rizzo is averaging an astonishing 6.38 digs per set, a figure that ranks seventh nationally. She was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3.
- The Bobcats have two players averaging at least 0.90 blocks per set, figures that both rank in the top 15 in the Big Sky.
- MSU was picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll. The team returns 11 letterwinners and four starters plus its libero from last year's squad that finished eighth in the Big Sky, one spot behind Montana.
- MSU is coached by Daniel Jones, who is 23-38 in two-plus seasons at the helm in Bozeman.
GRIMSRUD EARNS ACCOLADES (AGAIN)✌️ days until we get to play here in front of #GrizNation!#GrizVB #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/IwC2JWBeIr
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) September 11, 2019
Janna Grimsrud is making the most of her senior season, leading the Grizzlies with 1.17 blocks per set and ranking second with 2.22 kills per set. On Saturday she was named to the Gonzaga Invitational all-tournament team, her second consecutive recognition after earning Aggie Invitational honors the week prior.
In her first three seasons with the Griz, Grimsrud played sporadically, appearing in 35 matches while recording 28 kills and 57 blocks. During the spring, the senior emerged as not only a vocal team leader, but one on the court as well. She has started all six matches, and her blocks-per-set average ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference.
For comparison, across just six matches, Grimsrud already has 40 kills. She had six kills all of last season and 28 career kills entering this season.
YOUTH ON DISPLAY
With nine freshmen on its roster, Montana has been forced to heavily rely on freshmen. The first two weeks have been a perfect display of that, with eight of the 11 players who have taken the court making their collegiate debuts. Only Janna Grimsrud, Missy Huddleston and Sarina Moreno had played in a college match prior to the start of the season.
Not only have the freshmen played, but they have played key roles. Six of the eight freshmen have earned at least one start, with 24 of the 36 starts overall coming from a newcomer. True freshmen Amethyst Harper and Kelly Horning and redshirt freshman Casey Stites have started all six matches, while Catie Semadeni (three times), Isabelle Garrido (twice) and Elsa Godwin (twice) have also started.
Last weekend vs. Grand Canyon, five of the seven starting positions were by freshmen, and overall, the newcomers account for 96.6 percent of the team's assists, 81.3 percent of its service aces, 56.7 percent of its digs, 54.0 percent of its kills and 50.0 percent of its blocks.
LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will travel to the state of Colorado in back-to-back weeks, first coming next weekend to close non-conference play. The Grizzlies will play in a tournament co-hosted by Air Force and Denver, with a match against Santa Clara kicking the weekend off.
Complete match notes in PDF format, including charts, tables, player pages and more
A sincere thank you to Farmers State Bank for becoming the first presenting partner for Montana volleyball!
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) September 9, 2019
📰 https://t.co/otgRVG7iUm #GrizVB #GoGriz #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/RUTxTdO1pE
Players Mentioned
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