A long way from home, but eager to open 2021 volleyball season

Just five months after completing its abbreviated spring season, the Montana volleyball team is ready to hit the road again to start its next season. Unlike the spring, however, which consisted of 16 Big Sky matches, this fall the Grizzlies will get a traditional lead-in to the season.

Montana's first four competition weekends are against non-conference opponents, a period often considered 'preseason' in the sport. The matches still count, but the time gives teams an opportunity to iron out lineups and details heading into their conference season.

It was something the Grizzlies missed last year and are eager to get back to this fall.

"It feels so incredible to get back on the court, but even more so getting to have a true preseason," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It's such a motivator having so many dates on the calendar, and I think we'll find that the preseason weeks will be a great benefit to our team. It allows us to play a lot of matches, try a lot of things, get some experience and feel like we can breathe for a second before we get into conference."

Montana's preseason slate begins this weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, with the Grizzlies playing in the CofC Invitational, hosted by the College of Charleston. Montana will play Kennesaw State (8 a.m. MT) and Eastern Michigan (2:30 p.m.) on Saturday, before facing host College of Charleston on Sunday (11 a.m.). Indiana State is also part of the tournament, although the Grizzlies will not play the Sycamores, with each team limited to three matches.

Montana's focus heading into the weekend has mostly been on the play from its own side of the net. There will be some film prep and scouting, but that is always hard to do during a season-opening tournament, not to mention coming off of a weird, COVID-19 season.

Mostly, the Grizzlies will aim to control what they can control, which is themselves. The Grizzlies took part in two weeks of a two-a-day practices, before switching gears this week to prepare for its opening tournament.

"The first weekend is definitely more about us," Lawrence said. "We have some film from last year, but rosters and systems change. We'll land in Charleston, scout live a little on Friday night and get ready to play the next morning. I wanted us to be in this tournament, because I think if we execute our system at the level that we can, we'll have the ability to have some success, regardless of what's going on on the other side of the court.

"This weekend is about holding structure, holding system, playing together, building chemistry and trust, and hoping gaining some confidence."

FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Unfortunately, none of Montana's matches this weekend will be livestreamed. However, fans can follow the action via live stats and through in-match Twitter updates.

LONG ROAD TRAVELED
Montana will be traveling to the College of Charleston, located 2,464 miles away from the Grizzlies' campus. It is the furthest distance Montana has traveled since opening the 2005 season in Orono, Maine (2,807 miles). Perhaps a good omen, Montana won that 2005 tournament, defeating Fairfield, Rhode Island and host Maine.

LITTLE KNOWLEDGE
In addition to having little tape on its opponents due to the start of a new season, Montana also has little history with this weekend's opponents. The Grizzlies have never before played the College of Charleston or Kennesaw State, and have faced Eastern Michigan just once before (3-2 loss in 1997, in Ann Arbor, Michigan).

Gallery: (8-10-2021) VB: 1st Fall Practice (8.9.21)

A LOOK AT MONTANA

With just 159 days between the close of Montana's spring season and the start of its fall campaign, 2020-21 was the shortest offseason in program history. However, the Grizzlies went through their longest stretch without a non-conference match, going 707 days since a Sept. 21, 2019 contest at Denver.
Montana welcomed six newcomers to its roster during the offseason. The group includes three freshmen (setter Paige Clark, middle blocker Sierra Dennison and outside hitter Maddie Kremer) and three transfers (outside hitter Jackie Howell (Tyler Junior College), outside hitter Elise Jolly (Saint Anselm College), and middle blocker Holly Manchester (Saint Anselm College)). Several of them are expected to make their collegiate or Griz debuts this weekend.
Playing freshmen has become a theme for the Grizzlies, who have started multiple freshmen in every match dating back to the start of the 2019 season. During that two-year span, more than 50 percent of the team's starts came from freshmen, totaling 149 of 276 starts. That might not hold true this fall – with several established returners – but newcomers will definitely fill roles.
While the Grizzlies have some production to fill, they have more experience back than the past several seasons. Consider that 10 players have match experience for Montana, combining for 833 career sets played. This past spring, eight players had experience entering the season, and in 2019, that number was only four.
With experience, that also means that Montana has more depth than it has in recent years. Expect to see multiple players see the court early in the season as roles are defined and the coaching staff takes advantage of players' versatility.
Montana's defense is paced by senior libero Sarina Moreno, who has accumulated more than 1,000 digs during her three-year career. At her current average, she will graduate ranked third in school history with more than 1,300 digs. Her 429 digs in 2018 were the 11^th-most in Montana single-season history and the most ever by a Griz freshman.
Just a sophomore, Carly Anderson is gearing up for her second consecutive season as Montana's starting setter. In the spring, as a true freshman, she started all 16 matches while averaging 8.41 assists per set (fourth in the Big Sky). Additionally, she led all Big Sky setters for kills (0.68 per set) and ranked second for blocks (0.53).
While positions are firm at setter and libero, there are several opportunities for Grizzlies to step up at the pin and middle-blocking positions. Montana returns just one of its top-three attackers from last season (one transferred closer to home, one left the sport and another is currently injured). It's not all bleak, however, as the Grizzlies have veteran experience in Elsa Godwin and Catie Semadeni, plus the addition of several newcomers who are expected to fill attacking holes. Over the past two seasons, Godwin has played in 44 of Montana's 46 matches, earning 37 starts. The outside hitter has accumulated 218 kills (1.31 per set) and 315 digs (1.89 per set), in addition to a team-most 50 service aces during that span. Semadeni has racked up 122 kills during time at both the left and right pins, and has started 16 matches.
One of the feel-good stories from the spring came in middle blocker Peyten Boutwell, a graduate transfer who played in just two matches during three seasons at Abilene Christian. At Montana, however, she thrived, finishing the year with a team-high 0.82 blocks per set and a .260 hitting percentage (10^th in the Big Sky), while ranking third on the team for kills (2.18 per set) and points (2.66 per set). In her Griz debut, she became the first Grizzly since 2014 to record 10 blocks in a match and the first player since 2010 to record a kills/blocks double-double (15 kills, 10 blocks). She elected to take advantage of the NCAA's COVID-19 rules and came back for a super-senior season, where she is expected to be one of Montana's starting middle blockers.
After winning just nine total Big Sky matches from 2015-17, the Grizzlies took strides in the right direction in 2018 and 2019, qualifying for the Big Sky tournament in back-to-back seasons. In 2018, Montana won 10 matches and had its most successful season since 2013. A year later, after developing eight freshmen and playing without its starting setter throughout preseason, Montana hit its stride late, posting a winning record down the stretch – including three road wins, two against teams Montana had previously lost to – to qualify for the postseason once again. The Grizzlies will aim to put the spring season behind them and continue making strides they saw from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2018 to 2019.
Away from the court, the team recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.63 in 2020-21, with 10 players being named to the Academic All-Big Sky team and the team earning the AVCA Team Academic Award. The 10 Academic All-Big Sky honorees tied a program record and is two more than the team had earned in the previous three seasons combined.

SCOUTING THE COFC INVITATIONAL FIELD
Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State went 11-3 during its truncated spring season and has had plenty of success in recent memory, winning more than 75 percent of its matches over the past five seasons, twice advancing to the NCAA tournament, including in 2019, the most-recent full season.
KSU averaged 13.59 kills per set on .248 hitting during the spring, compared to just 10.31 kills per set at a .161 clip for opponents. The Owls also out-dug and out-blocked opponents, and more than doubled up the opposition from the service line (1.78 aces per set).
KSU ranked high nationally for a handful of statistical categories, including: service aces (22^nd), kills (40^th), hitting percentage (40^th), assists (43^rd), opponent hitting percentage (48^th) and blocking (79^th).
KSU has a veteran roster featuring six seniors and four juniors. The only starter the Owls are replacing is at libero.
Outside hitter Lauren Chastang was named to the Preseason All-Atlantic Sun team earlier this month. The senior is a three-time first-team All-ASUN honoree. In the spring, she led the Owls with 4.04 kills per set (59^th in NCAA) and 23 service aces (32^nd).
Junior opposite hitter Emma Schurfranz earned second-team All-ASUN honors in the spring, a year after she was named to the league's all-freshman team. Schurfranz recorded 168 kills on .332 hitting during the spring season, hitting .300 or better nine times and .400 or better on six occasions. In addition to her 3.43 kills-per-set average, she also added 0.82 blocks per set, one of three Owls to reach that threshold.
Sophomore middle blocker Claire Parsons was named to the ASUN All-Freshman team during the spring. During her debut season, she averaged 1.76 kills per set while ranking in the top 10 in the ASUN for blocking (0.98 per set, eighth) and hitting (.272, ninth).
Senior setter Jessie Cohen averaged 10.75 assists per set in the spring, a figure that ranked 25^th nationally.
The Owls were picked to finish third in the ASUN preseason coaches' poll, a year after advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Keith Schunzel is in his ninth season leading KSU. He has led the Owls to at least 20 wins in each of the past three full seasons, including in 2019, when they went 22-9 and earned Power-5 wins over Georgia Tech and Alabama, before advancing to the NCAA tournament as the ASUN tournament champion.

Eastern Michigan

Eastern Michigan went 8-12 during its abbreviated spring season, earning splits in six of its eight two-match series.
EMU returns nine letterwinners from that squad, including four of seven starters.
The Eagles list seven freshmen on their roster, to go along with one redshirt freshman and three sophomores compared to just two juniors and zero seniors. With that said, most underclassmen played significant roles this past spring, but were not moved up a class due to NCAA regulations during COVID-19. Overall, EMU is much more experienced than the roster shows, with just four player not being on EMU's roster a season ago.
Last spring, EMU led the Mid-American Conference with 18.18 digs per set, a figure that ranked 19^th nationally. The Eagles had strong defensive numbers overall, also averaging 2.08 blocks per set. However, EMU also allowed opposing defenses to post high numbers, as well, giving up 18.01 digs and 2.12 blocks per set, with opponents hitting .213 against them.
Sophomore middle blocker Raeven Chase led the MAC with 1.45 blocks per set (14^th in the NCAA) this past spring, leading the Eagles in blocking 14 times. She also added 1.43 kills per set, and as a true freshman in 2019, ranked second in the MAC with a .345 hitting percentage.
Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Basham is EMU's top returning attacker, averaging 2.12 kills per set on .171 hitting, during her second collegiate season. She recorded 10 or more kills in a match seven times, including a career-best 15 in a five-set win over Kent State. She also led the Eagles with 22 service aces.
Now in her second season, freshman defensive specialist Bella Hommes recorded 4.91 digs per set in the spring, ranking fourth in the MAC while starting each set at libero.
Sophomore Jayden Otto started all 20 matches at setter during the spring, finishing with 10.26 assists per set (53^rd nationally), and ranking fourth on the team with 2.47 digs per set. She had 58 assists vs. Northern Illinois, an EMU four-set record during the modern statistical era.
EMU was selected to finish sixth in the MAC West Division preseason poll, and 11^th overall.
The Eagles are coached by Darcy Dorton, who graduated in 2014 from the College of Charleston. She is 19-29 in her two seasons leading the Eagles, after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach, when EMU reached the MAC tournament three times and won it all in 2018 and advanced to its first-ever NCAA tournament. Prior to finishing her playing career at the Charleston, Dorton played for Penn State, where she was named the Big Ten Conference's Freshman of the Year in 2019, the same year she earned AVCA All-America honorable mention honors and helped the Nittany Lions to its first of two national titles. At Charleston, she took the Cougars to new heights, qualifying for the NCAA tournament as the school's first AVCA All-America honorable mention recipient and setting multiple school records.

College of Charleston

Charleston was limited to just 11 matches this past spring, going 5-6. The team went 4-1 on their home court.
The Cougars return 13 letterwinners and all but two members from last year's squad, while also welcoming a freshman class that includes setter Emma Appleman, who was the Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year.
While Charleston lost just two players, the two were key contributors, with the Cougars graduating All-CAA second-team honoree Hazel Brown and the CAA Libero of the Year in Logan Manusky.
Charleston boasted one of the nation's top defenses during the spring season, ranking fifth in the nation with 3.14 blocks per set and 10^th with opponents hitting just .127.
Junior middle blocker Emma Falk earned preseason All-CAA honorable mention honors earlier this month. As a sophomore this past spring, she set a Charleston program record with 1.65 blocks per set (third in the NCAA).
Senior middle blocker Claire Campbell also earned preseason All-CAA honorable mention status In the spring, she ranked fourth in the CAA with 1.21 blocks per set (45^th in the NCAA) – totaling at least five stuffs in seven of 11 matches – to go along with 1.56 kills per set.
Also returning are two of Charleston's top attackers, with junior right-side hitters Lexi Wierzbicki (2.97 kills per set) and Logan Pope (2.22 kills per set) back on the right side. Overall, the Cougars had seven players average at least 1.00 kill per set in the spring, with six returning.
The Cougars ran a 6-2 offense, with Amani Dunston (5.00 assists per set) and Tori Carpenter (4.30) splitting setting duties.
Charleston was picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.
Charleston has gone 12-27 over the past two seasons, but is not far removed from its 2018 campaign that saw the Cougars go 24-12 and advance to the semifinals of the NIVC postseason tournament. A year prior, in 2017, they went 27-6 and advanced to the NCAA tournament, part of an 18-year stretch in which the Cougars posted a winning record. During that nearly-two-decade span, Charleston averaged 25.5 wins per season, won 14 regular-season or tournament conference championships and played in the NCAA tournament nine times.
Charleston is coached by Jason Kepner, who is 300-138 during his historic 14-year career.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will have a short turnaround. After arriving back to Missoula on Sunday evening, the Grizzlies will prepare for a midweek match vs. Seattle (Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.), before traveling to its second tournament at South Dakota State (Sept. 3-4).

Montana's match vs. Seattle will be Griz fans' first opportunity to watch Montana play in person since November 2019. Season tickets and single-match tickets are now on sale.

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Gallery: (8-24-2021) VB: 2021 Photo Day

Preseason Training Camp Links

University of Montana Athletics

A long way from home, but eager to open 2021 volleyball season

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Peyten Boutwell

Paige Clark

Sierra Dennison

Elsa Godwin

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Maddie Kremer

Holly Manchester

Sarina Moreno

Catie Semadeni

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