Moreno announces return for super-senior volleyball season

After four seasons starting at libero for the Montana volleyball team, Sarina Moreno isn't quite ready to be done playing, announcing that she will return for a fifth season this fall.

Moreno admits it's a little bit ironic considering her journey.

Recruited out of Sentinel High School in Missoula – after leading the Spartans to back-to-back state titles – Moreno wasn't initially sure she even wanted to play volleyball in college. She was a late commit, but once she got to campus, she saw the floor right away, starting at libero as a true freshman in 2018 and in nearly every match since.

She doesn't want to make it seem like she hadn't enjoyed her time at Montana, but the truth is, she never envisioned extending it.

"I feel like a lot of people were surprised, myself included initially," she said of her decision. "I was fully set on moving on after my four years. I felt like I was done and had done what I needed to do. It wasn't even on my mind to stay."

On the night of Oct. 26, 2021, Moreno was guaranteed just six more volleyball matches. She was prepared for that. She had accepted that. And, like all along, she was ready for that.

She means it. It's just funny how much can change in one night.

The night is one Moreno will never forget.

Playing in Bozeman in front of a sold-out crowd, Montana stunned the Cats by winning the first two sets. MSU responded to win a back-and-forth third set before Montana nearly put the match away in the fourth, leading by scores of 17-11 and 20-12, only to see the leads evaporate into a 25-23 loss.

But that just built the excitement for what was to come in Set 5: another back-and-forth set that, at one point, had Montana on top 13-11 before MSU rallied to seemingly win the match, 16-14. While the Cats celebrated what they presumed was a come-from-behind victory, Montana head coach Allison Lawrence challenged the previous play, won the challenge and gave Montana new life.

Instead of a 16-14 loss, the two teams were now tied at 15-15. Montana won the next two points to win the 'craziest match I've ever been a part of', according to Moreno.

"Honestly, I still don't know how to describe that match," she said. "It was so intense and so much fun."

Moreno had 13 digs in the match – as MSU purposely avoided targeting her – and served during the Grizzlies' 5-0 run in the fifth set. She was highly praised by Lawrence afterward for the victory.

No better feeling!#GRIZcat #GrizVB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/WxCjPr1p3X
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 27, 2021

After playing 57 matches, nearly entirely as a starting libero, through her first two collegiate seasons, Moreno's junior season was out of sorts from the start.

For starters, the season got moved from the fall to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once it did begin, it was limited to 16 Big Sky-only matches, played inside empty gyms. Midway through, Moreno suffered an ankle injury, keeping her out of the lineup for nearly a quarter of the season, including the second Griz-Cat game in Missoula.

Because of that altered, shortened season, though, it created an opportunity. In response, the NCAA granted a waiver, allowing for student-athletes to play the Spring 2021 volleyball season without using a year of eligibility, meaning, in theory, Moreno could return for a fifth season.

It's what Peyten Boutwell did this past fall, opting to return for a super-senior season, and what several current players intend to do moving forward, as well.

That wasn't even part of Moreno's thinking, though – until the MSU match.

"I thought I was going to be done the whole season. I had told my coaches that," Moreno said. "After the high of that game, though, I started to wish I had another year."

Moreno didn't initially think it was possible, thinking there was a deadline that had passed that would prevent her from returning. Once she realized it was still a possibility, she sat down again with her coaches and told them she was reconsidering. At that point, though, Montana was just more than a week away from its final home match of the season, a night in which the Grizzlies would honor and recognize their senior class.

As that night approached, Moreno was seriously toying with the idea of coming back.

But it was all so fresh and raw, too. Was she making an impulsive decision because of the rush of emotions from Montana's big rivalry win? Or did she actually want to come back for another year with her teammates, pushing to continue to rise in the Big Sky Conference?

Moreno remained uncommitted on her decision, but decided to go forward with senior weekend. After all, it would be a shame to have zero senior nights, but if she chose to come back, she would instead get two!

Montana swept Eastern Washington on Thursday night, with Moreno serving up three aces and leading a defense that held the Eagles to .000 hitting. Two nights later, Montana earned a five-set win over Idaho on senior night. It was the Grizzlies' fifth win in their past seven matches as Montana punched its ticket to the Big Sky tournament, despite being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.

Over the next few weeks, as Moreno's senior season came to a close, the libero decided that – for one of the first times – she wanted to play more volleyball.

"It's funny, because coming out of high school, it took me a long time to decide, but I eventually realized I didn't want to stop playing yet, and it was the best decision I've made," Moreno said. "Now, four years later, I'm again making a decision late that I don't want to stop playing.

"The opportunity presented itself and I just thought that I would regret it if I didn't take it."

Having Moreno return is a big boost for the Grizzlies.

Her 4.03 digs-per-set average in 2021 ranked third in the Big Sky Conference, and for the second year in a row, she was voted by her teammates as Montana's most valuable player. Each week of the 2021 season, Moreno climbed up Montana's career digs list, jumping from 15^th at the start of the year to third by the end of it. She will likely move into second place during the first weekend of the 2022 season, and has a chance to finish the year atop the charts.

Moreno is 437 career digs away from Jackie White's all-time mark, roughly the same total she recorded in 2018 when she set a Griz freshman record with 429 digs.

She knows that by coming back, she'll be really close, one way or another, and although that wasn't the deciding factor in coming back, she acknowledged that it would special to hold the record, even if it were to come with an extra year.

But she also knows that the more balls she keeps alive on defense, the more opportunities she creates for her teammates to get kills, and in result, for Montana to get wins.

That would be the sweetest part about coming back.

"We had a good season last year, and I am really excited to see where this team can go this next year," she said. "Individually, we have a lot of really good players back and so many good players coming in. We've been getting better each year and I really think this year can be a breaking point for us."

Montana has won just one Big Sky tournament game in the past 25 years, but the Grizzlies have shown progress over the past few seasons, exceeding their preseason ranking in each of the past three fall seasons and finishing 2021 with the program's highest win total since 2013.

In addition to Moreno, Montana returns all-conference outside hitter Paige Clark, in addition to setter Carly Anderson – who ranked second in the Big Sky in 2021 for assists – and Catie Semadeni – who led the Grizzlies for kills and ranked third among all Big Sky pin hitters for hitting percentage. Also back is Ellie Scherffius (25 starts while ranking eighth in the Big Sky for hitting percentage) and Jackie Howell (23 starts), in addition to four others who started matches in 2021, plus a handful of talented freshmen who will vie for playing time.

Montana won't be picked among the favorites to win the Big Sky in August, but Moreno also cautioned those who overlook the Grizzlies.

"I think we have the right group to surprise some people, and that, really, was too much to pass up not coming back for."

University of Montana Athletics

Moreno announces return for super-senior volleyball season

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Peyten Boutwell

Paige Clark

Jackie Howell

Sarina Moreno

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

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