Thursday, October 7
Moscow, Idaho
7 PM (MT)
Montana
6-9, 1-4Big Sky
3
at
0
Idaho
3-11, 0-5Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Montana
25
25
25
3
Idaho
16
22
23
0
Griz sweep Vandals in Moscow
10/7/2021 10:13:00 PM | Volleyball
MOSCOW, Idaho – Montana earned its first Big Sky Conference victory of the season on Thursday night, sweeping Idaho on the Vandals' home floor (25-16, 25-22, 25-23).
From 1992-2018, the Grizzlies went 27 straight seasons without beating the Vandals in Moscow, but Montana has now posted wins in back-to-back trips. Additionally, Thursday's straight-sets win was just Montana's third Big Sky road sweep in the past eight seasons.
"You could feel it from the first point, and I think we looked more like ourselves tonight," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "After going through what we went through the last two weeks, and playing three of the top-four teams right away, I think tonight showed that we're continuing to respond and grow and stay hungry."
Idaho blocked Montana on each of the first two points of the match, but the Grizzlies regrouped and took their first lead at 5-4, on a block from Peyten Boutwell and Carly Anderson. Montana led for the remainder of the set, playing one of its cleanest sets of the season.
The Grizzlies served, passed, hit and blocked extremely well in the 25-16 win.
"The first set felt amazing," Lawrence said. "We really wanted to start strong and make it a race to 10 points, and I feel like we did that really well. We served well, passed well and took swings for big kills."
Montana hit .229 while forcing the Vandals into more hitting errors (10) than kills (nine), in large part due to five early blocks. The Grizzlies also served well, with three different players serving during 3-0 scoring runs.
Gallery: (10-7-2021) VB: at Idaho (10.7.21)
The two teams were in tight battles in the second and third sets, but Montana led for the majority of both. When the Grizzlies did fall behind, they always felt in control. Even bigger, after going through a late-set slump over the past two weeks (Montana had lost six sets in the past three matches by two points, four in which the Grizzlies held a set-point opportunity), on Thursday they finished sets strong.
In Set 2, Montana called timeout holding onto a 23-22 advantage. Coming out of the break, the Griz won the final two points – winning a long rally on an Idaho attack error before junior outside hitter Jackie Howell finished the frame with a crisp kill.
A large part of the Grizzlies' success can be traced to its left-side attacking. It's no secret that Montana's offense has run heavily through its middle and right-side attackers this season, but on Thursday, it was the left side that stepped up and caught Idaho off guard.
Paige Clark, who has been used more as a server or setter during her freshman season, saw her first significant time attacking from the front row, leading the Grizzlies with 12 kills on .207 hitting, including five kills in the first set alone. Howell had nine kills (also five in the first set), four blocks and several runs from the service line, including two aces.
"Our middles, as well as Catie (Semadeni), have been so dominant for us, so to have our left sides show up the way they did, I think it really frustrated Idaho's blocking plan," Lawrence said. "We made them regroup and make a new plan from the first five points of the match, which felt good and made us relax."
Other stats leaders from Thursday include Boutwell, who totaled a season-high nine blocks and seven kills on .375 hitting, and Anderson, who totaled 29 assists, three aces and three blocks. Montana limited Idaho to .064 hitting (season low for a Griz opponent) while totaling 13 blocks (tied for first this season) and eight service aces (second).
Montana will now look to keep its momentum going against Eastern Washington (2 p.m. MT on Saturday). The Eagles are also 1-4 in Big Sky play following a four-set loss to Montana State on Thursday night.
From 1992-2018, the Grizzlies went 27 straight seasons without beating the Vandals in Moscow, but Montana has now posted wins in back-to-back trips. Additionally, Thursday's straight-sets win was just Montana's third Big Sky road sweep in the past eight seasons.
"You could feel it from the first point, and I think we looked more like ourselves tonight," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "After going through what we went through the last two weeks, and playing three of the top-four teams right away, I think tonight showed that we're continuing to respond and grow and stay hungry."
Idaho blocked Montana on each of the first two points of the match, but the Grizzlies regrouped and took their first lead at 5-4, on a block from Peyten Boutwell and Carly Anderson. Montana led for the remainder of the set, playing one of its cleanest sets of the season.
The Grizzlies served, passed, hit and blocked extremely well in the 25-16 win.
"The first set felt amazing," Lawrence said. "We really wanted to start strong and make it a race to 10 points, and I feel like we did that really well. We served well, passed well and took swings for big kills."
Montana hit .229 while forcing the Vandals into more hitting errors (10) than kills (nine), in large part due to five early blocks. The Grizzlies also served well, with three different players serving during 3-0 scoring runs.
The two teams were in tight battles in the second and third sets, but Montana led for the majority of both. When the Grizzlies did fall behind, they always felt in control. Even bigger, after going through a late-set slump over the past two weeks (Montana had lost six sets in the past three matches by two points, four in which the Grizzlies held a set-point opportunity), on Thursday they finished sets strong.
In Set 2, Montana called timeout holding onto a 23-22 advantage. Coming out of the break, the Griz won the final two points – winning a long rally on an Idaho attack error before junior outside hitter Jackie Howell finished the frame with a crisp kill.
The Griz finished off the sweep by again getting a kill out of a timeout, with Boutwell putting down the final point of the match.Montana takes care of a tight second set, winning 25-22!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/SosVoma5z3
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 8, 2021
A large part of the Grizzlies' success can be traced to its left-side attacking. It's no secret that Montana's offense has run heavily through its middle and right-side attackers this season, but on Thursday, it was the left side that stepped up and caught Idaho off guard.
Paige Clark, who has been used more as a server or setter during her freshman season, saw her first significant time attacking from the front row, leading the Grizzlies with 12 kills on .207 hitting, including five kills in the first set alone. Howell had nine kills (also five in the first set), four blocks and several runs from the service line, including two aces.
"Incredible play by both of them," Lawrence said of Clark and Howell. "They took big swings in big moments and scored a lot of points.Clark hammers it down🔨
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 8, 2021
💻: https://t.co/kYdr8g8Nw5#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/KDcGEmPXzx
"Our middles, as well as Catie (Semadeni), have been so dominant for us, so to have our left sides show up the way they did, I think it really frustrated Idaho's blocking plan," Lawrence said. "We made them regroup and make a new plan from the first five points of the match, which felt good and made us relax."
Other stats leaders from Thursday include Boutwell, who totaled a season-high nine blocks and seven kills on .375 hitting, and Anderson, who totaled 29 assists, three aces and three blocks. Montana limited Idaho to .064 hitting (season low for a Griz opponent) while totaling 13 blocks (tied for first this season) and eight service aces (second).
Montana will now look to keep its momentum going against Eastern Washington (2 p.m. MT on Saturday). The Eagles are also 1-4 in Big Sky play following a four-set loss to Montana State on Thursday night.
BLOCKED BY BOUTWELL❌
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 8, 2021
💻: https://t.co/kYdr8g8Nw5 #GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/WIzYASO8Hc
Team Stats
UM
UI
Kills
34
33
Errors
17
26
Attempts
109
109
Hitting %
.156
.064
Points
55.0
46.0
Assists
34
31
Aces
8
2
Blocks
13.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
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/ VolleyballOH
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