Thursday, November 17
Pocatello, Idaho
7 PM
Montana
3
at
1
Idaho State
Griz beat Bengals for win No. 17
11/18/2022 12:49:00 AM | Volleyball
There have been plenty of boxes checked off for the Montana volleyball team this year. They added another on Thursday night in Pocatello, knocking off Idaho State in four sets to improve to 17-10 this season and 10-5 in Big Sky play. It is now the most wins for any Montana team in the 2000s.
It improves Montana to 6-1 in their previous seven matches. As they enter the regular season finale on Saturday, the Grizzlies do so playing with as much momentum as they have all year. And with results going their way around the Big Sky on Thursday, the Grizzlies now have a chance to finish tied for second in the conference with a win against Weber State.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there is still the matter of Montana's seventh road victory this season against the Bengals. It came thanks to three dominant offensive sets keyed on by a setter that found her groove. Carly Anderson had her fifth 50 assist match of the season, but did so in just four sets this time after needing five sets in the previous four.
The junior contributed to the offense herself with three kills, but perhaps most notable feat came in the service game. Montana took the opening set but trailed 18-10 in the second. Then Anderson stepped up to the service line. By the time she left it, the Grizzlies had a 20-18 lead. The turnaround won the set, and perhaps the match, for Montana.
"I think she set a really smart match," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We hit at such good clips in the first, second and fourth. I was impressed by her game. It's hard to see the depth of her impact in the stats alone, but she had a major serving run in the second that I think set the tone for the rest of the match and set us up for the win."
The night also was nearly a historic one, as libero Sarina Moreno again led the Grizzly defense with 18 digs. The redshirt-senior from Missoula is now just nine digs away from the Montana all-time record, and appears poised to break the mark in Saturday's match as she enters it with double-digit digs in the previous 13 matches.
In the first set, Jackie Howell set the tone for the Grizzlies. It was another big Montana run, this time seven consecutive points to make it 10-5, that gave them a bit of a cushion. Howell then had four out of seven points for Montana attacking, and seven total kills on better than .500 hitting.
"That was crucial. She was really terminal, but she also passed and dug really well," Lawrence said. "She went on a serving run in the first set and I think she was just competing really well."
The Griz extended the lead down the stretch for the eight-point win in the first set. The Griz hit .250 and limited Idaho State to a .091 percentage. The visitors came out in the second set looking for some redemption, and early on looked poised to get it.
Idaho State led 4-1 before Montana battled back to take an 8-7 lead. Then came the runs, first from the Bengals. They scored six straight and nine of 11 out of 13 points overall to take the 18-10 lead. An error then gave Montana its side out, and Anderson stood at the service line.
Paige Clark had back-to-back kills – just part of her match-high 19 to extend her lead atop the Big Sky's kill leaderboard – and the Anderson aced the Bengals. Catie Semadeni and Ellie Scherffius each had a couple of kills, combined with some ISU errors, and all of a sudden Montana went from almost guarantee set loss to a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Montana had a 10-6 lead early and extended it all the way out to a 20-14 advantage. This time, the Bengals managed a miraculous comeback. They reeled six out of seven points to cut the lead to a single point. Another Griz point extended it to 22-20, but Idaho State closed with five of the final six points. They took their first lead of the set at 24-23 and then sealed it on the following point to force a fourth.
At an 8-all tie early, Montana got kills from Semadeni and Howell and an ace from Sarah Ashley to gain some momentum in a 4-0 run. Then Anderson, Clark and Jolly each pitched in some kills in what was truly a team effort for five straight points, which made it 9 of the last 10 in favor of Montana. That opened up a 17-9 lead, and this time the Grizzlies weren't letting it slip.
"I thought it was just such a great team effort. I think we stepped up and were playmakers when we needed it and I just couldn't be more proud of them," Lawrence said.
They finished the set strong, and back-to-back kills from Semadeni put an end to it at 25-16. It sealed the season sweep against the Bengals, and gave Montana double-digit Big Sky wins for the first time since 2013. The 17 overall wins are the most since the 1999 team went 18-9.
It sets up an interesting Saturday, as four teams currently sit tied for second place in the Big Sky. They all play each other in the next two days, starting with Portland State and Sacramento State on Friday night. Montana and Weber State will then square off on Saturday, with the Grizzlies knowing where they can possibly end up in the standings.
A win for the Grizzlies would put them in a tie for second with the Vikings-Hornets winner. It would be the highest finish for Montana in the Big Sky standings since they tied for the title in the 1994 season, a year in which they would go 25-6 and proceed to win an NCAA Tournament match. It would also set up the first postseason match against Montana State since the Grizzlies defeated the Bobcats in the 1996 tournament.
A loss for Montana, and they would tie for fourth in the conference and play against the loser of the Portland State-Sacramento State match in the first round. It's a moment that might be slightly foreign to Montana volleyball, but is one that Lawrence and her team are taking in full stride. They've loved every minute of this season, and feel they are trending at the right time.
"This last one is big. I love it. I love being in this situation where we're feeling good and feeling really confident," Lawrence said. "We're adding levels to our game every week. We also have secured such a solid spot for ourselves in conference and in the tournament that we can go into Saturday really feeling hungry to see what we can do. I think we're feeling really good and playing our best volleyball right now."
It improves Montana to 6-1 in their previous seven matches. As they enter the regular season finale on Saturday, the Grizzlies do so playing with as much momentum as they have all year. And with results going their way around the Big Sky on Thursday, the Grizzlies now have a chance to finish tied for second in the conference with a win against Weber State.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there is still the matter of Montana's seventh road victory this season against the Bengals. It came thanks to three dominant offensive sets keyed on by a setter that found her groove. Carly Anderson had her fifth 50 assist match of the season, but did so in just four sets this time after needing five sets in the previous four.
The junior contributed to the offense herself with three kills, but perhaps most notable feat came in the service game. Montana took the opening set but trailed 18-10 in the second. Then Anderson stepped up to the service line. By the time she left it, the Grizzlies had a 20-18 lead. The turnaround won the set, and perhaps the match, for Montana.
"I think she set a really smart match," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We hit at such good clips in the first, second and fourth. I was impressed by her game. It's hard to see the depth of her impact in the stats alone, but she had a major serving run in the second that I think set the tone for the rest of the match and set us up for the win."
Anderson gets the ace in the 2nd set#MontanaVB pic.twitter.com/WSjE2KnALa
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 18, 2022
The night also was nearly a historic one, as libero Sarina Moreno again led the Grizzly defense with 18 digs. The redshirt-senior from Missoula is now just nine digs away from the Montana all-time record, and appears poised to break the mark in Saturday's match as she enters it with double-digit digs in the previous 13 matches.
In the first set, Jackie Howell set the tone for the Grizzlies. It was another big Montana run, this time seven consecutive points to make it 10-5, that gave them a bit of a cushion. Howell then had four out of seven points for Montana attacking, and seven total kills on better than .500 hitting.
"That was crucial. She was really terminal, but she also passed and dug really well," Lawrence said. "She went on a serving run in the first set and I think she was just competing really well."
The Griz extended the lead down the stretch for the eight-point win in the first set. The Griz hit .250 and limited Idaho State to a .091 percentage. The visitors came out in the second set looking for some redemption, and early on looked poised to get it.
Idaho State led 4-1 before Montana battled back to take an 8-7 lead. Then came the runs, first from the Bengals. They scored six straight and nine of 11 out of 13 points overall to take the 18-10 lead. An error then gave Montana its side out, and Anderson stood at the service line.
Paige Clark had back-to-back kills – just part of her match-high 19 to extend her lead atop the Big Sky's kill leaderboard – and the Anderson aced the Bengals. Catie Semadeni and Ellie Scherffius each had a couple of kills, combined with some ISU errors, and all of a sudden Montana went from almost guarantee set loss to a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Montana had a 10-6 lead early and extended it all the way out to a 20-14 advantage. This time, the Bengals managed a miraculous comeback. They reeled six out of seven points to cut the lead to a single point. Another Griz point extended it to 22-20, but Idaho State closed with five of the final six points. They took their first lead of the set at 24-23 and then sealed it on the following point to force a fourth.
At an 8-all tie early, Montana got kills from Semadeni and Howell and an ace from Sarah Ashley to gain some momentum in a 4-0 run. Then Anderson, Clark and Jolly each pitched in some kills in what was truly a team effort for five straight points, which made it 9 of the last 10 in favor of Montana. That opened up a 17-9 lead, and this time the Grizzlies weren't letting it slip.
"I thought it was just such a great team effort. I think we stepped up and were playmakers when we needed it and I just couldn't be more proud of them," Lawrence said.
They finished the set strong, and back-to-back kills from Semadeni put an end to it at 25-16. It sealed the season sweep against the Bengals, and gave Montana double-digit Big Sky wins for the first time since 2013. The 17 overall wins are the most since the 1999 team went 18-9.
Catie Semadeni ends the match with a kill!
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 18, 2022
Go Griz!! 🐻 #MontanaVB pic.twitter.com/cHT8dbHq52
It sets up an interesting Saturday, as four teams currently sit tied for second place in the Big Sky. They all play each other in the next two days, starting with Portland State and Sacramento State on Friday night. Montana and Weber State will then square off on Saturday, with the Grizzlies knowing where they can possibly end up in the standings.
A win for the Grizzlies would put them in a tie for second with the Vikings-Hornets winner. It would be the highest finish for Montana in the Big Sky standings since they tied for the title in the 1994 season, a year in which they would go 25-6 and proceed to win an NCAA Tournament match. It would also set up the first postseason match against Montana State since the Grizzlies defeated the Bobcats in the 1996 tournament.
A loss for Montana, and they would tie for fourth in the conference and play against the loser of the Portland State-Sacramento State match in the first round. It's a moment that might be slightly foreign to Montana volleyball, but is one that Lawrence and her team are taking in full stride. They've loved every minute of this season, and feel they are trending at the right time.
"This last one is big. I love it. I love being in this situation where we're feeling good and feeling really confident," Lawrence said. "We're adding levels to our game every week. We also have secured such a solid spot for ourselves in conference and in the tournament that we can go into Saturday really feeling hungry to see what we can do. I think we're feeling really good and playing our best volleyball right now."
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