Saturday, August 27
Missoula, Mont.
12 PM
Montana
2-1, 0-0Big Sky
1
vs
3
UC Davis
3-0, 0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UC Davis
25
27
29
25
3
Montana
15
29
27
18
1
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Grizzlies finish runner-up at home tournament
8/27/2022 3:49:00 PM | Volleyball
MISSOULA, Mont. – UC Davis earned a four-set win over Montana on Saturday afternoon to win the Ellesyn Invitational (25-15, 27-29, 29-27, 25-18). With a 2-1 start to the season, the Grizzlies finished runner-up in their home tournament, sweeping North Dakota and UT Arlington on Friday.
Saturday allowed head coach Allison Lawrence to see a little bit of everything from her team, which is what is desired from an early-season tournament.
After winning all six sets on Friday – the first time since 2002 the Grizzlies have done so – Montana came out flat in the opening set on Saturday, being picked apart on defense and serve-receive. Montana, though, showed grit in a 29-27 second-set win. The set featured 16 tie scores and nine lead changes, but UC Davis took a 24-21 advantage – the widest gap for either team in the set – needing just one point to take a 2-0 match lead. Montana, fought off three consecutive set points, and five overall, to win the frame, 29-27.
After being tied at 8-8 in the fourth set, UC Davis used a 4-0 run to take control of the frame and seal the match.
"That's a team that I think is comparable to a top team in our conference, so it was a really good test of where we want to be," Lawrence said. "One of our goals in preseason is to solidify our grit and our belief, and there were moments where we did that, but also moments of hesitation or doubt.
"I think the biggest takeaway from today is that we learned a ton and should be able to build confidence from the fact that there were portions of today's match that we really controlled and excelled in."
Gallery: (8-27-2022) VB: vs. UC Davis - 8/27/22
Montana hit above .200 and out-blocked and out-dug UC Davis, but lost 20 points at the service line, being aced 10 times and recording 10 service errors.
Outside hitter Paige Clark had the best match of her young sophomore season, totaling 18 kills on .405 hitting, while junior middle blocker Ellie Scherffius – who was named to the all-tournament team – was also in double figures for kills, totaling 12 at a .346 clip. Junior Carly Anderson ran the offense, racking up 46 assists, four kills, two blocks and an ace. Senior libero Sarina Moreno recorded 18 digs and two aces.
Perhaps the biggest story of the day, though, was the emergence of some young Grizzlies.
Montana was down starting middle blocker Elise Jolly, who missed the second straight match after recording 13 kills on .632 hitting in the season opener Friday morning. The Grizzlies also switched things up early in Saturday's match to try and create a spark. Senior opposite hitter Catie Semadeni led Montana for kills in 2021, but was ineffective early with two kills compared to three errors, so the Grizzlies gave sophomore Maddie Kremer an opportunity.
Kremer had a career-high three blocks, seven kills and an ace, creating a spark in Set 2. She posted all seven of her kills before her first error, before leveling off late in the match.
"We weren't scoring a ton from that position, and Maddie is a high-flying, physical kid, and when she's on she can be super terminal," Lawrence said. "We felt like she could give us a spark and she definitely did."
Facing set point in the second set, 24-23, Pyles recorded a stuff bock to tie the score, before going back to serve and serving up an ace. Again facing set point in the third set, Pyles had blocks on back-to-back points to again give Montana the lead.
"She did an incredible job," Lawrence said. "She's such a physical kid and for her to perform like she did in high-pressure situations like that, it was really impressive."
With Jolly out the past two matches, redshirt freshman Sierra Dennison stepped in without missing a beat. She had seven kills and zero errors in Friday's win over UT Arlington, her collegiate debut. The Missoula native wasn't quite as crisp on Saturday, recording seven kills at a .150 clip, but blocked eight balls, the most by a Montana freshman since Capri Richardson in 2012.
She was joined in the middle by Scherffius, who tallied 12 kills and three blocks. On the weekend, the trio combined to average 2.50 kills per set on .371 hitting, plus 1.25 blocks per set.
"The depth in the middle feels really good," Lawrence said. "Davis' setter (Casi Newman, who was named the tournament MVP) is really good, so for Ellie and Sierra to block the way they did, against a fast offense, is great."
"I think, overall, it was an outstanding weekend," Lawrence said. "We built our preseason to put ourselves in position to win tournaments, and coming away 2-1 or 3-0 is what we need to be doing. I think there are a lot of wins that we can take away from this start, and I'm excited to see how we adjust and come back next weekend."
Saturday allowed head coach Allison Lawrence to see a little bit of everything from her team, which is what is desired from an early-season tournament.
After winning all six sets on Friday – the first time since 2002 the Grizzlies have done so – Montana came out flat in the opening set on Saturday, being picked apart on defense and serve-receive. Montana, though, showed grit in a 29-27 second-set win. The set featured 16 tie scores and nine lead changes, but UC Davis took a 24-21 advantage – the widest gap for either team in the set – needing just one point to take a 2-0 match lead. Montana, fought off three consecutive set points, and five overall, to win the frame, 29-27.
After UC Davis likely felt like it gave away a set in the second, however, the Aggies got revenge in the third. Montana trailed for just three total points, but two of those were the final two, with the Aggies earning a 29-27 set win, their first multi-point lead of the set. Montana looked in control early, leading by as many as six points at 18-12, but couldn't sustain the lead.On set point you SWING HARD!!! Clark with two monster attacks to take the second set 🏐 #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/wbioUD6hnf
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
After being tied at 8-8 in the fourth set, UC Davis used a 4-0 run to take control of the frame and seal the match.
"That's a team that I think is comparable to a top team in our conference, so it was a really good test of where we want to be," Lawrence said. "One of our goals in preseason is to solidify our grit and our belief, and there were moments where we did that, but also moments of hesitation or doubt.
"I think the biggest takeaway from today is that we learned a ton and should be able to build confidence from the fact that there were portions of today's match that we really controlled and excelled in."
Montana hit above .200 and out-blocked and out-dug UC Davis, but lost 20 points at the service line, being aced 10 times and recording 10 service errors.
Outside hitter Paige Clark had the best match of her young sophomore season, totaling 18 kills on .405 hitting, while junior middle blocker Ellie Scherffius – who was named to the all-tournament team – was also in double figures for kills, totaling 12 at a .346 clip. Junior Carly Anderson ran the offense, racking up 46 assists, four kills, two blocks and an ace. Senior libero Sarina Moreno recorded 18 digs and two aces.
Perhaps the biggest story of the day, though, was the emergence of some young Grizzlies.
Montana was down starting middle blocker Elise Jolly, who missed the second straight match after recording 13 kills on .632 hitting in the season opener Friday morning. The Grizzlies also switched things up early in Saturday's match to try and create a spark. Senior opposite hitter Catie Semadeni led Montana for kills in 2021, but was ineffective early with two kills compared to three errors, so the Grizzlies gave sophomore Maddie Kremer an opportunity.
Kremer had a career-high three blocks, seven kills and an ace, creating a spark in Set 2. She posted all seven of her kills before her first error, before leveling off late in the match.
"We weren't scoring a ton from that position, and Maddie is a high-flying, physical kid, and when she's on she can be super terminal," Lawrence said. "We felt like she could give us a spark and she definitely did."
Senior outside hitter Jackie Howell also was held to just two kills compared to three errors, so the six-rotation, do-it-all player became a three-rotation player, giving freshman Maddie Pyles an opportunity. Making her collegiate debut, Anderson went to Pyles on the Texas native's first play, immediately pounding an emphatic kill to the floor. She showed some freshman mistakes, finishing with three kills to four errors, but also came up biggest when the lights were brightest.Kremer not messing around in the 3rd set 💪 #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/JAGfXFcuMj
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
Facing set point in the second set, 24-23, Pyles recorded a stuff bock to tie the score, before going back to serve and serving up an ace. Again facing set point in the third set, Pyles had blocks on back-to-back points to again give Montana the lead.
"She did an incredible job," Lawrence said. "She's such a physical kid and for her to perform like she did in high-pressure situations like that, it was really impressive."
The scrap and the block- Defense ties at 24-24!!#GrizVB pic.twitter.com/uXOpEIPKgn
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
With Jolly out the past two matches, redshirt freshman Sierra Dennison stepped in without missing a beat. She had seven kills and zero errors in Friday's win over UT Arlington, her collegiate debut. The Missoula native wasn't quite as crisp on Saturday, recording seven kills at a .150 clip, but blocked eight balls, the most by a Montana freshman since Capri Richardson in 2012.
She was joined in the middle by Scherffius, who tallied 12 kills and three blocks. On the weekend, the trio combined to average 2.50 kills per set on .371 hitting, plus 1.25 blocks per set.
"The depth in the middle feels really good," Lawrence said. "Davis' setter (Casi Newman, who was named the tournament MVP) is really good, so for Ellie and Sierra to block the way they did, against a fast offense, is great."
Montana will now have a week of practice before traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the Hampton Inn Invitational. The Grizzlies will play Drake, Saint Francis and host IUPUI.Pyles and Dennison critical block!#GrizVB pic.twitter.com/Y5s3wA30Mt
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
"I think, overall, it was an outstanding weekend," Lawrence said. "We built our preseason to put ourselves in position to win tournaments, and coming away 2-1 or 3-0 is what we need to be doing. I think there are a lot of wins that we can take away from this start, and I'm excited to see how we adjust and come back next weekend."
1 set = 1 kill 💪 😎
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
We love this debut from Freshman Maddie Pyles!! 🐻 #GrizVB pic.twitter.com/VHCvaFI5Nb
Anderson mixing it up ✨ Ties the 4th set 8-8#GrizVB pic.twitter.com/SlmeCs9bRo
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) August 27, 2022
Team Stats
UCD
MON
Kills
60
56
Errors
20
23
Attempts
150
158
Hitting %
.267
.209
Points
79.0
74.0
Assists
55
54
Aces
10
7
Blocks
9.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH/MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
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