Thursday, November 16
Missoula, Mont.
4 PM
Montana
11-16,7-8Big Sky
3
vs
0
Portland State
16-10,9-6Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Portland St.
13
21
24
0
Montana
25
25
26
3
Photo by: Tommy Martino/UM Athletics
Griz have historic night offensively in sweep of Vikings
11/16/2023 11:16:00 PM | Volleyball
Montana picked up a huge win on Thursday afternoon against Portland State, knocking off the Vikings in a sweep. Montana did it in the most dramatic fashion possible, fending off five set points in the third to rally and clinch the win.
It's the second straight time that Montana has defeated the Vikings at home. Last year, the Vikings came to Missoula as the top-seed in the Big Sky. This year, the Vikings were 9-5 with a chance to rise as high as the second-seed at next week's Big Sky Conference Tournament with a pair of wins.
Instead, the Grizzlies put together a historically good offensive performance to sweep the Vikings. Montana hit .349 with 44 kills and just seven errors. It's the fewest errors in a match since Sept. 3, 2023 against IUPUI. It's also the fewest by Montana in a Big Sky match in program history.
The Grizzlies hit over .275 in all three sets and committed three or fewer errors in all three. Paige Clark had 11 kills on .333 hitting and Madi Chuhlantseff also reached double-figures with 10 kills on .500 hitting.
Gallery: (11-16-2023) VB: vs. Portland State (11.16.23)
Carly Anderson spread the wealth, recording 35 total assists on the night. Madie Kremer, Ellie Scherffius, and Catie Semadeni all finished with at last five kills in the win.
"That requires really good ball control," head coach Allison Lawrence said of the historic offensive night. "The important thing is we had multiple options so many times. Our ball control added to that and our pressure from the middles has been so consistent for the last several weeks which makes us feel in good rhythm."
The Grizzlies dominated the first two sets. There were only six ties and the lead changed just one single time as Montana cruised to a two-set advantage. The script flipped in the third set. After a 1-1 tie early, Portland State gained separation. It looked to be an easy set win for the Vikings, who built the lead all the way to 24-19.
Semadeni had a kill to side out for Montana, and then Maddie Pyles orchestrated a miraculous comeback from the service line. Pyles started a run with an ace, and then a tough serve forced a Portland State error.
Scherffius registered a kill to make it 24-23, and created a sense inside Dahlberg Arena that a comeback certainly was possible. She then contributed defensively, blocking a Viking attack for the fifth straight Grizzly point to tie it at 24-all.
The defense stepped up again. Another dangerous serve from Pyles set up Scherffius for a solo block to give Montana its first lead of the final set. They went to Maddie Kremer to close it out, and she delivered with a deep ball that the Vikings couldn't control. Montana had the final seven points of the match to clinch the sweep.
"I think just an unbelievable performance by Maddie Pyles to serve seven straight," Lawrence said. "She had an ace and served them into trouble and then there was just layers of playmaking happening. Maddie consistently hit her serve, which is a tough serve, and then Ellie makes an incredible block, Maddie had a kill, everything just came together."
The teams went back and forth over the opening 12 points of the match before Montana started a run that would carry them through the next two sets with relative comfort. They scored seven straight points to jump ahead 16-7, and did a lot of their damage through Clark.
She had two aces during the run, and also three kills to pace the Montana offense out to a fantastic start. The Grizzlies were hitting .529 and had an 18-8 lead late in the set. They would close it out 25-13, hitting a massive .429 and siding out nearly 70 percent of the time.
The strong finish to the first set, which Montana closed out on a 6-0 run, carried over into the second set. Montana went up 5-1 and then later 10-3 for a total run of 16-3 dating back to the end of the first. The Grizzlies were outhitting the Vikings .455-to-.067 at the time.
Equally important to the hot start offensively was great plays from the service line. When Carly Anderson dropped in an ace to make it 12-6 to Montana, it also brought the Grizzly ace total up to six. They would end the night with 10 aces and just three errors.
It's the fifth time that they have reached double-digit aces, and easily the fewest errors in any of those matches.
"I think really good serving got Portland State on their heels," Lawrence said. "10 aces and three errors is a pretty insane stat line. We are a really good serving team, especially at home, and we knew that tough serving had to show up to get them out of their offensive rhythm."
The Vikings fought back, using a 5-0 run to get it back to 14-12. They would continue to claw closer, and tied the set up for the first time at 20-20. The Grizzlies would never let them take the lead, and Madi Chuhlantseff helped close out the set with two kills and a solo block for a 25-21 Grizzly win.
The third set was all Portland State. They jumped out to a 7-2 lead early and had a three-to-four point advantage for much of the action. They scored three out of four points to go ahead 21-16 before Montana reeled off three straight.
Portland State answered with a run of their own to extend the lead out to 24-19. It was a deficit that appeared insurmountable. But Montana had been putting together runs all night long. They had 10 runs up to that point of at least three points, including a seven- and six-point rally in the first set. It gave them the confidence that they weren't out of the match yet.
"It felt like a match where we were stringing together pretty giant runs. We were causing breakdowns and it gave us confidence going into that being down," Lawrence said. "We trusted that if we can just each hit our assignments then we are going to be in position to take it."
The trust paid off, as Montana scored the final seven points for the sweep. It's the first time they've swept the Vikings since 2018 and just the second time they've done it in the rally scoring era.
It took a complete team effort. The middles kept up a run of impressive play. Chuhlantseff had 10-plus kills for the fifth time in six matches and Scherffius added six kills and five blocks.
The pins stepped up for their best collective performance in a while as well. Clark led Montana with 11 kills, snapping a two-match streak of being held in single digits, and Maddie Kremer had eight kills on .381 hitting. She also had the final touch of the night, recording the kill that completed the comeback.
"Maddie Kremer didn't get a lot of in-system opportunities, but she had some great out-of-system swings," Lawrence said "She prepared to go get the ball high and be really physical. There were a few that I think she hit over the block and down, and she and Paige found range out of system in ways that put so much pressure on Portland State."
Montana picks up win number 11 on the year, and improve to 7-8 in conference play. They have clinched the No. 6 seed at the Big Sky Tournament next week with the combination of Thursday's win and a loss by Idaho State later in the day.
The Grizzlies now host Sacramento State on Saturday night. The Hornets have already clinched a share of the regular season title, but come to Missoula on a two-match losing streak. The Big Sky Conference is incredibly tight at the top, as three teams sit just a game behind them going into Saturday.
Sacramento State could win an outright title with a win on Saturday. Or Montana could play spoiler and head to Greeley .500 in league play with a whole lot of momentum behind them. If the Grizzlies play like they did on Thursday, no team in the league is safe.
It's the second straight time that Montana has defeated the Vikings at home. Last year, the Vikings came to Missoula as the top-seed in the Big Sky. This year, the Vikings were 9-5 with a chance to rise as high as the second-seed at next week's Big Sky Conference Tournament with a pair of wins.
Instead, the Grizzlies put together a historically good offensive performance to sweep the Vikings. Montana hit .349 with 44 kills and just seven errors. It's the fewest errors in a match since Sept. 3, 2023 against IUPUI. It's also the fewest by Montana in a Big Sky match in program history.
The Grizzlies hit over .275 in all three sets and committed three or fewer errors in all three. Paige Clark had 11 kills on .333 hitting and Madi Chuhlantseff also reached double-figures with 10 kills on .500 hitting.
Carly Anderson spread the wealth, recording 35 total assists on the night. Madie Kremer, Ellie Scherffius, and Catie Semadeni all finished with at last five kills in the win.
"That requires really good ball control," head coach Allison Lawrence said of the historic offensive night. "The important thing is we had multiple options so many times. Our ball control added to that and our pressure from the middles has been so consistent for the last several weeks which makes us feel in good rhythm."
The Grizzlies dominated the first two sets. There were only six ties and the lead changed just one single time as Montana cruised to a two-set advantage. The script flipped in the third set. After a 1-1 tie early, Portland State gained separation. It looked to be an easy set win for the Vikings, who built the lead all the way to 24-19.
Semadeni had a kill to side out for Montana, and then Maddie Pyles orchestrated a miraculous comeback from the service line. Pyles started a run with an ace, and then a tough serve forced a Portland State error.
Scherffius registered a kill to make it 24-23, and created a sense inside Dahlberg Arena that a comeback certainly was possible. She then contributed defensively, blocking a Viking attack for the fifth straight Grizzly point to tie it at 24-all.
The defense stepped up again. Another dangerous serve from Pyles set up Scherffius for a solo block to give Montana its first lead of the final set. They went to Maddie Kremer to close it out, and she delivered with a deep ball that the Vikings couldn't control. Montana had the final seven points of the match to clinch the sweep.
"I think just an unbelievable performance by Maddie Pyles to serve seven straight," Lawrence said. "She had an ace and served them into trouble and then there was just layers of playmaking happening. Maddie consistently hit her serve, which is a tough serve, and then Ellie makes an incredible block, Maddie had a kill, everything just came together."
𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!!
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 17, 2023
Are you kidding!!?? Montana trailed 24-19 before scoring the final seven points of the match to sweep Portland State!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/S45lqN3P08
The teams went back and forth over the opening 12 points of the match before Montana started a run that would carry them through the next two sets with relative comfort. They scored seven straight points to jump ahead 16-7, and did a lot of their damage through Clark.
She had two aces during the run, and also three kills to pace the Montana offense out to a fantastic start. The Grizzlies were hitting .529 and had an 18-8 lead late in the set. They would close it out 25-13, hitting a massive .429 and siding out nearly 70 percent of the time.
The strong finish to the first set, which Montana closed out on a 6-0 run, carried over into the second set. Montana went up 5-1 and then later 10-3 for a total run of 16-3 dating back to the end of the first. The Grizzlies were outhitting the Vikings .455-to-.067 at the time.
Equally important to the hot start offensively was great plays from the service line. When Carly Anderson dropped in an ace to make it 12-6 to Montana, it also brought the Grizzly ace total up to six. They would end the night with 10 aces and just three errors.
It's the fifth time that they have reached double-digit aces, and easily the fewest errors in any of those matches.
"I think really good serving got Portland State on their heels," Lawrence said. "10 aces and three errors is a pretty insane stat line. We are a really good serving team, especially at home, and we knew that tough serving had to show up to get them out of their offensive rhythm."
Nice swing by Maddie Kremer to extend a big Grizzly lead in the first set!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/0MkpgtwUrD
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 16, 2023
The Vikings fought back, using a 5-0 run to get it back to 14-12. They would continue to claw closer, and tied the set up for the first time at 20-20. The Grizzlies would never let them take the lead, and Madi Chuhlantseff helped close out the set with two kills and a solo block for a 25-21 Grizzly win.
The third set was all Portland State. They jumped out to a 7-2 lead early and had a three-to-four point advantage for much of the action. They scored three out of four points to go ahead 21-16 before Montana reeled off three straight.
Portland State answered with a run of their own to extend the lead out to 24-19. It was a deficit that appeared insurmountable. But Montana had been putting together runs all night long. They had 10 runs up to that point of at least three points, including a seven- and six-point rally in the first set. It gave them the confidence that they weren't out of the match yet.
"It felt like a match where we were stringing together pretty giant runs. We were causing breakdowns and it gave us confidence going into that being down," Lawrence said. "We trusted that if we can just each hit our assignments then we are going to be in position to take it."
The trust paid off, as Montana scored the final seven points for the sweep. It's the first time they've swept the Vikings since 2018 and just the second time they've done it in the rally scoring era.
It took a complete team effort. The middles kept up a run of impressive play. Chuhlantseff had 10-plus kills for the fifth time in six matches and Scherffius added six kills and five blocks.
The pins stepped up for their best collective performance in a while as well. Clark led Montana with 11 kills, snapping a two-match streak of being held in single digits, and Maddie Kremer had eight kills on .381 hitting. She also had the final touch of the night, recording the kill that completed the comeback.
"Maddie Kremer didn't get a lot of in-system opportunities, but she had some great out-of-system swings," Lawrence said "She prepared to go get the ball high and be really physical. There were a few that I think she hit over the block and down, and she and Paige found range out of system in ways that put so much pressure on Portland State."
Nice swing by Maddie Kremer to extend a big Grizzly lead in the first set!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/0MkpgtwUrD
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 16, 2023
Montana picks up win number 11 on the year, and improve to 7-8 in conference play. They have clinched the No. 6 seed at the Big Sky Tournament next week with the combination of Thursday's win and a loss by Idaho State later in the day.
The Grizzlies now host Sacramento State on Saturday night. The Hornets have already clinched a share of the regular season title, but come to Missoula on a two-match losing streak. The Big Sky Conference is incredibly tight at the top, as three teams sit just a game behind them going into Saturday.
Sacramento State could win an outright title with a win on Saturday. Or Montana could play spoiler and head to Greeley .500 in league play with a whole lot of momentum behind them. If the Grizzlies play like they did on Thursday, no team in the league is safe.
Team Stats
PSU
Mont
Kills
42
44
Errors
17
7
Attempts
110
106
Hitting %
.227
.349
Points
52.0
61.0
Assists
39
39
Aces
6
10
Blocks
4
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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OH
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