Montana embarks on Big Sky tournament looking to end nation's longest home winning streak

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Montana at No. 1 Weber State
Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
ESPN+ Stream / Live Stats

BACK IN THE TOURNAMENT
Montana is back in the Big Sky Conference tournament for the third time in four seasons, after missing the tournament in three consecutive seasons from 2015-17. It marks just the third time since the turn of the century that the Grizzlies have qualified for the tournament three times in a four-year span (2006-09 and 2008-10).

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
After being picked to finish last in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll, Montana finished three spots ahead of its preseason ranking, playing this week as the No. 8 seed. In all four fall seasons under head coach Allison Lawrence, Montana has finished ahead of its preseason ranking every season.

This fall, Montana was as close to fourth place as it was to last place, playing as the No. 8 seed but finishing three full matches ahead of the ninth-place team.

BUILDING MOMENTUM

After going 2-14 during the spring season, Montana has gotten back on track with 11 wins so far this fall. In fact, Montana's 11-15 record entering the Big Sky tournament is both its most wins and best winning percentage since the 2013 squad went 16-15.
Montana's 11 wins are the most under head coach Allison Lawrence and are more wins than the Grizzlies posted in 2019 and Spring 2021 combined (nine).
Montana is 4-7 on the road this season, its best road winning percentage since 2013. Over the past eight seasons, Montana has swept four Big Sky road matches, with two of them (at Idaho, at Southern Utah) coming this season.
After the Grizzlies started Big Sky play 1-6 (including 0-4), Montana went 5-4 over the next nine matches, tied for the fourth-best record in the conference since Oct. 16. The stretch included a 5-2 mark from Oct. 16 through Nov. 6, which was tied for the league's best record during that span.
Montana and Portland State are the only two teams to finish the regular season three spots ahead of their preseason ranking.
The Grizzlies won three matches against teams ranked ahead of them in the standings, including beating rival Montana State on the road to gain possession of the Main Line Trophy for the first time.
Montana posted six Big Sky wins despite drawing a schedule that saw the Grizzlies face Idaho State (ninth place) and Southern Utah (11^th) just once.
During non-conference play, Montana posted its first .500 preseason record in 16 seasons. Included was a UND Classic tournament championship, Montana's first outright title since 2005.
Montana swept its season series with Idaho, doing so for the first time since 1991. Additionally, after going 28 years without beating Idaho in Moscow, the Grizzlies have now done so twice in a row, winning in five sets in 2019 and sweeping the Vandals in 2021.

LOOKING FOR A WIN
Montana is back in the conference tournament after missing it during the spring season, but the next step for the program is to win and advance in the tournament. The Grizzlies' last tournament win came in 2013 (quarterfinals vs. Northern Arizona), their only tournament win in the past 25 seasons (since 1997).

AS THE NO. 8 SEED
Montana is playing as the No. 8 seed for the second time (the Grizzlies took No. 1 Northern Colorado to four sets in 2019) and will look to become the first Big Sky team to ever upset the top-seeded team as the No. 8 seed.

The challenge becomes even harder considering who Montana is going up against. Weber State is not only the No. 1 seed, but the Wildcats will be playing on their home court, where they have won 21 consecutive matches dating back to 2019.

Gallery: (11-17-2021) VB: Big Sky Tournament Practice (11.17.21)

GRIZ BITS

Of the 99 sets Montana has played, 60 (60.6 percent) have been decided by five points or fewer (26-34 record). Thirty-eight (38.4 percent) have seen a margin of three points or fewer (15-23) and 28 (28.3 percent) have been decided by the minimum two points (11-17). Additionally, 15 sets have gone past the traditional 25 points.
After Montana ranked 10^th or 11^th in Big Sky play in every statistical category aside from digs (seventh) in the spring, Montana has improved its ranking in every category this fall. The Grizzlies rank in the top eight for every category, including sixth for both kills and service aces.
Montana's .203 team hitting percentage (fifth) is currently just outside of the school's single-season top-10 list (10^th is currently .209). The Grizzlies currently have two attackers hitting .274 or above.
While Montana ranks sixth in the Big Sky for kills (12.62), the Grizzlies have no individual close to the Big Sky leaders for kills per set. Instead, Montana has used a balanced attack, with five attackers averaging between 1.92 and 2.41 kills per set this season.
Montana has two of the top blockers in the Big Sky in Peyten Boutwell (0.95 blocks per set) and Ellie Scherffius (0.93). One would have to go back to 2013 to find the last time two Grizzlies averaged at least 0.90 blocks per set in the same season.
In a three-set home win over Eastern Washington (Nov. 4), Montana limited the Eagles to .000 hitting (24-24-99). It was the lowest hitting percentage by a Griz opponent since September 2012, and the second-lowest ever by a Big Sky foe (Eastern Washington hit -.018 against the Griz in 1992).
Despite dressing just 10 players and being without its leading point-scorer on the season, Montana hit .333 in a three-set road win at Southern Utah, winning with relative ease. It was the Grizzlies' best hitting percentage in a match since 2015.
Facing No. 3 seed Portland State on Oct. 14, Montana pushed the Vikings and held a 2-1 match lead. Despite falling in five sets, the Grizzlies out-dug Portland State, a team that up to that point ranked 26^th nationally and hadn't been out-dug since Sept. 3 vs. UCLA. That night, the Grizzlies' also hit .221 against the Big Sky's top defense at that point.
Montana swept Sacramento State on Oct. 16, starting a stretch of five wins over a seven-match period. The feat became more impressive considering what the Hornets did after losing to the Griz. Sacramento State won its next five matches without dropping a set (15 consecutive set wins).
Montana recorded 103 digs in a win over Montana State – its highest dig total in four years – while winning the Main Line Trophy for the first time since its introduction.

No better feeling!#GRIZcat #GrizVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/WxCjPr1p3X
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 27, 2021

SCOUTING WEBER STATE
Playing against the top seed in a conference tournament is never easy, but especially when the team is playing on its home court, as Weber State will be doing on Thursday. Making matters even more challenging, the Wildcats haven't lost at home since October 2019, a 25-match home winning streak that currently leads the nation.

Weber State won the Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament titles during the spring season, before winning a match in the NCAA tournament over Bowling Green. The Wildcats were the favorites to repeat as champions – and did – now entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Weber State features Big Sky Player of the Year Dani Nay, who leads the league and ranks second nationally for service aces, while also ranking fourth in the Big Sky for kills. Joining Nay is a star-studded lineup of three other first-team All-Big Sky selections.

Two-time first-team selection Rylin Adams – the 2020 MVP – leads the Big Sky with 3.78 kills per set. Teammate Sam Schiess is the top attacker, at .328, while Ashlyn Power earned her third first-team all-conference nod after ranking third in the league with 9.31 assists per set. Power also ranks fourth in the Big Sky for service aces.

As a team, Weber State leads the Big Sky for opponent hitting (.137) and service aces (2.36 per set, fifth in NCAA), while ranking third for hitting (.227) and digs (15.91 per set).

Weber State has gone 81-29 (.736) over the past four seasons, winning back-to-back Big Sky regular-season titles. After missing the Big Sky tournament in each of his first three seasons, Jeremiah Larsen has steadily moved up the Big Sky standings, qualifying for the tournament for the first time in 2018, coming within two points of winning it all in 2019, before claiming the title in the Spring 2021 season and playing as the No. 1 seed this fall.

SERIES VS. THE WILDCATS

Montana owns a winning record over Weber State, going 48-36 all-time against the Wildcats. The Grizzlies have won 10 of the past 20 meetings and are 8-10 with Allison Lawrence on staff.
The Grizzlies, though, have lost the past six, and eight of the past nine, in the series.
Montana is looking for its first win over Weber State since winning in Ogden in October 2017
The series began in 1980, a 3-1 Griz victory in Missoula. The two teams have played at least once every season since.
In the only meeting between the two schools in 2021, Weber State won in straight sets (25-20, 25-10, 26-24). After its most-lopsided set loss of the season in Set 2, Montana led for 46 consecutive points in the third set, including at 24-21. The Wildcats out-hit the Griz (.255 to .101) while also leading in blocks (8.0 to 3.5) and service aces (nine to three).
Individually, three Grizzlies recorded at least seven kills, led by Jackie Howell's 10.
Just three current Grizzlies have played at Weber State, but all three had success in the one contest (3-1 Weber State win in November 2019). Attacker Elsa Godwin totaled 12 kills on .310 hitting, plus two aces, while Catie Semadeni added 10 kills at a .300 clip. Libero Sarina Moreno recorded 17 digs and an ace.
In six career matches vs. Weber State, libero Sarina Moreno has been in double figures for digs each time, averaging 5.38 per set. She had 19 in Montana's three-set loss to the Wildcats on Oct. 2.

ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Freshman outside hitter Paige Clark was named to the All-Big Sky Conference second team, becoming the first Griz freshman to be recognized since Jaimie Thibeault in 2007. Clark's accolade becomes even more impressive considering how her season began.

Listed as a setter, Clark served, set and passed early in the season, but rarely hit. That changed in early October, when she was placed at the L1 outside-hitter position. During the 12 matches since, Clark has become one of the league's top attackers, ranking second during that time for kills (3.49 per set) and third for point (4.07). She has led Montana for kills in eight of the 12 matches, including 23 vs. Portland State, the most ever by a Griz freshman during the 25-point scoring era.

Ever since Paige Clark moved to the outside hitter position, she ranks among the top players in the entire conference.

On Tuesday, she became Montana's first freshman to earn All-Big Sky honors since 2007!

📰 https://t.co/YB1nSVZ6wY #GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/lqqD1kpK1F
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 16, 2021

WINNING NON-CONFERENCE
Montana went 5-5 during non-conference play, giving the Grizzlies' their best non-conference record in 16 years, dating back to 2005. The Grizzlies picked up wins over Kennesaw State, Seattle, Green Bay, Drake and North Dakota. For comparison, Montana won three non-conference matches in 2018 and just one in 2019, before not having a preseason during its 2021 spring season.

Overall, six of Montana's 10 non-conference opponents currently hold winning records on the season, including a Kennesaw State team – who Montana beat – that finished second in the ASUN Conference.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

Sophomore setter Carly Anderson has orchestrated Montana's balanced offense and currently leads the league with 9.46 assists per set.
- A Big Sky setter has recorded 53 or more assists six times this season, with Anderson doing it three times (the only setter to do so more than once). Her 57 assists vs. Idaho are the most in a Big Sky match this season.
- In addition to leading the Big Sky for assists, among Big Sky setters, Anderson ranks first for kills (0.58 per set) and second for blocks (0.38), making an argument that she should have earned All-Big Sky recognition as the league's top setter.
- A season after Montana hit .147 (11^th in the Big Sky), the Grizzlies are now hitting .203 (fifth).
Senior libero Sarina Moreno continues to move up the school's all-time digs list, currently sitting in third place (1,410). She needs 43 digs this week to pass Brittney Brown (2008-10) for second place.
- She ranks third in the Big Sky this season with 4.05 digs per set, and is 36 away from cracking Montana's single-season top-10 list (currently at 401).
- Moreno is also tied for the team lead with 23 service aces.
- During her freshman season, Moreno racked up 429 digs, the most ever by a Griz freshman.
Listed as a setter, freshman Paige Clark moved to the outside hitter position on Oct. 7 and has flourished, leading the Grizzlies for kills in eight of 12 matches while becoming an all-conference attacker.
- Since Oct. 7, Clark's 3.49 kills-per-set average ranks second in the Big Sky, while her 4.07 points-per-set average ranks third.
- Taking out the first four Big Sky matches, when she served and passed but rarely hit (three kills on nine swings), Clark's kills-per-set average would rank fifth in the Big Sky.
- Her 23 kills vs. Portland State were the most ever by a Montana freshman during the 25-point scoring era.
Junior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni leads the Grizzlies with 227 kills on the season (2.29 kills-per-set average, second). Even more impressive, she's doing so at a .274 clip, the third-best percentage this season by a Big Sky pin hitter.
- She is one of just four Big Sky players (regardless of position) to average at least 2.29 kills per set and hit above .270
- Last month vs. Portland State, she became the first Montana player since 2007 to hit .500 or better with at least 19 kills.
- She is doing all this despite averaging 0.79 kills per set on .011 hitting during the spring season.
Senior middle blocker Peyten Boutwell leads Montana with 0.95 blocks per set (ninth in the Big Sky) while ranking third with 2.25 kills per set. She was Montana's leading point-scorer on the season, before missing three matches in October.
- Boutwell has been in double figures for kills eight times this season, including 16 kills on .520 hitting vs. Seattle and a career-most 19 kills at a .382 clip in a win over Idaho.
- She has recorded five or more blocks seven times this season and her current blocks-per-set average would be Montana's best since Capri Richardson in 2014.
- During the Spring 2021 season, Boutwell became the first Grizzly since 2010 to record a kills/blocks double-double, totaling 15 kills and 10 blocks at Idaho State.
Sophomore Ellie Scherffius ranks eighth in the Big Sky with a .293 hitting percentage, just outside of Montana's single-season top-10 list (.299).
- Scherffius has been in double figures for kills nine times, hitting above .500 in six of those matches.
- She leads Montana with 88 blocks (0.93 per set, second), eclipsing six or more blocks seven times.
- She was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 13) and UND Classic MVP (Sept. 11) after averaging 2.92 kills per set on .500 hitting, plus 0.92 blocks per set, in three victories in North Dakota.
Junior Jackie Howell ranks second on the team with 2.44 digs per set and leads the Griz with a .949 serve-receive percentage. She has also been part of Montana's point-scoring, serving up 16 aces while totaling 123 kills (fifth) and 25 blocks (fifth). She has been in double figures for kills five times and digs 13 times, including a double-double with 29 digs and 13 kills in a win at Montana State.
Senior outside hitter Elsa Godwin has been used in a variety of roles this season, attacking at times (she had a career-high 16 kills on .375 hitting vs. Seattle); passing (she ranks third on the team with 2.17 digs per set and second with a .936 serve-receive percentage); and serving (her 23 service aces are tied for the most on the team). For her career, she has accumulated more than 500 digs, 300 kills, 75 blocks and 70 service aces while being a three-year starter.
In her first season at Montana, junior outside hitter Elise Jolly is averaging 1.92 kills per set. She has been in double figures for kills five times, including in back-to-back matches in September, when she totaled 28 kills (3.5 per set) on .415 hitting in wins over Drake and North Dakota, being named to the UND Classic all-tournament team. More recently, she was used to fill in for a vacant middle-blocker position, starting four consecutive matches at the position.
Coming into the season with five career service aces, defensive specialist Kelsey Nestegard has made the most of her senior season, earning a travel spot and regularly coming into matches to serve, where she has totaled 14 on the season, including at least one ace in 10 Big Sky matches.
Sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Ashley has regularly been used as a back-row passer this season, earning nine starts and playing in all but three matches. She has totaled 117 digs on the season (1.36 per set) in addition to 10 service aces. She had a career-high 15 digs in a win at Montana State.

Gallery: (10-26-2021) VB: at Montana State (10.26.21)

Montana embarks on Big Sky tournament looking to end nation's longest home winning streak

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Peyten Boutwell

Paige Clark

Elsa Godwin

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Kelsey Nestegard

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

University of Montana Athletics

Montana embarks on Big Sky tournament looking to end nation's longest home winning streak

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Peyten Boutwell

Paige Clark

Elsa Godwin

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Kelsey Nestegard

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

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