Clark named Big Sky Player of the Week after dominant Brawl
10/2/2023 12:00:00 PM | Volleyball
The brightest lights call for the biggest performers, and Paige Clark delivered a big-time performance for Montana volleyball in the Brawl of the Wild Match last Friday night. The junior led Montana to a sweep of the Bobcats with a fantastic offensive night. She was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week as a result, the league announced Monday.
Clark's 14 kills were a match-high in the quick win for the Grizzlies. It's the fourth straight win for Montana over their rivals, and was the first Grizzly sweep in the series since 2016. Montana State entered the night with one of the best defenses in the conference, undefeated in Big Sky play, and 9-3 overall.
But Clark's offensive firepower proved to be too much in a highly efficient night for the Grizzlies.
"Paige is just such a competitor and wants to be in the biggest moments and the biggest matches, and she wants the ball in those moments," head coach Allison Lawrence said "Her mentality as a competitor really positions her to be at her best and to find another level of her game in matches like that."
Clark could not be stopped in the three-set sweep of the rivals. She had just 19 attempts in the match, but converted that into 14 kills for a massive .632 hitting percentage. It's the best by a Grizzly in over two years, and it came in front of the largest crowd ever at a home Montana volleyball match.
The energy inside Dahlberg Arena was electric, and a lot of that had to do with the way that Clark plays. The stat line tells a large portion of the story, but to truly understand the impact that she had on the match you had to be in the gym to feel the way the ball exploded off her hand. Particularly late in the match, it seemed like every time the ball went in her direction a highlight-reel play was about to unfold.
The match was competitive in the first two sets, but Montana completely ran away in the third to one of the largest set wins in the last decade for Griz volleyball, thanks in large part to Clark's offense. She couldn't miss, almost literally, in the final set with seven kills on eight swings for an .875 hitting percentage.
The momentum that her offense created flowed through the rest of the team, and gave the record-setting crowd of over 2,200 fans plenty of reason to celebrate at the end of the match.
"Her mentality and confidence allows other people to be more confident and more resilient and just enjoy that environment more," Lawrence said. "She plays with such joy for the big stage that you can't help but be swept up when you're playing alongside her. I think she elevates everyone's level of play when the pressure is on."
The Grizzlies as a team hit a season-best .344 in the sweep, and have now won six straight sets dating back to last weekend. The offense is in rhythm after a then-season-high .304 hitting performance in a road sweep of Eastern Washington on Sept. 23.
Clark upped her season average to 3.23 kills/set with the performance, which currently ranks eighth in the Big Sky. She has double-digit kills in four straight matches and eight of the last nine.
It's the third time that she has earned Player of the Week recognition after earning the award twice in her 2022 All-Conference season. She is the first Grizzly to win the award three times since three-time All-Big Sky player Jaimie Thibeault did it in 2010.
Montana travels to Greeley to take on defending champion Northern Colorado on Thursday. The Bears are 2-1 in conference play this year with the lone loss coming at Portland State. They round out the week against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Saturday afternoon.
Griz fans will get their next chance to see Clark in action on Thursday, Oct. 12 for Taylor Swift Eras night against Idaho.
Clark's 14 kills were a match-high in the quick win for the Grizzlies. It's the fourth straight win for Montana over their rivals, and was the first Grizzly sweep in the series since 2016. Montana State entered the night with one of the best defenses in the conference, undefeated in Big Sky play, and 9-3 overall.
But Clark's offensive firepower proved to be too much in a highly efficient night for the Grizzlies.
"Paige is just such a competitor and wants to be in the biggest moments and the biggest matches, and she wants the ball in those moments," head coach Allison Lawrence said "Her mentality as a competitor really positions her to be at her best and to find another level of her game in matches like that."
Here comes the 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗠!
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 30, 2023
Paige Clark has seven kills on eight swings 🤩#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/apOxDQ8f8x
Clark could not be stopped in the three-set sweep of the rivals. She had just 19 attempts in the match, but converted that into 14 kills for a massive .632 hitting percentage. It's the best by a Grizzly in over two years, and it came in front of the largest crowd ever at a home Montana volleyball match.
The energy inside Dahlberg Arena was electric, and a lot of that had to do with the way that Clark plays. The stat line tells a large portion of the story, but to truly understand the impact that she had on the match you had to be in the gym to feel the way the ball exploded off her hand. Particularly late in the match, it seemed like every time the ball went in her direction a highlight-reel play was about to unfold.
The match was competitive in the first two sets, but Montana completely ran away in the third to one of the largest set wins in the last decade for Griz volleyball, thanks in large part to Clark's offense. She couldn't miss, almost literally, in the final set with seven kills on eight swings for an .875 hitting percentage.
The momentum that her offense created flowed through the rest of the team, and gave the record-setting crowd of over 2,200 fans plenty of reason to celebrate at the end of the match.
"Her mentality and confidence allows other people to be more confident and more resilient and just enjoy that environment more," Lawrence said. "She plays with such joy for the big stage that you can't help but be swept up when you're playing alongside her. I think she elevates everyone's level of play when the pressure is on."
Need some motivation on this Monday? We've got you covered. Let the energy of a Brawl of the Wild sweep carry you through the week. ⚡️#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/AjzYKQDOKQ
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) October 2, 2023
The Grizzlies as a team hit a season-best .344 in the sweep, and have now won six straight sets dating back to last weekend. The offense is in rhythm after a then-season-high .304 hitting performance in a road sweep of Eastern Washington on Sept. 23.
Clark upped her season average to 3.23 kills/set with the performance, which currently ranks eighth in the Big Sky. She has double-digit kills in four straight matches and eight of the last nine.
It's the third time that she has earned Player of the Week recognition after earning the award twice in her 2022 All-Conference season. She is the first Grizzly to win the award three times since three-time All-Big Sky player Jaimie Thibeault did it in 2010.
Montana travels to Greeley to take on defending champion Northern Colorado on Thursday. The Bears are 2-1 in conference play this year with the lone loss coming at Portland State. They round out the week against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Saturday afternoon.
Griz fans will get their next chance to see Clark in action on Thursday, Oct. 12 for Taylor Swift Eras night against Idaho.
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