Montana’s season comes to an end at Big Sky Tournament

Wednesday, November 22

Greeley, Colo.

4 PM

Montana

11-18,7-9Big Sky

#3 Montana State

20-7,12-4Big Sky

Montana

Montana St.

Montana’s season comes to an end at Big Sky Tournament

11/22/2023 6:16:00 PM | Volleyball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Montana's season came to an end on Wednesday night in Greeley, Colo. as they fell in three sets to Montana State in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

The Grizzlies had an impressive night offensively, hitting .326 for the third-best percentage of the entire season. The top four marks on the year all came in Griz sweeps, but on Wednesday they couldn't slow down the Bobcats on the opposite side.

Montana State hit .395, the second-highest total by a Grizzly opponent this season, in the win.

Madi Chuhlantseff and Maddie Kremer each had 10 kills in the effort. It's the fourth straight match with 10-plus kills for Chuhlantseff, who closed the season with double figures in seven of the final eight matches. It led to a Second Team All-Big Sky honor on Tuesday.

Kremer had a big day with a .348 hitting percentage and seven digs.

Gallery: (11-22-2023) VB: at Big Sky Tournament (11.22.23)

There were plenty of impressive statistical numbers for Montana. Paige Clark had eight kills on .429 hitting, Catie Semadeni had six kills, Ellie Scherffius hit .500, and Carly Anderson averaged over 10 assists per set.

But on Wednesday, the Bobcat offense had too much firepower. The Grizzlies close the season with an 11-18 record. It's the third straight year with double-digit wins, the first time Montana has done that since a run from 2009-11.

"It hurts more because we've never been so close and it hurts more because we've never been so invested," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "When you want to be great, you risk it all, all the time. It hurts really bad, and we've had years when we hurt and it made us shy away and be tentative. I think we've learned how to expose ourselves to the hurt and pain of coming up short but wanting to grow through that."

It's an unfortunate end to what has been a season of growth for Montana. They challenged against the best the Big Sky has to offer during the regular season, and seemed up to the challenge on Wednesday, but there were slim margins for errors against the No. 3 Bobcats.

The senior class leaves with a legacy of turning the program around in their time at Missoula. They have pushed the team to new heights and have experienced things that many over the last two decades of Grizzly volleyball didn't get the chance to experience.

It's a step in the right direction to have another 10-win season. They entered the year pushing for a tournament win and may not have hit that mark, but anyone that watched the match on Wednesday saw a Grizzly team that is on the brink of joining the Big Sky's elite.

The positive progress of the season doesn't remove the sting of Wednesday's loss.

"I think the program is in the process of going from good to great and I think that process is very difficult," Lawrence said. "It requires a lot of moments where you're coming up short and learning through failure to put yourself in position to get to that next level. I do think we came prepared and so many good things happened in that match, and I think our last month of volleyball was so incredible."

Montana got the first two points of the match on Bobcat attacking errors. The Cats would go on a 3-0 run to jump ahead 6-4, and the teams traded points for a long stretch after that. There weren't many momentum swinging runs for the opening of the set.

It wasn't until Montana ran off three straight to make it 15-all that either side had a significant scoring run. The teams were both impressive on offense, as Montana was hitting over .300 but were being outpaced by MSU's .400 percentage.

It's an 𝘼𝙇𝙇-𝘽𝙄𝙂 𝙎𝙆𝙔 connection between Carly Anderson and Paige Clark on the kill!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/fcwHN3D8vo
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2023

After no runs through most of the set, it only took one big one from Montana State to shift the momentum. They scored five straight points to go ahead 20-15. Montana would get within three on a few occasions, but couldn't make up the difference in a 25-20 first set loss.

It was all offense on both sides right from the start. Montana hit .280 in the opening set. It was an impressive number, and somehow the lowest of any individual set for the Grizzlies on the night.

Montana had a 5-0 run early in the second set to go ahead 9-5. They led for much of the beginning portion of the set, but the Bobcats would rally back to tie it at 14-all. The Grizzlies edged back ahead, and had the match tied again at 18.

The set came down until the very end, and both sides were executing at a high level. Montana State would score the final three points of the set, going ahead 2-0 with a 25-21 win.

It looked like that momentum might lead MSU to a big victory in the third as they started up 5-1, but there was no quit in the Grizzlies. They chipped away at the lead and scored 10 of the next 16 points to tie it at 11-all.

Paige is bringing the POWER! #GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/tWzbV4UDcf
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 22, 2023

The Bobcats scored two straight to take the lead for good, holding off Montana's comeback attempts down the stretch for another 25-21 set win.

The Griz hit .312 in the second set and .375 in the third, improving offensively as the match went along. They committed just 12 overall errors.

"It's an interesting match on the stat sheet because it's very even," Lawrence said. "We were within one or two on almost every stat category except for serving, and the match in a lot of ways felt like we were trading points and it was even. I think MSU won a lot of the moments you can't stat where in offensive transition they were very physical and had control of the scramble, hustle plays. I think that piece made it feel more stressful. It never felt like we could get into a rhythm or feel in control."

Regardless of the score, the Grizzlies competed until the end and, again, were within a few points of the match playing out very differently. They played good. But at the Big Sky Tournament, there needs to be another level.

The senior class has been so crucial to changing the narrative of Griz volleyball. Montana will return in 2024 with a new hunger to get their first win at a Big Sky Tournament since 2013.

"I think the gift and the legacy of these seniors is that they pushed us closer to great and showed us how to turn that corner," Lawrence said. "It's up to the returners behind them to turn it. It felt like such a pivotal year in that way and such a huge step forward in the progression."

There were ups and downs throughout the year. The Grizzlies started with two nationally ranked teams at home all the way back in August and ended the year going five sets with the top two seeds in the league and beating the third.

There have been so many special moments for a group that came together with a common purpose. There will be plenty of players back next year, looking to take the next step and reach a Big Sky semifinal, but the 2023 Grizzlies and this group will be remembered by Lawrence and all Griz fans for a long time.

"I just love this team and cannot say enough how fun it is to do really hard things with them," Lawrence said. "It was such a joyous season, and I'm going to miss them."