Montana sweeps season series against Eastern Washington

Saturday, October 14

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

8-11,4-3Big Sky

Eastern Washington

8-12,2-6Big Sky

Eastern Wash.

Montana

Photo by: Tanner Ecker/UM Photo

Montana sweeps season series against Eastern Washington

10/14/2023 6:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana volleyball team finished off an impressive week at home with a second-straight win on Saturday afternoon. The Griz defeated Eastern Washington in four sets (25-17, 19-25, 25-22, 25-15) to complete the season sweep of the Eagles.

The win also adds to an impressive run for Montana (8-11, 4-3 Big Sky) against its regional rivals. The Grizzlies are undefeated against Montana State, Eastern Washington, and Idaho dating back to 2021, winning 12 straight against the three teams. It's the first season sweep over Eastern Washington since 2018.

They did it behind a big night from Paige Clark and a solid defensive effort. There were plenty of extended points on the night, requiring Montana to maintain focus through longer rallies. They held Eastern Washington to a .125 hitting percentage. It's the third-straight match Montana's held an opponent under .150.

"I felt like it was our defensive effort that really allowed us to control the match overall," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think in the first set especially it set a really big tone. Even the first rally, we got such good swings and it just kept extending, and they ended up winning the rally but we just dug and had such positive touches."

The Eagles did take the first point, but Montana would edge ahead in a back-and-forth opening set. There were several long rallies in the opening 20 points. Montana held a 12-8 lead at that point and had 24 total digs as the teams consistently kept the ball in the air to extend points.

Montana got the lead up to 15-11 but a 3-0 run by Eastern Washington pulled it back to just a point. As the energy started to shift, the Grizzlies dialed up the perfect response. Montana scored six straight points with Ellie Scherffius at the service line. Clark had four kills during the run, and Montana jumped ahead 21-14 and safely guided the first set home.

Clark ended the opening set with nine kills on 15 swings. She was the benefactor of a brilliant setting game from Anderson, who finished with 15 assists in the opening period.

The ninth kill of the opening set for Paige Clark ends it!#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/KhHjCw8a5R
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 14, 2023

Anderson would go on to have a fantastic final stat line. She had 37 assists in the four sets and contributed seven kills on .700 hitting. She made plenty of big plays for the Grizzlies, seeming to always make the right decision.

The offense struggled in the second, and Eastern Washington found new life on the way to a 25-19 win. The Eagles outhit Montana .353-to-.094 in the set.

The response came quickly for the Griz in the third set. They had a 5-0 run, again with Ellie Scherffius at the service line, to take control early. Montana found plenty of success with the middle blocker serving. She tied a match-high with two aces but consistently put Eastern Washington into difficult situations.

The serving was just part of a solid overall match from Scherffius, who averaged a block per set and ranks among the league's elite in that category.

"(Scherffius) held her serve really well," Lawrence said. "There is something about it that messes with people, and she has been so solid mentally from the service line so it's fun to see her do that. She also dug a ball and recovered a ball."

The Eagles would pull within a point on a few occasions, but a 4-0 Griz run around the media timeout extended the lead to 16-12. It's around that point in the match when Catie Semadeni began to look unstoppable as well, as her kill capped the rally. She would add another down the stretch and then get three kills on four swings in the final set as Montana dominated.

The early work of Madi Chuhlantseff and Scherffius opened up the attacking lanes. Chuhlantseff had eight kills on 22 swings and Scherffius had four on 12 swings. Once the lanes were free, Semadeni took advantage.

"We established the middles early offensively and went to them a ton," Lawrence said. "Their hard work to be up and available put a lot of pressure on their defense and allowed Catie to open up as the match went on. We didn't score very well from that zone in the first set and a half, but after that it really opened for her."

Beautiful one-handed set from Carly Anderson sets up the big-time swing from Madi Chuhlantseff! #GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ljbXYGHMK8
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 14, 2023

After a fast Eastern Washington start to the fourth set, Montana rallied back in a big way and left no doubt. The Griz used a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the set and then just kept extending it with mini rallies. They scored four straight to go ahead 13-7, then had another 4-0 run to make it 18-9.

It was all part of an extended 16-5 run that forced Eastern Washington to take both of their timeouts.

Carly Anderson had been excellent all match but turned it on in the final set. The setter actually led both teams with four kills in the final set, and did it on just five attempts.

The Grizzlies were held under .200 hitting for just the third time in Big Sky play, but relied on the balanced defensive effort to get the win. The passing game has improved significantly for Montana this year, and Saturday was just another example.

"We were able to run middles off defensive touches and I think that was a really big deal," Lawrence said. "It allowed us to establish ourselves and maintain consistency because that's a team that offensively was doing really good things. Their middles are big weapons for them."

Alexis Batezel had 24 digs for the second time in three matches to improves her season average to 4.16 digs per set. She has been in double-figures in 17 straight matches.

Carly Anderson with an ace and the Griz are cruising in the final set! We've scored 8 of 9 points and are leading 18-9 at the EWU timeout!#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/sQ2l0ADl6R
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 14, 2023

Montana now sit at 4-3 in Big Sky play through seven matches. They have a tough road trip ahead of them against Sacramento State and Portland State, but have the confidence that they can compete with the top of the league.

The program turnaround under Lawrence has been dramatic, and in a season where Montana's overall record has taken a slight dip because of a difficult non-conference schedule, it's easy to overlook just how good the Griz have been this year compared to past years.

The Grizzlies had four seasons in a six-year span from 2015 to 2019 where they won four or fewer conference games. This year, they've hit that number before the midpoint of the conference schedule.

UP NEXT

Montana hits the road for back-to-back weeks. The Grizzlies start on Oct. 19 against league leading Sacramento State and then head north to Portland State on Oct. 21. The following week is just a single match on Friday, Oct. 27 against Montana State.