Griz-Cat takes center stage Friday

Montana vs. Montana State
Friday, Nov. 11 / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
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MAROON OUT
Montana fans are asked to wear maroon for the final home game of the season as the Grizzlies look to maroon out the Bobcats. Fans in attendance will also be given free pom-poms to help cheer on the team. Students will receive free Krispy Kreme doughnuts upon entry.

SENIOR NIGHT
The Grizzlies will honor three seniors who will play their final home game inside of Dahlberg Arena on Friday night. Sarina Moreno, Elise Jolly, and Alicia Wallingford will all be honored before the match in a pregame ceremony. Fans are encouraged to arrive early due to the festivities and the expectations of a larger than normal crowd.

EVENT PARKING
Fans will have Lots P, M and Z available for parking on Friday night. Atetendees are asked not to park on 5th Street or Campus Drive, as those streets are reserved for Saturday's football game.

MATCH PREVIEW
Montana volleyball, in the midst of its best season since 1999, will celebrate senior night on Friday night in what is shaping up to be the biggest match of the season. The Grizzlies welcome rival Montana State to Dahlberg Arena for the only match of the week, and one that has plenty of postseason implications tied to it.

As we approach the end of the regular season with just two weeks to play, a wild Big Sky Conference schedule has led to practically no separation in the standings among the league's elite. The Grizzlies come into the weekend tied for fourth place, and fresh off a victory against then-first placed Portland State.

The Bobcats come in after sweeping the weekend at home against Portland State and Sacramento State. It has pulled them within a game of the Grizzlies, and just 2.5 games out of first place as the top six are all bunched together. It makes every match unpredictable, and important.

The Grizzlies, at 8-5 overall, are in the middle of the six-team logjam. Every team in the top six has between seven and nine wins, and the standings have shifted significantly in the last two weeks. A couple of big reasons for that; the stellar play of a Northern Colorado team that has won seven consecutive matches and a tough weekend for Portland State.

Montana delivered the first blow to the Vikings last Thursday night. The Grizzlies squared off against the league leaders, fending off multiple set points in the opening two sets and finishing them off in four to hand Portland State its first Big Sky loss to anyone other than Northern Colorado this season.

A service game that has had opponents out of system for weeks continued its stellar play against the Vikings. The Grizzlies finished with at least eight aces for the fourth straight match in limiting an offense that featured three of the top 10 attackers in the conference.

Montana did just enough right, most important of which was winning the clutch points. The Grizzlies trailed 24-22 in the opening set and rattled off four straight points to win. Then they fell behind 24-23 in the second set but again closed on a great rally to win the final three points and go up 2-0. They withstood a third set win from the Vikings and left no doubt in the fourth, winning 25-21.

Paige Clark led Montana with 19 kills, but it was the play of the two middles Ellie Scherffius (11 kills, .409) and Elise Jolly (10 kills, .368) that pushed the Grizzlies to the win. They drew the attention off of Clark, the league's leader in kills, and opened up the alleys for the attack.

The success could not be repeated on Saturday against a stingy Sacramento State defense. Clark and Jolly both reached double figures again, but they were the only Grizzlies to hit above .100 as the team committed 27 errors in a four-set loss to the Hornets.

They will have to pick up the intensity on Friday, which shouldn't be a problem with the Bobcats coming to town. The Grizzlies won the first meeting between the two teams back in September. It was Montana's second consecutive win in Bozeman, but the Griz have had a tough go of it against their rivals in Missoula.

The last four matches between the sides in Dahlberg Arena, including back-to-back nights during the COVID shortened season, have all gone to the visitors. It is a trend that head coach Allison Lawrence and her team are eager to get the chance to break.

"For this game, my job is pretty easy. There is nothing more intense than Griz-Cat and it just kind of gives you goose bumps when you think about it," Lawrence said. "I have no doubts about (our team) showing up ready to go. It's more about getting the energy and the excitement focused in an area that is really productive."

The Bobcats come into the match off a sweep of the Vikings and Hornets. Junior outside hitter Kira Thomsen was named the AVVA National Player of the Week after averaging 6 kills/set on .405 hitting in the sweep. Jordan Radick is fifth in the conference in hitting percentage (.326) and Lauren Lindseth is eighth in digs (3.86/set).

THE SENIORS

SARINA MORENO
Moreno didn't have to travel far to play for the Griz, trading in the purple and gold of Missoula Sentinel high school for the maroon and silver. The local product has gone on to have one of the best careers in the history of the program.

Moreno has worn the libero jersey for four full seasons now, along with the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, and has a chance to leave as the program's all-time record holder for digs. She enters the Montana State match with 1,803 digs, just 44 off the current mark held by Jackie White. In the final three regular season games, Moreno needs to average about 15 digs to reach that mark.

She will also finish third in program history in digs per set, currently averaging 3.97 for her career. Her senior season has been the best yet, as she's averaging a career-high 4.26 digs/set. That mark is good for third place in the Big Sky.

ELISE JOLLY
Jolly transferred to UM from Saint Anselm College and has blossomed into a key contributor on the team as a senior. She started six matches as a junior, transitioning from outside hitter to middle blocker where she would flourish. She was voted the team's Most Improved Player by her teammates while also earning Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors.

This season, Jolly has been a consistent starter for Montana and one of the best defensive players in all of the Big Sky conference. Jolly averages over a block per set, the seventh best mark in the Big Sky, while also getting it done offensively and at the service line. She ranks seventh in the Big Sky in aces (0.33/set) and is second on Montana's team with 2.01 kills/set.

ALICIA WALLINGFORD
Wallingford, a middle blocker from Vancouver, Wash., has appeared in nine matches in her Grizzly career including three this season. She recorded her first career kill against UT Arlington and has played in multiple Big Sky matches as a senior.

She was voted Montana's Most Improved Player by her teammates in 2019 and was also Academic All-Big Sky in 2021. A wildlife biology major, Wallingford has excelled in the classroom and participated in several important summer internships in her field.

GRIZ BITS

Montana is currently having its best season in 23 years. At 15-10, Montana has its best winning percentage (.600) since going 18-9 in the 1999. They are one win away from matching the 2000 and 2013 teams for the most in a single season since 1999 as well.
This is the most Big Sky wins for Montana since 2013 (12-8). The Grizzlies also started 8-5 that season and finished fifth in the final standings.
Montana 6-4 both at home and on the road this season. It is the most wins, in both categories, since the 2013 season.
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.
Montana has one of the best offenses in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies are fourth in hitting percentage (.212), third in assists (11.81/set) and third in kills (12.64/set).
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark is one of the league's top attackers, leading the Big Sky in both kills (3.87) and points (4.51). She has been in double figures for kills in 23 of 25 matches, including eight straight. She has 15-plus kills in six of the last eight matches.
Clark was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Oct. 31. She had 36 kills, averaging 4.0 per set in a road sweep of Eastern Washington and Idaho. 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.
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 second in the league with 10.03 assists per set. The versatile setter has seven double-doubles (assists-digs), is among the team's top servers and is totaling 36 kills compared to seven attack errors during league play.
Anderson has 2,444 career assists and ranks 8th in program history, despite being just a junior. She passed Wendy Hoyt (1980-82) in the match against Idaho.
The Griz have three players among the Big Sky's leaders in aces. Clark (0.37, fourth), Elise Jolly (0.33, seventh) and Anderson (0.32, ninth) have led a Montana service game that has at least eight aces in three of the last four matches.
Senior libero Sarina Moreno ranks third in the Big Sky for digs (4.26 per set). She has been in double figures for digs in 11 consecutive matches. She ranks second in school history with more than 1,800 for her career (44 shy of Montana's school record).
Senior middle blocker Elise Jolly is seventh in the Big Sky with 1.00 blocks per set. She also has an ace in the previous five matches and had double-digit kills in two straight.
Junior middle blocker Ellie Scherffius ranks tenth in the Big Sky with a .303 hitting percentage. She has hit above .400 in a match 10 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 double digit digs in five of the previous eight matches. She had a career high 13 kills against Eastern Washington (10/27) and recorded her third double-double of the season.
Senior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni has recorded at least eight kills in seven of Montana's 13 conference matches and recently recorded her 500^th career kill.
Defensive specialist Sarah Ashley has been consistent as a back-row defender and has also been great at the service line lately for Montana. She has eight aces in the previous four matches, including a season-high four aces against Portland State.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MONTANA STATE
The Grizzlies are 59-61 all-time vs. Montana State. In home matches, the Grizzlies have the 29-25 edge overall, but haven't won at home against the Bobcats since 2018. The Grizzlies are 4-6 in the last 10 meetings.

Montana won the first meeting between these two teams back in September 3-1. The defense led the way to victory, as Montana held MSU to .102 hitting and had 14 blocks. Elise Jolly had eight total blocks, her career high, while Catie Semadeni and Carly Anderson each had four. Paige Clark led the way with 17 kills while three Grizzlies (Moreno, Howell, Anderson) finished with double-digit digs.

UPCOMING
Montana has just two more matches in the regular season, on the road against Idaho State (5-7 BSC, seventh) and Weber State (9-3 BSC, t-first). The Grizzlies will then remain in Ogden for the Big Sky Volleyball Championships beginning on November 23.

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Paige Clark

Jackie Howell

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

Catie Semadeni

Alicia Wallingford

University of Montana Athletics