Montana faces Sacramento State at Big Sky Championships

No. 5 Montana vs. No. 4 Sacramento State
Big Sky Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Nov. 23 / 1 p.m. / Ogden, Utah
ESPN+ Stream / Live Stats

It's been a season to remember for Montana volleyball. Now, they begin a new season on Wednesday afternoon in Ogden, Utah. The #5 Grizzlies will take on the #4 Sacramento State Hornets in the opening round of the Big Sky Championships at 1 p.m.

It is the highest seed that Montana has had in a Big Sky tournament since the 2013 season, which also happens to be the last time the Grizzlies won a postseason match. It comes after a record season. Montana won 17 games, the most since 1999, and had its best winning percentage in Big Sky play since 2009.

Entering the final day of the regular season, Montana sat in a four-way tie for second place in the conference. The result against Weber State may not have gone the way Montana would have hoped, but they still finished in the top half of the league standings and set themselves up in the 4/5 matchup in the opening round.

While Montana has now qualified for four consecutive fall Big Sky tournaments, this is the first time they have played outside of the seventh or eighth seed since 2013. They have won just a set in the postseason since then as well. This year, they are looking to change the narrative.

"It does feel different this year just because we have a body of work that I think is pretty telling that we can compete with anyone," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "Not just on a perfect night, but on any night. I think we hold ourselves with that belief and this has been a year of living in the mindset that we are a top, contending team."

The team success has been great in 2022. There have also been some great individual performances by Montana players this season. Sarina Moreno became Montana's career leader for digs (1,865) in Saturday's match against Weber State. Paige Clark ended the season atop the Big Sky kill leaderboard (3.90/set), the first Grizzly to do it since 2002.

Carly Anderson averaged over 10 assists per set and ranked second in the Big Sky. She also had 35 aces, tied for fifth in the conference with her teammate Clark. Elise Jolly finished sixth in the conference in blocks (1.09/set) while recording at least seven kills in the final six matches of the season.

Ellie Scherffius has been among the best in the conference in hitting percentage all year while Catie Semadeni provided a constant outside threat. Jackie Howell has four double-doubles and has been crucial to Montana's defense. Sarah Ashley and Lexi Batezel have been defensive specialists for a Griz team that is third in the conference in digs.

When you put all the pieces together, it results in Montana's best team since the turn of the century.

End of season momentum has been a common theme for Montana under Lawrence. In both 2018 and 2019 they closed out with a win on the final day, and also with two wins in the last three matches, to sneak into the tournament.

They didn't need to guarantee their spot in the field this time around. That has been solid for weeks now. But they did close with momentum, winning six of the final eight matches in the regular season. In doing so, it seemed that there was a new box to be checked every week, another notch to show the historical success they have achieved. Through it all, the team has just continued to grind.

"There have been moments where I've wanted to celebrate with the team and verbalize how we are doing things that none of us have ever done before at Montana, and I know they appreciate that. I know they are unbelievably proud of that," Lawrence said. "But the tone and feeling in the room is kind of, 'Yeah we know, but we're still going.'

"I feel like they are the ones pushing on that. In moments where I've wanted to take a breath and feel like, let's let it sink in, our team has just been foot on the gas, so it's been fun to see and feel that push," she continued. "I think they still have a lot more in them, and I know they know that. We feel really ready to go."

See you in Ogden 👋 #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/tOl8Psy20d
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 20, 2022

MATCHUP WITH SACRAMENTO STATE

The Grizzlies and Hornets met twice during the regular season. Sacramento State won both matchups in four sets, most recently on Nov. 5 in Missoula. The defense of the Hornets proved a difference maker, holding Montana under .135 hitting in both matchups.

In the first match, they held Paige Clark to just four kills. Montana's defense played well, forcing 20 errors and holding the Hornets to .177 hitting. The second match saw Sacramento State outhit Montana .211-to-.115.

"I like the matchup. I think that we feel like we have some unfinished business after playing them twice and coming up short," Lawrence said. "I feel like there is an advantage in ways, on both sides, when you play a team that many times. I think we have levels to our game that we didn't reach when we played them that I think we can bring in a tournament setting."

The Grizzlies entered both matchups with the Hornets on hot streaks. The Griz were 3-0 in Big Sky play before the first matchup. Going into the second, Montana had won four straight, including an upset of then-No. 1 Portland State. Both times, the technical ability of Sacramento State put the streaks to a halt.

It is just the second time ever that the two teams have met in the Big Sky Tournament. Sacramento State defeated Montana in a 1996 semifinal match. Ruben Volta is in his 15^th season at the helm of Sacramento State, who are consistently one of the top teams in the conference.

The key for Montana will be to capitalize early on attacking chances. The Hornets are second in the Big Sky in blocks (2.60 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.164). They have been strong at the net offensively as well, allowing the fewest opponent blocks in the Big Sky.

"They are a fun team to play because they are so efficient. They play really clean volleyball and are very smart, very tactical and very well coached. We have to have all six players really step up and be playmakers," Lawrence said. "I think if we can be terminal early in rallies we have some advantages, but if you get deep in rallies they are technical in ways where they can exploit some weaknesses. I think that will be the story of the game. If we can be terminal early and keep rallies short."

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Montana is making its fourth straight appearance in the fall Big Sky Conference Tournament. (They missed the field in the spring 2021 season). It is the 22^nd overall appearance for Montana, the third most in Big Sky history behind Northern Arizona and first-round opponent Sacramento State.

It is just the second meeting between the two schools in the postseason. In 1996, No. 5 Montana upset Montana State in the first round to set up a semifinal matchup with the Hornets. No. 2 Sacramento State would win that match in five sets.

The Grizzlies have won eight matches in their history at the Big Sky tournament. The most recent win came in 2013 as the No. 5 seed. They defeated Northern Arizona in five sets in that match before falling to host Portland State in the semifinals. Prior to that, Montana's last tournament win was in 1996.

Montana reached the Big Sky championship match five consecutive years from 1990-94. They won the title in 1991 over Boise State, but fell in the other four matches.

SEASON TO REMEMBER
Montana has compiled its best record in over 20 years. This season has seen the Grizzlies hit several marks that had not been achieved in Missoula for some years. Here are some of the superlatives of the season, along with the last time Montana reached that number.

17 wins (1999)
.607 winning percentage (1999)
10 conference wins (2013)
.625 Big Sky winning percentage (2009)
Seven home wins (2010)
Seven road wins (2013)
Tied-fourth finish in Big Sky (2010)

Sarina Moreno is now OFFICIALLY the all-time leader in career digs at the University of Montana!#GrizVB #BigSkyVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/FXT81cm7cy
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 20, 2022

GRIZ NOTES

Montana hit .210 as a team this season, which cracked the top 10 in program history and was the highest hitting percentage since 2007. The Grizzlies ended the season ranked third in the Big Sky offensively.
The Grizzlies were fourth in the Big Sky in opponents kills per set. The ground defense led the way, as Montana had the third most digs in the conference.
An aggressive service game proved crucial to Montana's conference success. Montana as a team was fourth in the Big Sky with 1.61 aces per set. Anderson and Clark finished the year tied for fifth in the conference with 35 aces (.34/set).
Sarina Moreno broke Montana's all-time record for digs in Saturday's match against Weber State. The Sentinel HS grad from Missoula is having the best season of her impressive career. She averages 4.36 digs per/set, the best mark of her career, and has brought her overall total to 1,865 digs.
Moreno has also moved into seventh place in Big Sky Conference history for career digs. She has passed Kasimira Clark from Portland State. She trails Anna Gott of Northern Arizona by 26 for sixth place all-time.
Paige Clark finished the season as the Big Sky's top attacker. Clark averaged 3.90 kills/set, nearly a half kill more than second place, to become the first Montana player to lead the league since Lizzie Wertz in 2002. She recorded 398 total kills.
Clark earned Big Sky Player of the Week twice this season. She had 36 kills, averaging 4.0 per set in a road sweep of Eastern Washington and Idaho in late October. She was also the POTW on Sept. 5 after averaging over four kills per set at the Hampton Inn Invitational, where Montana went 2-1.
Junior setter Carly Anderson has been amongst the Big Sky's best this year. She has gone over 1,000 assists on the season, averaging 10.17 per set to rank second in the conference. Anderson is in eighth place in Montana history with 2,578 career assists. She was named Big Sky Player of the Week in September.
Elise Jolly has been huge down the stretch for the Griz. She finished the season sixth in the Big Sky with 1.09 blocks per set. In Big Sky play, she was third with 1.20 blocks/set. She also got better offensively down the stretch. She had at least seven kills in the final six matches of the year.
Ellie Scherffius narrowly missed out on the top 10 in hitting percentage in the Big Sky. She closed with exactly 200 kills on the season, hitting .296. She was also second on Montana with 0.74 blocks per set.
Jackie Howell has been known more for her defense as she finished second on the team with 2.72 digs/set. She has been important offensively as well, averaging 1.66 kills/set with four double-doubles on the season.
Catie Semadeni recently went over 500 career kills at Montana, and closed the season with momentum. She had double-digit kills in the final three matches of the season.
Head coach Allison Lawrence has led Montana to an impressive turnaround in her sixth season at the helm. She took over a team that had missed the Big Sky tournament its previous two years. Lawrence's first team went 3-13 in Big Sky play and missed the postseason for the third straight year. Now, Montana is playing in its fourth straight championship (excluding the spring 2020 season) and has its best record in over two decades. She now has 55 career wins and is two away from moving into third place in Montana's history.
Montana has put together multiple winning streaks of 3-plus matches in Big Sky play this season. It is the first time since 2009 they have recorded multiple streaks of at least three wins against Big Sky opponents.

BIG SKY BRACKET
The winner of Montana-Sacramento State will face off against the winner of No. 1 Northern Colorado vs. No. 8 Idaho State.

The other half of the bracket consists of No. 2 Portland State vs. No. Eastern Washington, and No. 3 Weber State vs. No. 6 Montana State.

Montana faces Sacramento State at Big Sky Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Alexis Batezel

Paige Clark

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

University of Montana Athletics

Montana faces Sacramento State at Big Sky Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Alexis Batezel

Paige Clark

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

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