Thursday, November 4
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
10-13, 5-8Big Sky
3
vs
0
Eastern Washington
10-11, 6-7Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Eastern Washington
20
19
11
0
Montana
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Historic defensive effort leads to Montana sweep
11/4/2021 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball
MISSOULA, Montana – Montana earned a three-set sweep over visiting Eastern Washington on Thursday night (25-20, 25-19, 25-11).
The Grizzlies have now won four of their past six matches, with two of the victories coming over teams they lost to earlier in the season.
"We've put in a lot of work in practice, and I think you're starting to see it translate onto the court in games," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "The rate that we're growing and evolving is allowing us to play freely and feel in so much control. Tonight was a lot of fun."
Most impressive on Thursday was that Montana held 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).
Gallery: (11-4-2021) VB: vs. Eastern Washington (11.4.21)
To Lawrence, the strong defensive play stemmed from Montana's service pressure.
"Eastern Washington runs such a fast offense and has a ton of weapons, so the only way to beat them is to get them out of system," Lawrence said. "I thought our service pressure was huge, which allowed us to execute our block calls and slow them down with touches. That frustrated them enough to cause some errors in tight moments."
The Grizzlies recorded seven aces, but even bigger were the pivotal moments the aces and runs came at.
The Grizzlies held Eastern Washington to -.056 hitting in the opening set, and closed on an 11-4 run after the Eagles took a brief lead midway through the frame. Montana got a kill from freshman outside hitter Paige Clark early in Set 2 to give the home team a 6-5 lead and never trailed again, hitting .333 in the set. The Eagles closed to within two points late, 20-18, before Montana scored five of the final six points to win the set.
The Grizzlies left no doubt in the third set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead with senior defensive specialist Kelsey Nestegard at the service line. Montana then led by scores of 13-4, 16-6 and the final tally of 25-11. Eastern Washington again hit negatives in the set as Montana was able to successfully side out at a 91-percent rate (11-of-12).
"Eastern is a team that is so scrappy and fights their way into a ton of five-setters when they've started down," Lawrence said. "Going into that set, we talked about how we knew that there would be pushback, but we needed to hold our momentum.
"The serve-pass game in the third set really won it for us. We served so well that it caused some breakdowns and really allowed us to build a lead."
On Thursday, those three Eagles were held to 11 total kills while hitting into 16 errors (-.086 hitting).
Montana's seven aces came from Moreno (three), sophomore setter Carly Anderson (two), Clark (one) and Nestegard (one). Two of Montana's aces came during a 5-1 close to Set 2, after the Eagles cut the score to 20-18.
On offense, the Grizzlies were led by Clark's 13 kills on .346 hitting, despite the freshman not taking her first swing until the match's 34th point. In addition to her kill total, Clark also added four blocks, eight digs and an ace. Anderson recorded 27 assists and two aces, while on defense, sophomore middle blocker Ellie Scherffius totaled four blocks in addition to four kills.
"Our seniors really set the tone in a big way tonight, and I can't wait to celebrate them on Saturday," Lawrence said. "They know this is their last weekend at home, and their drive to hit their details was very visible and really showed great leadership tonight."
The Grizzlies have now won four of their past six matches, with two of the victories coming over teams they lost to earlier in the season.
"We've put in a lot of work in practice, and I think you're starting to see it translate onto the court in games," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "The rate that we're growing and evolving is allowing us to play freely and feel in so much control. Tonight was a lot of fun."
Most impressive on Thursday was that Montana held 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).
To Lawrence, the strong defensive play stemmed from Montana's service pressure.
"Eastern Washington runs such a fast offense and has a ton of weapons, so the only way to beat them is to get them out of system," Lawrence said. "I thought our service pressure was huge, which allowed us to execute our block calls and slow them down with touches. That frustrated them enough to cause some errors in tight moments."
The Grizzlies recorded seven aces, but even bigger were the pivotal moments the aces and runs came at.
With senior libero Sarina Moreno serving to open the night, Montana scored the match's first four points to jump out to an early lead. That set the tone for the rest of the match, with the Grizzlies falling behind for just seven total points, and never by more than two.Sarina Moreno's Ace to give the Griz a 2-0 lead!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/VOcF4eByAe
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 5, 2021
The Grizzlies held Eastern Washington to -.056 hitting in the opening set, and closed on an 11-4 run after the Eagles took a brief lead midway through the frame. Montana got a kill from freshman outside hitter Paige Clark early in Set 2 to give the home team a 6-5 lead and never trailed again, hitting .333 in the set. The Eagles closed to within two points late, 20-18, before Montana scored five of the final six points to win the set.
The Grizzlies left no doubt in the third set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead with senior defensive specialist Kelsey Nestegard at the service line. Montana then led by scores of 13-4, 16-6 and the final tally of 25-11. Eastern Washington again hit negatives in the set as Montana was able to successfully side out at a 91-percent rate (11-of-12).
"Eastern is a team that is so scrappy and fights their way into a ton of five-setters when they've started down," Lawrence said. "Going into that set, we talked about how we knew that there would be pushback, but we needed to hold our momentum.
"The serve-pass game in the third set really won it for us. We served so well that it caused some breakdowns and really allowed us to build a lead."
Last month in Cheney – in a five-set loss that Montana felt as if it gave away after winning the first set and having a 24-21 lead in Set 2 – the Eagles hit .275. They got 15 kills on .464 hitting from Ashlyn Blotzer, 18 kills from Sage Brustad and 12 kills at a .385 clip from Maya McClellan.Anderson Ace as the Griz get the sweep at home!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/5cC2QJ91o5
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 5, 2021
On Thursday, those three Eagles were held to 11 total kills while hitting into 16 errors (-.086 hitting).
Montana's seven aces came from Moreno (three), sophomore setter Carly Anderson (two), Clark (one) and Nestegard (one). Two of Montana's aces came during a 5-1 close to Set 2, after the Eagles cut the score to 20-18.
On offense, the Grizzlies were led by Clark's 13 kills on .346 hitting, despite the freshman not taking her first swing until the match's 34th point. In addition to her kill total, Clark also added four blocks, eight digs and an ace. Anderson recorded 27 assists and two aces, while on defense, sophomore middle blocker Ellie Scherffius totaled four blocks in addition to four kills.
The Grizzlies will now look to carry their momentum forward to Saturday afternoon against Idaho, a team Montana swept last month in Moscow. With it being the team's home finale, prior to the match, Montana will recognize its senior class consisting of Peyten Boutwell, Elsa Godwin, Holly Manchester, Moreno and Nestegard. Tickets can be purchased online; additionally, fans who donate five more canned-food items receive free admission.Paige Clark with her 6th kill and giving the Griz a 2 point lead!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/a9ZfZaGby5
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 5, 2021
"Our seniors really set the tone in a big way tonight, and I can't wait to celebrate them on Saturday," Lawrence said. "They know this is their last weekend at home, and their drive to hit their details was very visible and really showed great leadership tonight."
As the 2021 season nears an end, our senior class is proud of what it's leaving behind.
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 4, 2021
📰 https://t.co/U03fFbkFSU#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/K4q9G047UG
Team Stats
EWU
UM
Kills
24
33
Errors
24
13
Attempts
99
88
Hitting %
.000
.227
Points
31.0
46.0
Assists
23
32
Aces
5
7
Blocks
2.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballMB
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