Photo by: Derek Johnson
Volleyball mixes things up with intrasquad scrimmage
10/23/2020 12:25:00 PM | Volleyball
In some ways, Thursday was just another day in a long fall without a volleyball season. In other ways, it was so much different.
With its season pushed to the spring, Montana hasn't played a match since last November. The team has still been practicing multiple times per week, but after two-plus months of doing the same, sometimes things can get a bit monotonous.
So Allison Lawrence decided to switch things up on Thursday.
No, there wasn't an opposing team across the net, and no, there weren't fans. But Thursday, which featured a four-set intrasquad scrimmage, felt different.
"I was definitely a little nervous," said freshman outside hitter Sophia Meyers. "It's not our normal season right now, but it felt like gameday all day, even before we got to the gym. Being able to put on my jersey made it so exciting. I had those nervous feelings you normally get on gameday."
Meyers is one of Montana's six freshmen, in addition to two Division-I transfers, who made their unofficial Griz debuts on Thursday. The Oregon native had an impressive night on offense and saw her teams win three of the four sets.
"It was a lot of fun to play," she said. "Just being able to put the jersey on and show off what we have been working on all fall, it was really cool and made everything feel more real."
The purpose of the scrimmage was multi-faceted.
For one, Lawrence wanted to see how her team responded to a match-like simulation, even if it was far from a traditional match. That was, perhaps, the biggest unexpected surprise to Lawrence.
"The girls were excited and a little bit anxious in a good way," the fourth-year head coach. "I underestimated how different it would feel, but even for me, I walked into the gym with a little bit of pregame jitters. That was a really nice sign to me, that they're proud of the progress that they've made and that they love competing."
Secondly, Lawrence and her staff wanted to see how her players responded in different situations.
The intention was to play four sets regardless of results, but the rosters were fluid between each set. Both setters worked with both teams, allowing them to set to different attackers. Same thing for Montana's defensive specialists, with three players suiting up in the libero jersey. The coaches wanted to see how performances altered with different combos, who stepped up as leaders and how players responded with different people around them.
Gallery: (10-23-2020) VB: Scrimmage (10.22.20)
Jordyn Schuette has had a winding journey to Montana. She began her collegiate career at Cal, playing two seasons in the Pac-12 before transferring and even stepping away from the game for a period. She's now back, intending to finish her career at Montana, where she is competing for the starting setter position.
"Even though we were playing against each other, just being able to have an official scrimmage and put the jersey on for the first time, it all made it feel a little bit more real," Schuette said. "It was exciting to get back on the court and have that game-like experience."
The California native had a strong performance, showing off her ability to set and play defense. More than anything, she felt comfortable running an offense, regardless of which side of the net she was on.
"Our serve-receive and defense is really up there," Schuette said. "It's really exciting, as a setter, to get those passes nailed to me, and allows me to put up good balls to our hitters. I also think our offense is becoming so dynamic. The patterns that we run allow our hitters to be confident and execute every time."
Meyers is one of those dynamic attackers, and was one of Schuette's main targets on Thursday.
"I'm definitely starting to feel more comfortable," Meyers said. "Being able to have the time during the fall to be able to practice more has made me a lot easier. Everyone's connections on the court have gotten stronger, which is awesome."
With Meyers and sophomore Amethyst Harper on the pins, in addition to two additional returning sophomores and two more freshmen, the position is an area Lawrence is starting to see develop as a strength. And with all six of them being underclassmen, hopefully one that can be constant for years to come.
"I was really proud of our pins for how terminal they were," Lawrence said about Thursday's scrimmage. "We had a lot of hitters terminating at a really high percentage. We've had certain players do that in the past, but not a collection of players, which is exciting moving forward."
Being terminal from the outside has been a major focus this fall, so Lawrence encouraged her attackers to have an aggressive mindset from the start. A second area of focus has been working on tempo, especially with two new setters on roster.
"I think our setters did a great job of setting the tempo that we want," Lawrence said. "We've tried to change our offense and make it faster and utilize our speed, and I thought they made great decisions while also holding tempo."
More than anything, though, Thursday was a chance to showcase two months of hard work, and put it on display while having a little fun.
"We needed something on the calendar that was a little distinct that allowed us to fight for something and track our progress to a specific moment," Lawrence said. "A scrimmage, with our jerseys on, is a great way to have a really good measurement to see how far we've come and see what we still need to do."
The Grizzlies will hold a second intrasquad scrimmage in two weeks and will continue training for the next month until the team breaks for final exams and the winter holidays. A schedule for the upcoming season has yet to be released, but is expected to begin in late January.
With its season pushed to the spring, Montana hasn't played a match since last November. The team has still been practicing multiple times per week, but after two-plus months of doing the same, sometimes things can get a bit monotonous.
So Allison Lawrence decided to switch things up on Thursday.
No, there wasn't an opposing team across the net, and no, there weren't fans. But Thursday, which featured a four-set intrasquad scrimmage, felt different.
"I was definitely a little nervous," said freshman outside hitter Sophia Meyers. "It's not our normal season right now, but it felt like gameday all day, even before we got to the gym. Being able to put on my jersey made it so exciting. I had those nervous feelings you normally get on gameday."
Meyers is one of Montana's six freshmen, in addition to two Division-I transfers, who made their unofficial Griz debuts on Thursday. The Oregon native had an impressive night on offense and saw her teams win three of the four sets.
"It was a lot of fun to play," she said. "Just being able to put the jersey on and show off what we have been working on all fall, it was really cool and made everything feel more real."
The purpose of the scrimmage was multi-faceted.
For one, Lawrence wanted to see how her team responded to a match-like simulation, even if it was far from a traditional match. That was, perhaps, the biggest unexpected surprise to Lawrence.
"The girls were excited and a little bit anxious in a good way," the fourth-year head coach. "I underestimated how different it would feel, but even for me, I walked into the gym with a little bit of pregame jitters. That was a really nice sign to me, that they're proud of the progress that they've made and that they love competing."
Secondly, Lawrence and her staff wanted to see how her players responded in different situations.
The intention was to play four sets regardless of results, but the rosters were fluid between each set. Both setters worked with both teams, allowing them to set to different attackers. Same thing for Montana's defensive specialists, with three players suiting up in the libero jersey. The coaches wanted to see how performances altered with different combos, who stepped up as leaders and how players responded with different people around them.
Jordyn Schuette has had a winding journey to Montana. She began her collegiate career at Cal, playing two seasons in the Pac-12 before transferring and even stepping away from the game for a period. She's now back, intending to finish her career at Montana, where she is competing for the starting setter position.
"Even though we were playing against each other, just being able to have an official scrimmage and put the jersey on for the first time, it all made it feel a little bit more real," Schuette said. "It was exciting to get back on the court and have that game-like experience."
The California native had a strong performance, showing off her ability to set and play defense. More than anything, she felt comfortable running an offense, regardless of which side of the net she was on.
"Our serve-receive and defense is really up there," Schuette said. "It's really exciting, as a setter, to get those passes nailed to me, and allows me to put up good balls to our hitters. I also think our offense is becoming so dynamic. The patterns that we run allow our hitters to be confident and execute every time."
Meyers is one of those dynamic attackers, and was one of Schuette's main targets on Thursday.
"I'm definitely starting to feel more comfortable," Meyers said. "Being able to have the time during the fall to be able to practice more has made me a lot easier. Everyone's connections on the court have gotten stronger, which is awesome."
With Meyers and sophomore Amethyst Harper on the pins, in addition to two additional returning sophomores and two more freshmen, the position is an area Lawrence is starting to see develop as a strength. And with all six of them being underclassmen, hopefully one that can be constant for years to come.
"I was really proud of our pins for how terminal they were," Lawrence said about Thursday's scrimmage. "We had a lot of hitters terminating at a really high percentage. We've had certain players do that in the past, but not a collection of players, which is exciting moving forward."
Being terminal from the outside has been a major focus this fall, so Lawrence encouraged her attackers to have an aggressive mindset from the start. A second area of focus has been working on tempo, especially with two new setters on roster.
"I think our setters did a great job of setting the tempo that we want," Lawrence said. "We've tried to change our offense and make it faster and utilize our speed, and I thought they made great decisions while also holding tempo."
More than anything, though, Thursday was a chance to showcase two months of hard work, and put it on display while having a little fun.
"We needed something on the calendar that was a little distinct that allowed us to fight for something and track our progress to a specific moment," Lawrence said. "A scrimmage, with our jerseys on, is a great way to have a really good measurement to see how far we've come and see what we still need to do."
The Grizzlies will hold a second intrasquad scrimmage in two weeks and will continue training for the next month until the team breaks for final exams and the winter holidays. A schedule for the upcoming season has yet to be released, but is expected to begin in late January.
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