Saturday, September 3
Indianapolis, Ind.
8 AM (MT)
Montana
3-2, 0-0Big Sky
3
vs
0
Saint Francis
0-5, 0-0NEC
1
2
3
F
Saint Francis (PA)
15
13
20
0
Montana
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Grizzlies earn pair of sweeps on Saturday, off to best start since 2008
9/3/2022 6:23:00 PM | Volleyball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Montana had an impressive showing at the Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday, earning a pair of sweeps over Saint Francis and host IUPUI. The Grizzlies finished runner-up at the tournament and are 4-2 on the young season, with all four wins coming in straight sets. It is Montana's best six-match start in 14 years, since beginning the 2008 season 4-2.
"Today was a really fun day," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It was really good to have a response like this after feeling like we weren't aggressive enough yesterday. Today, I thought you saw our team hit their details on offense and really limit our opponents, not giving them a lot of options to score."
The Grizzlies hit .311 on the day (77-18-190), including .365 vs. IUPUI, the program's best attack percentage since 2014. Meanwhile, the defense was even better, limiting its two opponents to a combined .070 hitting (57-43-201). It was the first time since 2006 that Montana has held back-to-back opponents under .100 hitting.
"Limiting teams' offense is what we've been training for since January, so to see that start to show up consistently has been fun," Lawrence said. "When our first contact is right, our defense is good, of course, but it also allows us to stay calm and be aggressive on offense."
Montana 3, Saint Francis 0
In the morning win over Saint Francis (25-15, 25-13, 25-20), Montana scored five consecutive points to take a 7-4 lead in the opening set. The Grizzlies didn't trail again for the remainder of the match, using strong defense to hold the Red Flash to .047 hitting, including a -.097 clip in the opening frame. Through two sets, Saint Francis still was in the negatives.
Montana, meanwhile, hit .244 for the match, improving its percentage in each of the three sets. The Grizzlies were led by sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark, who totaled a dozen kills on .296 hitting. Senior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni was next, with five kills and zero errors in just two sets played (.556 hitting). Eight different players recorded a kill in the match, as setter Carly Anderson distributed the ball evenly.
Senior libero Sarina Moreno totaled 14 digs while senior outside hitter Jackie Howell had three aces.
In the opening set, Montana used a pair of 5-0 scoring runs – a 10-2 run combined – to build a 12-6 advantage. The Grizzlies had four blocks in the opening frame, limiting the Red Flash to just five total kills and -.097 hitting.
The Grizzlies scored the first seven points of the second set, capped with back-to-back kills from Clark. Saint Francis closed to within four, 14-10, before the Grizzlies responded with the next eight points – including kills from four different players – to more than double up their opponent (22-10).
Montana never trailed in the third set, either, using a 7-0 run to break an 8-8 tie, getting a pair of aces from Howell, plus kills from Maddie Kremer, Elise Jolly and Clark.
Montana 3, IUPUI 0
The Grizzlies made quick work of the host Jaguars in the nightcap, beating IUPUI in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-11). Montana's team hitting percentage of .365 was its highest in eight years, as four Grizzlies hit .500 or better: Ellie Scherffius (eight kills, zero errors); Elise Jolly (nine kills, one error); Carly Anderson (six kills, zero errors); Catie Semadeni (five kills, zero errors).
Additionally, sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark had 14 kills on .355 hitting, as she reached double figures for kills for the sixth time in six matches this season.
"Our first contact not only allowed us to defend and keep balls up, but we were digging in ways that gave Carly three options to set to," Lawrence said. "Our defense allowed us to hit well in transition and have swings on both sides."
Similar to the morning match, Montana played from in front for nearly the entire match.
After falling behind 9-4 in the opening set, the Grizzlies used a 7-4 run to claim the lead, and wouldn't trail again, scoring 14 of 18 points at one point. Senior middle blocker Elise Jolly was instrumental early in the run before sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark took over in the back half.
Montana's only deficit of the second set came at 1-0. The Grizzlies never trailed in the third set.
The Grizzlies opened Set 2 by scoring 10 of the first 13 points, and although they seemingly had control of the set, were tested late, as IUPUI rallied to tie the score at 21-21. Again tied at 23-23, Montana got back-to-back kills from Jolly and Clark to win the set.
The Grizzlies scored nine of the first 11 points in Set 3 and never trailed, recording more kills than the Jaguars did total points. Montana hit an astonishing .458 (12-1-24) while holding IUPUI to a .000 clip (7-7-25).
"I have so much confidence in this group, and I know that their confidence is really high, too," Lawrence said. "We're setting goals and reaching them and I love how hard they work in between points and in between matches.
"I think we're coming into our own in a really fun way."
Drake, which beat Montana on Friday, went 3-0 over the weekend to win the Hampton Inn Invitational. Montana finished second at 2-1, followed by IUPUI (1-2) and Saint Francis (0-3).
The Grizzlies will next travel to southern Texas to play in the UTRGV Tournament (Sept. 9-10).
"Today was a really fun day," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It was really good to have a response like this after feeling like we weren't aggressive enough yesterday. Today, I thought you saw our team hit their details on offense and really limit our opponents, not giving them a lot of options to score."
The Grizzlies hit .311 on the day (77-18-190), including .365 vs. IUPUI, the program's best attack percentage since 2014. Meanwhile, the defense was even better, limiting its two opponents to a combined .070 hitting (57-43-201). It was the first time since 2006 that Montana has held back-to-back opponents under .100 hitting.
"Limiting teams' offense is what we've been training for since January, so to see that start to show up consistently has been fun," Lawrence said. "When our first contact is right, our defense is good, of course, but it also allows us to stay calm and be aggressive on offense."
Montana 3, Saint Francis 0
In the morning win over Saint Francis (25-15, 25-13, 25-20), Montana scored five consecutive points to take a 7-4 lead in the opening set. The Grizzlies didn't trail again for the remainder of the match, using strong defense to hold the Red Flash to .047 hitting, including a -.097 clip in the opening frame. Through two sets, Saint Francis still was in the negatives.
Montana, meanwhile, hit .244 for the match, improving its percentage in each of the three sets. The Grizzlies were led by sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark, who totaled a dozen kills on .296 hitting. Senior right-side attacker Catie Semadeni was next, with five kills and zero errors in just two sets played (.556 hitting). Eight different players recorded a kill in the match, as setter Carly Anderson distributed the ball evenly.
Senior libero Sarina Moreno totaled 14 digs while senior outside hitter Jackie Howell had three aces.
In the opening set, Montana used a pair of 5-0 scoring runs – a 10-2 run combined – to build a 12-6 advantage. The Grizzlies had four blocks in the opening frame, limiting the Red Flash to just five total kills and -.097 hitting.
The Grizzlies scored the first seven points of the second set, capped with back-to-back kills from Clark. Saint Francis closed to within four, 14-10, before the Grizzlies responded with the next eight points – including kills from four different players – to more than double up their opponent (22-10).
Montana never trailed in the third set, either, using a 7-0 run to break an 8-8 tie, getting a pair of aces from Howell, plus kills from Maddie Kremer, Elise Jolly and Clark.
Montana 3, IUPUI 0
The Grizzlies made quick work of the host Jaguars in the nightcap, beating IUPUI in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-11). Montana's team hitting percentage of .365 was its highest in eight years, as four Grizzlies hit .500 or better: Ellie Scherffius (eight kills, zero errors); Elise Jolly (nine kills, one error); Carly Anderson (six kills, zero errors); Catie Semadeni (five kills, zero errors).
Additionally, sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark had 14 kills on .355 hitting, as she reached double figures for kills for the sixth time in six matches this season.
"Our first contact not only allowed us to defend and keep balls up, but we were digging in ways that gave Carly three options to set to," Lawrence said. "Our defense allowed us to hit well in transition and have swings on both sides."
Similar to the morning match, Montana played from in front for nearly the entire match.
After falling behind 9-4 in the opening set, the Grizzlies used a 7-4 run to claim the lead, and wouldn't trail again, scoring 14 of 18 points at one point. Senior middle blocker Elise Jolly was instrumental early in the run before sophomore outside hitter Paige Clark took over in the back half.
Montana's only deficit of the second set came at 1-0. The Grizzlies never trailed in the third set.
The Grizzlies opened Set 2 by scoring 10 of the first 13 points, and although they seemingly had control of the set, were tested late, as IUPUI rallied to tie the score at 21-21. Again tied at 23-23, Montana got back-to-back kills from Jolly and Clark to win the set.
The Grizzlies scored nine of the first 11 points in Set 3 and never trailed, recording more kills than the Jaguars did total points. Montana hit an astonishing .458 (12-1-24) while holding IUPUI to a .000 clip (7-7-25).
"I have so much confidence in this group, and I know that their confidence is really high, too," Lawrence said. "We're setting goals and reaching them and I love how hard they work in between points and in between matches.
"I think we're coming into our own in a really fun way."
Drake, which beat Montana on Friday, went 3-0 over the weekend to win the Hampton Inn Invitational. Montana finished second at 2-1, followed by IUPUI (1-2) and Saint Francis (0-3).
The Grizzlies will next travel to southern Texas to play in the UTRGV Tournament (Sept. 9-10).
Team Stats
SF-PA
Mont
Kills
28
32
Errors
23
11
Attempts
107
86
Hitting %
.047
.244
Points
36.0
43.0
Assists
27
32
Aces
3
6
Blocks
5.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
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OH/MB
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OH
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