Montana sweeps EWU-UI road trip for first time in program history

Saturday, October 29

Moscow, Idaho

2 PM (MT)

Montana

14-9, 7-4Big Sky

Idaho

4-18, 1-9Big Sky

Montana

Idaho

Montana sweeps EWU-UI road trip for first time in program history

10/29/2022 5:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana volleyball has already put together a season for the record books in 2022. On Saturday afternoon in Moscow they added another impressive chapter. The Grizzlies came from behind to beat Idaho, improving to 14-9 overall and 7-4 in conference play. It's Montana's best record through 11 conference matches since the 2006 season.

The Grizzlies fell behind 2-1, but an offense that had things clicking all afternoon just wouldn't be denied. The Grizzlies rallied in the final two sets to pick up the win. It is the third straight victory for Montana, who sweep this road trip for the first time in program history. The win also improved Montana to 4-0 in five-set matches this year.

"I'm just really proud of them and proud to be doing this with them. I think Idaho played really well and we were put under a lot of pressure to find our game and I think we slowly trusted the process and found it," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I can't say enough about the players determination to just become themselves and to trust in that process."

There were some major individual milestones reached along the way as well. Paige Clark turned in another sterling performance to reach 300 kills this season, while Catie Semadeni showed resolve after a tough match Thursday and reached 500 career kills.

They were two heads of a daunting Montana offensive attack. The Grizzlies hit .309 in the match, the best number they have put up in league play and highest since hitting .342 on September 17 against Charleston Southern.

Clark (15) and Semadeni (14) were two of five Grizzly players with at least nine kills. Ellie Scherffius had an outstanding performance with 14 kills on .583 hitting, while Jackie Howell (9 kills, 10 digs) and Elise Jolly (9 kills, 5 blocks) were balanced on both sides of the ball and crucial to the win.

Carly Anderson dialed up the offense, closing with 52 assists. It is the fourth time overall she has gone over 50 this season and second in Big Sky play.

"We talked a lot before the match about needing to be physical and needing to show up, particularly in the middle, to open up things for the pins," Lawrence said. "I think everybody played their part really well. We just made smart decisions and managed well."

The Griz looked poised to carry over their momentum from Thursday night early in this match. They had the first five points, with Clark opening with three straight kills and Jolly adding in a pair. The Vandals didn't go away though, and continued to claw back into the match. They got the first tie at 9-all after a 3-0 run and their first lead at 11-10.

Game on! Clark starting us off strong with a kill and starting a 4-0 run#MontanaVB pic.twitter.com/EQZ03lmtIK
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 29, 2022

All told, Idaho would score 10 out of 12 points through the middle of the set to take control. Another 4-0 run late gave the first set to Idaho 25-18. The Vandals hit .389 and had two players with at least five kills in the opening set.

The Griz opened the second set down but went on a 5-0 run – capped by one of Clark's three service aces on the day - to take a 7-4 lead. Once again, Idaho bounced back and rallied to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Montana scored three consecutive points. After an Idaho point, Semadeni scored three straight for Montana with a couple of blocks and a kill to give the Griz the 19-16 advantage. They extended it to 21-16 thanks to two straight from Howell.

They would eventually score eight consecutive points and, after trailing 15-13, the Grizzlies won the set 25-17 by taking 12 of the final 14 points. The defense keyed them onto the set win, holding Idaho to a negative hitting percentage. Offensively, Montana also improved from the first set with a .321 hitting percentage.

The swing of momentum didn't last for long. Idaho went on a nice run early in the third set and another near the media to take a 14-9 lead. Both sides were in a groove offensively, hitting over .400 deep into the set. Montana cut into the lead a couple of times down the stretch thanks to Scherffius, who had three kills and a block late in the set to cut the lead to 22-20. The hosts would see it out, taking the third by outhitting Montana .400 to .393.

Semadeni & Scherffius putting up the wall! 💪 💪 #MontanaVB pic.twitter.com/VSTvKXXEc1
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 29, 2022

After finding the hot hand at the end of the third, the Griz went right back to it to open the fourth. Scherffius had three of the first four points in the set to up her numbers to 11 kills on .611 hitting. At that point, Scherffius and Clark had combined for 23 kills without a single error.

Semadeni picked up her 500^th career kill during a 4-0 run to take 6-3 lead. It was all Montana from there. They would go on a 10-2 run to take a 12-5 lead. They forced an early Idaho timeout and at one point were up 15-8 while hitting .476. The Griz opened with 12 kills and just a single error out of the gates. Idaho went on a late run, but Montana iced it down the stretch to force a fifth set.

The Griz entered 4-0 in decisive sets and looked like a veteran team with clutch experience. They went on a 5-0 run early, helped along from back to back Semadeni kills, to take a 7-2 lead. Idaho would make it interesting down the stretch, but the result was never in doubt and a service error from the Vandals ended it at 15-11.

Another great Semadeni kill!! 🐻 #MontanaVB pic.twitter.com/z4E3CpzPhJ
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 29, 2022

In the series, Montana has now won four consecutive and six of the past seven. The win in 2019 was Montana's first on the road against Idaho since 1991. But it's been all Grizzlies in the recent years as this was the third straight win in Moscow for Lawrence's team. The mental road blocks of a couple of gyms they typically struggle in weighed Montana down a bit this week, but overcoming those obstacles gives them a big boost heading into the home stretch of conference play.

"In many ways, that was just as big of an obstacle as any opponent this weekend is just mentally knowing the breakthrough that we could have and wanting it so badly," Lawrence said. "The pressure to do that was definitely felt. Pressure to have success is what we want. We want to be a program that feels that all the time and knows how to carry that weight and I think it tested us this weekend but we found a way to do it. I think that's a huge win and a huge turning of the corner for our program."

The Grizzlies have locked up a spot in the Big Sky Tournament with the win. It will be the fourth appearance in the last five years for Montana, who had missed three straight tournaments prior to this stretch. This year, however, is different. The Grizzlies have locked in a place with three weeks still remaining in the season. There are big matches coming up. We will get to that in next week's preview, and the team will lock in on it at practice this week.

For now though, Lawrence wants her to team to acknowledge how special this season has been and enjoy every moment they have together.

"The pressure to continue the success is still there, but I think as you get to this part of the season and you count the weeks of conference season left on one hand you realize, I'm not going to play with these people, on this exact team, for much longer," Lawrence said.

"I think the gratitude to have time together and to see what we can accomplish together is just as important as the opportunity to win another match."