Grizzlies reach halfway point of Big Sky season

Montana vs. Weber State
Thursday, Oct. 20 / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
ESPN+ Stream / Live Stats / Tickets

Montana vs. Idaho State
Saturday, Oct. 22 / 2 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
ESPN+ Stream / Live Stats / Tickets

The Montana volleyball team remains at home this weekend, finishing off a four match stretch in Missoula by taking on Weber State and Idaho State. The Grizzlies split last weekend, but are looking to rebound after a difficult loss on Saturday to defending Big Sky conference champion Northern Colorado.

Despite the loss to the Bears, Montana had a lot to take away from its first home matches in nearly a month. The weekend started with a thrilling five set victory over Northern Arizona in a match that saw multiple Grizzly players set new career highs. The win also provided Montana its first sweep of the season series against the Lumberjacks since 2010.

Montana jumped out to a quick start, taking the opening two sets with good attacking play but were forced to a fifth by the Lumberjacks. The Grizzlies had cooled off slightly and needed to find a hot hand in the fifth set. Enter Paige Clark.

The sophomore delivered a stunning individual performance, recording six kills – including a 3-0 run on her own - in the final set to reach a new career high with 25 for the match. The Grizzlies never trailed in the fifth set and were able to comfortably see out the victory.

And while it was Clark doing much of the heavy lifting offensively, the defense was bolstered by Sarina Moreno. The libero already ranks among the best in program history, but reached new heights against NAU. Moreno closed with 35 digs, a new career high and a mark that tied for seventh all time at UM. The performance earned her the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.

After averaging 6.0 digs per set, including a career-high 35 vs. Northern Arizona — the 7th-most digs in program history — Sarina Moreno is the @BigSkyConf Defensive Player of the Week!

📰 https://t.co/4WDxA9IPxV #GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/WI9uFwIiRF
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 17, 2022

It was Montana's third five set match this year, and also the third victory for a team that has stepped up in the biggest moments.

"I think it was a good test to have a five setter at home in ways that felt a little scary," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I was just so proud of the team for how we started the fifth set, who we were in the huddle even just before the set started and the energy we brought into that set. We reset and went for it, so it was a great test for us."

There was a lot to like on Thursday, but the momentum wasn't able to roll into a Saturday evening match that saw the Grizzlies start flat and never recover. The attack of Northern Colorado, which boasts the highest hitting percentage in the league and three of the top 10 players in kills per set, overpowered Montana in the sweep.

The Grizzlies now have a chance to get back to their winning ways against Weber State and Idaho State. As they approach the halfway point in the conference season, Montana sits in fourth place in the Big Sky conference and has won six of its last nine matches.

"It's another tough weekend. Our conference is wild and everybody is good, and we welcome that and love that," Lawrence said. "It's one of the best reasons to play in the Big Sky.

Weber State comes to town on Thursday, and Montana is looking to break a long streak against the perennial Big Sky conference power. The Wildcats have won the last seven meetings, and Montana haven't won at home in the series since a sweep in 2013. It won't be an easy task again this year.

The Wildcats sit one place ahead of Montana in the conference standings at 5-2, but their only losses on the season have come against Big Sky leaders Portland State. The Wildcats won five consecutive conference matches while dropping only four total sets in between their losses to the Vikings. They have won back-to-back regular season titles while going a combined 28-4 in league play the past two years.

It will be a flip of the script for Montana as well. After taking on the league's best attack last Saturday, they now shift gears and have to prepare for the league's top defense. Weber State is allowing opponents to hit just .167 while leading the league in blocks (2.54/set) and digs (15.47/set).

"We expect a battle," Lawrence said of the matchup. "They are always very physical, very disciplined, very well coached, so we're going to have to meet that and then maintain our offense. I think that was the biggest thing from this past weekend is that we have to show up offensively."

The Grizzlies then round out the four match homestand against Idaho State. The Bengals enter this weekend having dropped five of their last six matches. In their current three-match losing streak, the Bengals have won just a single set.

The Bengals' attack ranks last in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.178) and they have also committed the most errors of any team, but they do have one of the best individual performers in the conference in Emrie Satuala. She leads the Big Sky with a .335 hitting percentage and has recorded over 200 total kills. Satuala has been getting it done defensively as well, ranking third in the Big Sky with 1.06 blocks/set.

"Idaho State has a new coach, new system. It will be a fun matchup with them," Lawrence said. "They've had some great wins and had some momentum, and they've also had some moments of inconsistency as just a new team, structure and system. I think the most consistent team will win, and the most offensive team will win, so we will try to be both."

The Weber State match will officially bring Montana to the halfway point of the conference season, and the team has to like where they are at having already matched last year's overall win total while on pace to have its best conference season since 2013.

The games will both be streamed live on ESPN+ with a 7 PM start on Thursday and a 2 PM start on Saturday.

GRIZ BITS

Montana remained in fourth place in the Big Sky after splitting last weekend's matches. Northern Colorado moved into a tie with the Griz, while Northern Arizona dropped to ninth with a 1-6 conference record.
The Grizzlies have won six out of their last nine matches. They started the season 10-5 overall, the best 15-match start since 2000.
Montana is balanced on both offense and defense, ranking fourth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.210) while dropping to seventh in opponents hitting percentage (.200). The Grizzlies also rank third for assists (11.64 per set) and kills (12.40), and are fourth for digs (15.03).
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark is one of the league's top attackers, ranking second for both kills (3.69) and points (4.33). She has been in double figures for kills in 16 of 19 matches, and set a new career high against Northern Arizona with 25 kills.
Setter Carly Anderson has had a fantastic start to her junior season, earning Big Sky Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors in September and ranking third in the league with 9.78 assists per set. The versatile setter has six double-doubles (assists-digs), is among the team's top servers and is totaling 18 kills compared to four attack errors during league play. Late last month, she earned her 2,000th career assist and ranks 9th in program history for career assists, despite being just a junior.
Both Clark (0.36 per set, fourth) and Anderson (0.33 per set, ninth) are among the league leaders for service aces. Clark has at least one ace in 12 of the past 13 matches, including 13 in the past eight contests.
Senior libero Sarina Moreno ranks fourth in the Big Sky for digs (4.10 per set). She has been in double figures for digs in 16 matches this season, and set a new career high with 35 digs against Northern Arizona. She ranks second in school history with more than 1,600 for her career (152 shy of Montana's school record).
Senior middle blocker Elise Jolly is tied for eighth in the Big Sky with 0.97 blocks per set. She had a career night at Montana State, where she stuffed a personal-best eight attacks.
Junior middle blocker Ellie Scherffius ranks ninth in the Big Sky with a .301 hitting percentage. She has hit above .400 in a match seven times this season, and earlier this year became the first Grizzly in 15 years to total 20 kills at a .500 clip.
Senior outside hitter Jackie Howell has started every match this season and leads the Grizzlies for reception percentage. Known more for her defense, she has reached double digit kills twice in conference play, both of which came in double-doubles.
Senior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni has recorded double-digit kills in four of the past nine matches. She excelled against Northern Arizona this year with her two highest kill totals this season coming against the Lumberjacks (14 & 12). She needs 26 kills to reach 500 for her career.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will hit the road again next weekend with matches at Eastern Washington (Thursday, Oct. 27) and Idaho (Saturday, Oct. 29). The Eagles are currently in sixth place in the Big Sky at 3-3, while Idaho sits in last place with an 0-6 record.

Gallery: (10-13-2022) VB: vs. Northern Arizona (10.13.22)

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Paige Clark

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

University of Montana Athletics