Montana drops pair of matches in South Dakota

Friday, September 3

Brookings, S.D.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

2-3, 0-0Big Sky

California Baptist

2-2, 0-0WAC

Montana

California Baptist

Photo by: Tommy Martino

9/3/2021 8:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Montana competed in the SDSU Invite on Friday, coming away with a pair of three-set losses to California Baptist (25-16, 25-22, 25-22) and host South Dakota State (25-16, 25-22, 25-20).

It was a disappointing day for Montana, a team that was coming off a five-set home win on Wednesday. Yes, the Grizzlies were playing on short rest, and yes, they were the only team that had to play twice on Friday, but head coach Allison Lawrence expected to see more from her team than she did on Friday.

"We did some things today that were encouraging, but we also did a lot of really frustrating things," Lawrence said. "Especially in the evening match, we need to be better defensively. We have to be a much tougher team so our opponents' hitting percentages aren't as high as they are."

Collectively, CBU and SDSU hit a combined .305 against the Griz on Friday.

Despite the results, one positive was that several Grizzlies gained experience with Montana trying out a new lineup.

For the first time since 2016, Montana ran a 6-2 offense, featuring two setters. That gave freshman setter Paige Clark her first significant time on the floor. It also gave junior outside hitter Jackie Howell, a junior-college transfer, the opportunity to play one of the pin positions after primarily serving and playing defensive specialist through the first four matches.

"Paige does a lot of things well, and so we felt like having an extra arm and being in a three-hitter rotation was right for us," Lawrence said. "We wanted to explore and see if we could get more production from the right side and free up our middles and not put so much pressure on our lefts. It did, which was encouraging."

Showing her versatility and why Montana wanted to find a way to get her more time on the floor, Clark finished with a team-high 10 kills (.368 hitting), while also adding 12 assists, five digs, one block and one service ace vs. CBU. She added five kills, seven assists and a team-most 12 digs vs. the Jackrabbits.

What an attack by Clark 🤩#GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/h5EEQOJ0UL
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 3, 2021

Howell totaled 12 kills on .243 hitting, plus 13 digs, on the day.

"Jackie stepped up and managed her game really well," Lawrence said. She's a crafty left side and has so many shots and plays smart. She passed, dug and attacked well, and it was good to see her have an offensive day and step into that role."

Aggressive swing by Howell from the outside!#GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/1MdszBNTtt
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 3, 2021

After playing six matches through the first seven days of the season, including three in the past three days, Lawrence is most excited to get back to Missoula and actually spend time in the gym getting better.

Since Montana opened its season, the Grizzlies have had two practices, and both were prep days for the next day's opponents.

"Days like today are frustrating and make you ready to get back to practice," Lawrence said. "Especially with some of the changes we made today, we need time in the gym to iron out what we're seeing."

California Baptist 3, Montana 0
Montana hit a solid .264 in Friday morning's match vs. California Baptist, but was never able to slow down the Lancers, who hit .322.

After a 25-16 loss in Set 1, the Grizzlies played tight in the next two sets (both 25-22 losses), but couldn't quite get over the hump. The final two sets featured 21 tie scores, but limited leads for Montana.

Montana scored six of the first nine points to open Set 2, and looked to pick up a kill to extend the lead to 7-3, but a challenge – which took nearly 7 minutes to resolve – reversed the score after it was determined a Montana player was in the net. That point proved to be pivotal, as the set came down to the wire.

Boutwell finds the opening! #GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/1XC0sD2tfE
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 3, 2021

The two teams were tied at every point from 8-8 through 13-13 before CBU scored on four consecutive Montana errors to take a 17-13 lead. The Grizzlies weren't done, though. After falling behind by as many as six points, Montana rallied to get within a single point at 22-21. An Ellie Scherffius kill made it 23-22 two points later, but CBU recorded a kill and block on the next two points to finish the set.

Montana's only lead of Set 3 was at 2-1, but the frame was again tight throughout. The two teams were tied at all but one point from 7-7 through 14-14, and again at 20-20 after Peyten Boutwell ended a long rally. The two teams were again tied at 21-21, but CBU was able to secure four of the final five points to win the set and match.

The story of the match was the play of freshman Paige Clark. The Idaho Falls, Idaho, native is listed as a setter, but did a little bit of everything for the Grizzlies, in her first extended time on the court during her young career.

After not playing in the first set, Montana switched things up in the second, starting Clark and running a 6-2 offense – a unique offense that features two setters – for the first time in since doing so briefly in 2016.

Freshman Paige Clark with the aggressive kill from the middle! #GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/tzCv469fYI
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 3, 2021

It made a big difference, too, as Clark got kills on Montana's first three points, and then moved to the front row to set, where she had her hand on several more points. Clark also had an ace during the match, serving during a 4-0 run during Set 2 that turned a five-point deficit into a one-point game and forced a CBU timeout.

Clark finished with a team-high 10 kills (.368 hitting), while also adding 12 assists, five digs, one block and one service ace.

Junior Catie Semadeni tallied nine kills on .375 hitting – her third match this season hitting above .300, after doing so five times through her first two collegiate seasons – while Boutwell added nine kills and three blocks. Senior outside hitter Elsa Godwin had seven kills on .438 hitting, recording zero errors, but was held to just one kill over the final two sets after recording six in the opener. Godwin also added a team-high-tying three blocks, plus seven digs.

Freshman Paige Clark with the aggressive kill from the middle! #GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/tzCv469fYI
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 3, 2021

In addition to Clark, junior outside hitter Jackie Howell saw her most consistent playing time at Montana. The junior-college transfer had six kills on 20 swings, plus five digs, while playing significant time at outside hitter after spending the first four matches primarily as a server and defensive specialist. Senior Sarina Moreno led Montana with 15 digs, while sophomore Carly Anderson dished out 24 assists.

No CBU player had more than 10 kills, but four had eight or more, with three of them – in addition to Ashlyn Nevrla's six kills on .600 hitting – hitting above .300. The Lancers recorded just one attack error in the first set (.406 hitting) and hit .322 for the match, while siding out at a 71-percent clip.

South Dakota State 3, Montana 0
Montana struggled to get much production from any of its players against South Dakota State, with the Grizzlies hitting a season-low. 118, compared to .288 for the Jackrabbits. The Grizzlies had fewer digs, blocks and aces and were able to side out at just a 47.9-percent rate. Additionally, no Grizzly had more than seven kills as three attackers hit in the negatives.

Friday's evening match started about as bad as the Grizzlies could have imagined, with SDSU scoring nine of the first 10 points. Montana worked back to within three points, including 15-12, but SDSU scored six of the next eight points to pad its lead, which expanded to as many as 10, the Grizzlies' largest deficit of the season.

After recording just six kills in the opening set, though, Montana started the second set strong.

Elsa Godwin coming in hot 🔥#GoGriz #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/KAa4YPVCj6
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 4, 2021

The Grizzlies jumped out to an 8-1 lead and forced the Jackrabbits to take an early timeout. At that point, Montana already had five kills – after totaling just six in the entire first set – with freshman setter/outside hitter Paige Clark putting down three of them, in addition to a block.

SDSU worked its way back into the set, but every time the Jackrabbits would close to within a point, Montana would respond. With the score at 10-9, the Grizzlies got a kill from junior Jackie Howell and back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Catie Semadeni. Then, with the score 14-13, senior middle blocker Peyten Boutwell scored the next three points (two kills and a block) to make it 17-13.

The tide turned after that, however, as SDSU tied the score at 18-18 and took its first lead of the set at 22-21. The Jackrabbits led for just five points in the entire second set (compared to 38 for Montana), but they were the ones that mattered.

The Grizzlies again had a hot start to the third set, but couldn't sustain it. Montana led 6-1 but several points later was already trailing 8-7 and soon after 12-9.

Up Next
Montana will have the rest of the weekend off, after the SDSU Invite schedule was altered when Wichita State was unable to travel due to COVID-19 precautions. The Grizzlies will next be in action on Friday, Sept. 10, vs. Green Bay (3:30 pm. MT).