Griz make swift work of Vandals

Thursday, October 12

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

7-11,3-3Big Sky

Idaho

1-18,0-7Big Sky

Idaho

Montana

Photo by: Tanner Ecker/UM Photo

10/12/2023 10:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

We don't know how it gets better than this. Montana put together a clean sweep of Idaho on Taylor Swift night inside Dahlberg Arena, entertaining a great crowd on Thursday night with a 25-17, 25-12, 25-16 win.

It's the third win in five matches for Montana (7-11, 3-3 Big Sky), and all three have come in sweeps. In the last two home matches, Montana are outscoring opponents 152-101 and winning the average set by 8.5 points. After ending last week's road trip with a pair of losses, the dominant performance was exactly what head coach Allison Lawrence wanted from her team.

"We wanted a big response in our service pressure and execution and I thought we did that," Lawrence said. "I just think we hit our details, held our structure, kind of the things we've talked about maintaining all season."

We will let the @VoiceoftheGriz and Nate Michaels give you a particularly Swift intro to tonight's match. #GrizVB | #GoGriz | #TaylorSwiftNight pic.twitter.com/9LQ9nWevKV
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 13, 2023

There weren't many areas where Montana didn't excel. The Grizzlies outhit the Vandals .260-to-.062. It was the lowest percentage by an opponent all year for Montana. They also outblocked Idaho 7-to-6, outdug them 52-to-42 and finished with nine aces to Idaho's three.

Carly Anderson had three aces and set an incredibly clean match. She averaged nearly 10 assists per set and contributed four kills as part of a very balanced offensive attack for Montana. The Grizzlies had seven players with at least four kills on the night, a product of a good match from the setter.

"Everyone was executing their role," Lawrence said. "Carly distributed really evenly and I thought gave everybody opportunities and good looks and ran a really good offense."

Paige Clark and Maddie Kremer each finished with nine kills while Madi Chuhlantseff and Ellie Scherffius had five each. Catie Semadeni, Maddie Pyles, and Anderson all finished with four. It was a breakout night for Pyles, who entered with just a single kill so far in 2023.

It was that kind of night for the Griz. Pyles saw plenty of action, as did sophomore Ginny Pace. She had the final kill of the night on match point and contributed in the second set. Sierra Dennison also saw extended playing time as Montana trailed for just eight points all night.

"When we made subs and people came in, I thought they added to the match in really great ways," Lawrence said. "I was really proud of Ginny for coming in. She stuck a three-option pass, hit a really difficult out of system ball high hands and almost scored on it and almost got an ace. It's exactly what you want when people come off the bench is to hold the consistent pressure that was going on on the court.

"I was proud of Maddie Pyles' efforts to be terminal, take big swings and be a go-to player," Lawrence continued. "I thought Sierra (Dennison) also went in and held the consistency that we had been playing with."

The defense from Carly Anderson and Madi Chuhlantseff extends the Grizzly lead back to six!#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #TaylorSwiftNight pic.twitter.com/EnfHEnwhX0
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 13, 2023

The Grizzlies went ahead 5-2 early in the first set, and used a 5-0 run later to extend the lead to 12-6. The Vandals wouldn't get back within four points the rest of the way and Paige Clark recorded her fifth kill of the opening set to close it out at 25-17. The Griz had their best offensive set of the night with 16 kills, four errors and a .316 hitting percentage.

The first set saw just one tie and zero lead changes for a near-perfect Grizzly performance. They somehow improved upon it in the second set, scoring first and never letting the Vandals get level.
The most impressive stretch came with Sarah Ashley at the service line, as the Griz turned a slim 6-4 lead into a 14-4 blowout.

Montana nearly held Idaho in single digits for the set, but the Vandals were able to stave off three set points to end it at 25-12.

Gallery: (10-12-2023) VB: vs. Idaho (10.12.23)

The Vandals scored the first two points of the third set to take their only lead of the match. They would build it up to 5-2, but Montana used another midset rally to fully take control. This time it came with Paige Clark at the service line. She helped Montana score nine consecutive points to jump ahead 11-5.

Idaho would get within a point later in the set, but Montana closed with 11 of the final 14 points for the massive victory.

Montana now get their first rematch of the year as Eastern Washington comes to town looking for revenge. The Grizzlies swept the Eagles in Cheney earlier in the season, but Eastern Washington have picked up a few solid results since then.

Lawrence said that the same keys will lead to success against the Eagles. Her team needs to play consistent and focus in on every detail. They did it to perfection on Thursday night. They will look to make it a third straight win at home on Saturday.