Scherffius earns Big Sky Player-of-the-Week honors after big weekend

Montana sophomore Ellie Scherffius was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to those who watched the middle blocker play.

She was in double figures for kills in all three matches, hitting .455 or above in each match, as well. At the end of the weekend, she led the Griz for kills (2.92 per set) and attacking (.500 hitting percentage) and on defense averaged 0.92 blocks per set (second). She was named tournament MVP after Montana went 3-0 to win the UND Classic – the program's first 3-0 weekend since 2005.

So no, the fact that Scherffius earned recognition from the league isn't a surprise.

But it should serve as a wake-up call to future opponents.

Scherffius is just a sophomore, but she came into the season ready to play.

"To go from last year, having a role that was very limited, to where she's at now, I think it speaks to how much work Ellie has put in," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "She was patient, she trusted her development and she became one of the hardest workers we've ever had in the program.

"I think that's what impresses me most about Ellie is that she's put in so much work without getting much reward, up to this point, and now, still with very limited playing experience, she's starting to see her hard work pay off."

Growing up in both Billings, Montana, and Eagle River, Alaska, Scherffius played volleyball, but likely not to the level that many Division-I volleyball players did. Initially, she wasn't sure that she even wanted to play volleyball in college and was mulling more track offers than volleyball (she's a state champion in both the states of Montana and Alaska).

Once she decided on volleyball and chose Montana as the destination, her athleticism was real. But so too was her rawness and limited playing experience.

The initial plan last year was to redshirt Scherffius, who only played two years of club volleyball because it conflicted with track season. When the fall 2020 season got moved to the spring – and everyone was given a free year of eligibility due to COVID-19 – the redshirt was pulled and she was given occasional time on the court, playing in 15 sets across six matches.

At the end of the year, her stat line read four kills and three blocks, with two of the kills and two of the blocks coming in the final match of the season, after a teammate went down with an injury.

That injury, in fact, is how Scherffius got to this moment today.

Given her work ethic and natural athletic ability, no one would have counted Scherffius out to be a starter this fall. But it is also a fact that both of Montana's middle blockers who started every match during the spring season are still on the roster today, the difference being that sophomore Madi Chuhlantseff is currently rehabbing her way back from a knee injury that will keep her sidelined the entire season.

"Over the summer and coming into the fall, I definitely knew there was an opportunity for me to start," Scherffius said. "I just tried to work hard every day, and it's been really cool to see myself getting better and learning more, and just compared to last year, my skills and confidence have gone way up."

However she got to this point – whether it was Scherffius' hard work that earned a starting role or her simply taking advantage of an open opportunity and running with it, or likely a combination of both – everyone is benefiting from it.

She is averaging 2.13 kills per set (second on the team, three total kills away from the leader) and on defense is adding 0.92 blocks per set (top 10 in the Big Sky and second on the team, one block back from first). Most impressive, through nine matches this fall, Scherffius leads the entire Big Sky for hitting (.421).

For comparison, No. 2 in the Big Sky is significantly lower at .364.

So far this season, a Big Sky player has recorded 15 or more kills in a match while hitting above .500 just three times. Scherffius has done it two of the times, while teammate Peyten Boutwell is the other. It's a big reason why Montana leads the Big Sky for team hitting percentage (.248) a season after the Grizzlies ranked last (.147).

Montana's current hitting percentage would break a 30-year-old school record, with Scherffius playing a major part, currently on pace to smash the school's season hitting percentage record of .353.

"Ellie is such a competitor," Lawrence said of Scherffius. "She has such a fast arm and is unbelievably explosive, which makes it hard for defenses to read because she's so fast. When she feels confident, she can get hyper-aggressive and take over a match."

Scherffius has been lights out for the Grizzlies, recording 10 or more kills in five of nine matches and hitting above .500 five times, as well. On defense, she's led Montana for blocking four times.

In her first career start, a five-set win over Kennesaw State, Scherffius led the Grizzlies with 15 kills and six blocks, and hit at a .650 clip. Later that afternoon, vs. Eastern Michigan, she was nearly perfect with nine kills and zero errors on 11 swings (.818 hitting). She again added six more blocks.

But after being named to the CofC Invitational all-tournament team in Week 1, she was disappointed in her offensive performance in Week 2.

She had six kills in a home win over Seattle, but hit just .150. Then, at a tournament in South Dakota, she totaled more errors (four) than kills (three).

One great week. One bad week.

She wanted to prove that the first weekend is what Griz fans can expect from her.

"My first weekend, in South Carolina, I did really good," Scherffius said, "but last weekend, I felt like I lost it and got really down on myself. I was frustrated for a few days, but going into the weekend, I knew I had to step up my game. I couldn't be up and down like a roller coaster.

"I definitely had a little anger coming in to this past weekend."

Noted.

In three matches at the UND Classic, Scherffius was in double figures for kills each time. Averaging a team-best 2.92 kills per set, she did so while hitting an astonishing .500 for the weekend (38-6-64).

Even more impressive, however, was her timing.

In a five-set win over Green Bay, she finished with 15 kills on .520 hitting. She was good throughout, but best late in the match, when she accounted for seven of Montana's 15 points in the fifth set (five kills, two blocks). She started the set with back-to-back kills before scoring four of five points during a 5-0 Montana run that flipped a 10-8 deficit into a 13-10 lead.

"After the first game, and doing really well, I felt like I gained my confidence back," Scherffius said.

Remember what Lawrence said above about Scherffius' potential when she is confident?

On Saturday, in a come-from-behind win over a Drake team that will likely contend for a Missouri Valley Conference title, Scherffius was a major part of the comeback, recording five kills and two blocks in the third set alone. Later that night vs. North Dakota, Scherffius' lone mistake came midway through the first set. From that point forward, she was an unstoppable force, recording eight kills and zero errors on 14 swings (.571 hitting) as Montana finished off the sweep to earn the tournament title.

Scherffius was named the tournament MVP on Saturday, before picking up Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.

"To be named player of the week, it honestly means so much," Scherffius said. "I would never have expected this from what I looked like last year. It feels so good; I don't have any other words."

As a team, Montana posted its first 3-0 tournament run since 2005, snapped a 15-match losing skid to North Dakota – a former Big Sky foe – and is now guaranteed a .500 non-conference record for the first time in 16 seasons.

"I'm just really proud of this weekend and everyone on the team," Scherffius said. "It was a huge success for us and the best feeling ever."

University of Montana Athletics

Scherffius earns Big Sky Player-of-the-Week honors after big weekend

Players Mentioned

Peyten Boutwell

Madi Chuhlantseff

Ellie Scherffius

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