Griz go on the road looking to find early-season ways

Montana at Idaho
Thursday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. (MT)
Watch / Live Stats

Montana at Eastern Washington
Saturday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. (MT)
Watch / Live Stats

Montana volleyball hits the road this week to take on regional rivals Idaho (Thursday, 7 p.m. MT) and Eastern Washington (Saturday, 2 p.m. MT).

After the Grizzlies played three of the top-four teams in the preseason poll to open Big Sky action, this week potentially marks an opportunity for Montana to find more success. The Grizzlies and Vandals are both looking for their first league win, while Eastern Washington is 1-3 two weeks into conference play.

The venues the Grizzlies will be playing in, however, will present challenges.

After going just 2-22 against Idaho from November 1994 through October 2019, Montana has since won two of the past three meetings against the Vandals. That included a come-from-behind win in Moscow in November 2019 – winning the final set 18-16 after initially dropping the first two frames – which was Montana's first victory in Moscow since 1991. After snapping the skid, the Grizzlies have a chance to win two in a row in Memorial Gym.

Montana is 57-43 in 100 all-time meetings vs. Eastern Washington, but is just 18-26 in Cheney. The Grizzlies have beaten EWU three straight times in Missoula, but have lost the last three in Cheney – all coming in five sets.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Idaho has historically been near the top of the Big Sky standings throughout Debbie Buchanan's 21 seasons leading the Vandals. She has compiled 318 career wins and multiple Big Sky titles, but this year's squad enters the week just 3-10, including a 0-4 mark in league play.

Idaho ranks in the bottom three in the Big Sky for each statistical category, but does have a handful of individuals who are among the league leaders. Senior outside hitter Allison Munday is averaging 3.15 kills per set (eighth in the Big Sky), in addition to 0.46 service aces per set (second). Munday recorded a career-high 15 kills vs. Montana during the spring season.

Senior middle blocker Nikki Ball – a two-time All-Big Sky selection – ranks eighth for hitting percentage (.271) while sophomore setter Peyten Ely (7.90 assists per set, fifth) and senior libero Aaina Lacey (3.60 digs per set, fifth) are also among the best at their respective positions.

Idaho has lost four consecutive matches to open Big Sky play but earned three non-conference victories, including a home win over Nevada on the Vandals' home court.

Eastern Washington enters the week 5-7 overall, including 1-3 in Big Sky play. The Eagles opened conference action with a five-set road win at Southern Utah before falling in straight sets to Northern Arizona, Sacramento State and Portland State. The Griz and Eagles have two common non-conference opponents. Both teams beat Seattle in five sets while both lost at CSU Bakersfield (EWU in four sets, Montana in three).

Saturday's match will feature the top-two hitters in the Big Sky. Eastern's Ashlyn Blotzer leads the Big Sky for hitting percentage (.342), narrowly ahead of Montana's Ellie Scherffius. Joining them on the league's top-10 list is Catie Semadeni (.286, sixth) and Sadie Bacon (.268, ninth).

As a team, Eastern ranks fifth in the Big Sky for kills and service aces, but ranks last in blocks.

For Montana, two major keys will be its attack percentage and the ability to close out close sets.

Three weeks into the season, Montana was hitting a Big Sky-best .248, a figure that ranked in the top 20 percent nationally and was on pace to smash a 30-year-old school record. In the five matches since – all losses – Montana is hitting just .122. The Grizzlies have hit above .130 just once during that span, after hitting above .200 in eight of the first nine matches.

Playing close sets is nothing new for the Grizzlies, who have seen 35 of their 54 sets decided by five points or fewer (64.8 percent) and 18 sets decided by the minimum two points (33.3 percent). The difference, however, is Montana's success in those contests.

Through nine matches, Montana was 7-2 in sets decided by two points. Since then, though, the Grizzlies have fallen to 7-11. Over the past three matches alone, Montana has lost six sets by two points, with four of them going past the traditional 25 points and the Grizzlies holding at least one set-point opportunity in four of them, as well.

It's an area of concern but also optimism for head coach Allison Lawrence.

"On one hand, we need to figure out what's causing us to not perform late and close out sets," Lawrence said following Saturday's match. "On the other hand, we know that we can do it, because we've done it before, and I think the close sets show that we're right on the cusp of having dramatically different results."

Both matches this week can be streamed with an ESPN+ subscription.

Now with more than 1,200 career digs, Sarina Moreno jumped from 8th to 5th on Montana's all-time digs list last week!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/55rhjLcoD3
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 5, 2021

GRIZ BITS

Montana posted its best non-conference record in 16 seasons, going 5-5 including impressive wins over Kennesaw State and Drake. The Grizzlies also went 3-0 at the UND Classic, their first outright tournament championship since 2005.
Following the team's first undefeated tournament championship since 2005, the Grizzlies have hit a rut, losing five consecutive matches – four in straight sets.
Of the 54 sets Montana has played, 35 (64.8 percent) have been decided by five points or fewer (12-23 record). Twenty-three (42.6 percent) have seen a margin of three points or fewer (8-15) and 18 (33.3 percent) have been decided by the minimum two points (7-11). Additionally, 11 sets have gone past the traditional 25 points.
Montana ranks in the upper-half of the Big Sky standings for kills (12.15 per set, fourth); assists (11.19 per set, fourth); hitting percentage (.206, fifth); and digs (14.04 per set, fifth). The Griz also rank sixth for blocks (2.00 per set). This comes after the Grizzlies ranked 10^th or 11^th in the Big Sky in every category in the spring except for digs (seventh).
While Montana ranks fourth in the Big Sky for kills, the Grizzlies have no individual close to the Big Sky leaders for kills per set. Instead, Montana has used a balanced attack led by senior middle blocker Peyten Boutwell (2.22 kills per set) and junior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni (2.17 per set). They are two of five Griz attackers who are averaging at least 1.65 kills per set this season.
Sophomore middle blocker Ellie Scherffius ranks second in the Big Sky for attacking, hitting at a .339 clip. With junior right-side attacker hitting .286 (sixth), the Grizzlies are the only team in the league with two attackers hitting above .270.
Sophomore setter Carly Anderson ranks second in the Big Sky for assists, totaling 8.96 per set. She also is among the top blockers and attackers from the setter position and ranks third on the team for digs.
Senior libero Sarina Moreno is averaging 4.33 digs per set, which ranks second in the Big Sky. She jumped from eighth to fifth on Montana's all-time digs list last week (now 1,243 career digs) with two impressive performances. In matches vs. Idaho State and Weber State, Moreno averaged an incredible 7.14 digs per set, including 31 digs in a four-set match vs. the Bengals (second-most of her career and most in the Big Sky this season).
Senior middle blocker Peyten Boutwell (0.98 per set, seventh) and sophomore middle blocker Ellie Scherffius (0.94 per set, ninth) are both among the league's best blockers. Boutwell's current average is on pace to be the Grizzlies' best since Capri Richardson in 2014. Montana hasn't had two individuals average more than 0.90 blocks per set since Natalie Jones and Brooke Bray did so in 2013.
Junior Catie Semadeni is averaging 2.17 kills (second on the team) on .286 hitting (sixth in the Big Sky) and has become a starter on the right side. She was named to the EWU all-tournament team and has become an offensive weapon after averaging 0.79 kills per set on .011 hitting in the spring. Over the past 10 matches, she has recorded eight or more kills seven times and has hit above .270 all but one of those instances.

Gallery: (10-2-2021) VB: vs. Weber State (10.2.21)

Griz go on the road looking to find early-season ways

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Peyten Boutwell

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

University of Montana Athletics

Griz go on the road looking to find early-season ways

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Peyten Boutwell

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

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