Griz host two ranked opponents on opening weekend

A pair of nationally ranked teams will travel to Missoula this weekend for the Ellesyn Invitational, which features one of the strongest fields across the entire opening week of the NCAA Volleyball season. No. 5 Pitt and No. 17 BYU headline the tournament. UTRGV, the defending WAC Champions, also join host Montana in the field.

It's the second consecutive year that Montana will host a tournament on opening weekend. The Ellesyn Invitational is named in honor of the Grizzlies' 9-year-old teammate Elle Farmer.

The four-team event will be spread across three days. The bulk of the action comes on Saturday with three total matches, including two Montana matches. Friday will feature two matches and one neutral site match will be played Sunday morning.

Fans can purchase tickets online for the Montana matches. The neutral site events will not be ticketed and are free to attend.

Friday, August 25	Away	Home	Stream	Stats	Tickets
2:00 p.m.	#17 BYU	#5 Pitt	ESPN+	Live Stats
7:00 p.m.	UTRGV	Montana	ESPN+	Live Stats	Tickets
Saturday, August 26
10:00 a.m.	#5 Pitt	Montana	ESPN+	Live Stats	Tickets
12:00 p.m.	UTRGV	#17 BYU	ESPN+	Live Stats
7:00 p.m.	#17 BYU	Montana	ESPN+	Live Stats	Tickets
Sunday, August 27
10:00 a.m.	#5 Pitt	UTRGV	ESPN+	Live Stats

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The wait is finally over. When the Montana volleyball schedule was first released back in May, eyes have been on this first weekend of games in Missoula. The level of competition inside Dahlberg Arena will be among the very best in the entire country this weekend, bringing Montana to the forefront of the volleyball world.

For Allison Lawrence and her Grizzlies, the weekend is going to be a grueling test. Pitt has reached back-to-back Final Fours. BYU have been ranked in the top 18 in the country in every single poll since 2013. UTRGV might not have the name-brand recognition of the other two schools, but what they do have is 27 wins and a WAC Championship from 2022.

The non-conference will be easier moving forward, but not by much. Montana is readying for a very difficult four-week preseason. It sets up a physical and emotional grind for Montana, but it's one that they are prepared for as a team.

"We've met a lot as a team about what this weekend means and where our focus needs to be this weekend but also just in the preseason in general as we have a tough schedule," Lawrence said. "The two feelings that came out were motivation and gratitude.

"We want to be in environments against teams that would win our conference or that mimic great teams in our conference. I think whenever you play against a ranked team, there is part of you that feels like its an honor to take the court, see those people across the net, and say I'm going to give you my best and I know I'm going to get your best. I think that's one of the coolest things in sport is to get that opportunity to go run at them and see what happens."

The Grizzlies went 7-5 in the preseason a year ago. It was the best preseason record for Montana since 2005, and it started with a 2-1 record in this opening weekend tournament. The momentum never went away as the Griz marched to a 17-12 record while never falling under .500.

In 2022, it was easy for Montana to measure success in wins and losses. They won the matches that they needed to win, and fell in the matches against great opposition. In fact, the only non-conference five set match Montana played in came in the final game of the preseason.

This year, and particularly this weekend, success may be measured a bit differently. The three teams in Missoula combined to go a remarkable 80-18 (.816) in 2022. The Grizzlies will be heavy underdogs in all three matches. But that won't stop them from taking the court with belief in themselves, and the knowledge that even if they are to lose it doesn't make the experience less valuable.

"One thing we've talked a lot about this week is how are we defining success individual and as a team? The biggest thing that has come out of our conversations is just that we're constantly evolving," Lawrence said. "In all of these matches, the whole point of them is to expose parts of ourselves and parts of our game that we need to examine before conference.

"Success will be if we are finding growth and paying attention to who we are in all of these scenarios. If we're doing that, we are learning, and we're getting better from this weekend," Lawrence continued. "Anything on top of that is just icing on the cake."

For Lawrence, the mentality and maturity of the team are two areas that she views as strengths. Her teams have always been strong in terms of processing who they are and what they are doing as a team. This dates back several years.

Over the past few weeks of practice, her confidence in the team's ability to enter this difficult stretch of matches and come out stronger has only grown. It is a team with plenty of veteran leadership, along with newcomers who have tasted success.

"I think we're in such a healthy mindset to get the most out of each match this preseason and that's all that we're thinking about," Lawrence said. "I think it's such a product of our teams work. They work hard physically, but also mentally and emotionally. They have put themselves in the perfect place to meet the opponents that we will and learn and gain what we need to as we move through our schedule."

GRIZ NOTES

Montana is hosting an opening weekend tournament for the second consecutive season. Prior to last year, the Grizzlies hadn't hosted since 2014.
One year removed from a tied-fourth-place finish in the Big Sky, the Grizzlies were picked to finish sixth in the league in the preseason Big Sky Coaches' Poll. The Griz finished 9-0 against opponents below them in the standings last year and 1-6 against those above them.
The Grizzlies finished 17-12 in 2022, the most wins and best winning percentage since 1999.
Paige Clark earned a spot on the 2022 All-Big Sky First Team after leading the Grizzlies with 3.87 kills per set. It was the second league honor for Clark, who was Second Team as a freshman. Clark is the first player since Mykaela Hammer in 2018 to be named to the First Team.
Clark is seeking to become the first Grizzly since Jamie Thibeault (2007-10) to be named to three All-Big Sky team. She would be the sixth three-timer in Grizzly history.
Carly Anderson is currently eighth in Montana's history with 2,618 career assists. The Second Team All-Big Sky selection in 2022 will have a chance to climb into the top five in program history if she can finish with similar numbers to last year.
Montana return 84.5 percent of starts, 84.9 percent of kills, and 91.9 percent of assists from last year's historic team. The Grizzlies will have some big shoes to fill defensively with the loss of all-time digs leader Sarina Moreno and middle blocker Elise Jolly.
Head coach Allison Lawrence enters her seventh season at the helm with a 55-107 overall record. Lawrence inherited a team that finished 5-21 overall and in last place in the Big Sky with a 2-14 mark. The turnaround she has led in Missoula earned her the 2022 Big Sky Coach of the Year award.
Alexis Batezel has emerged as a prime candidate for the libero role for the Grizzlies. She will replace Moreno, who has worn the jersey since the 2018 season.
The Grizzlies have reached back-to-back Big Sky Tournaments and will look to make it three straight this year. Montana hasn't played in three consecutive postseasons wince 2008-10. The goal for this seasons is to win a postseason match for the first time since 2013.
No. 5 Pitt will be the highest ranked opponent to ever play in Missoula. The previous high was No. 11 UCLA in 2003. The last ranked opponent to come to Missoula was Utah on Aug. 31, 2017.
Montana is 1-32 all-time against ranked opponents. They have lost 12 consecutive matches against top 25 foes. The lone win came in 1994 against No. 19 Idaho.
Montana won the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the third consecutive season in 2022. Prior to this run, the Grizzlies hadn't won the award since 2013-14. The award is given annually to volleyball teams that maintain a year-long GPA of 3.3 or higher.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

NO. 5 PITT PANTHERS

The Panthers have reached back-to-back Final Fours. They lost a five-set heartbreak to Louisville last season and fell in four sets to Nebraska in 2021. They also reached the Elite Eight in 2020, losing in five sets to Washington.
There are a trio of All-American players on the roster for the Panthers. Rachel Fairbanks (S) and Valeria Vasquez Gomez (OH) were both named to the 2022 All-American team, while Chiamaka Nwokolo (MB) was a 2020 All-American.
Head coach Dan Fisher is in his 10^th season at Pitt, and has compiled an astounding record of 258-62 (.806) at the helm. He has been named the ACC Coach of the Year twice and the East Coast AVCA Regional Coach of the Year three times.
Pitt has been ranked inside the top 10 for all but one week over the past two complete seasons. In 2021, they didn't fall outside of the top four in the country in the final 13 polls, and in 2022 they finished fourth in the final AVCA Poll. They have been ranked in 86 consecutive AVCA Polls dating back to 2018, the longest streak in program history.
The Panthers have been very good in the month of August in recent years. The Panthers are 12-1 in opening month matches dating back to 2018.
In 2022, Pitt won 18 straight matches from late September to early November. The streak included three wins over top 10 teams, including a five-set win over No. 2 Louisville.
Pitt is ranked inside the preseason AVCA Top 10 for the fourth consecutive season.

NO. 17 BYU COUGARS

BYU have been a perennial power while playing out of the West Coast Conference and now take on their first season as a member of the Big 12. They were tabbed second in the league in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
The Cougars have been ranked for 152 straight AVCA Polls. They have also been inside the top 18 in the country in 144 straight polls, which dates back to the final poll of the 2013 season.
Head coach Heather Olmstead has a 213-29 record in her eight seasons in charge at BYU. The .880 winning percentage is the highest among all active NCAA DI head coaches.
Olmstead received the WCC Coach of the Year Award on four different occasions.
The Cougars return nine players and bring in eight newcomers. Outside hitter Erin Livingston and setter Whitney Bower were both named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Livingston led the team with 437 kills (4.46/set) on a .304 hitting percentage last season. Bower had 763 assists (10.17/set) and 189 digs. Bower is a two-time WCC Setter of the Year.
The Cougars will be looking for revenge in Missoula. The 2022 season came to an end in the Round of 32 against Pitt last year, the second loss to the Panthers. In fact, two of the seven losses for BYU last year came at the hands of Pitt, who also won 3-1 in a preseason tournament in Provo.

UTRGV VAQUEROS

UTRGV finished 2022 with a 27-7 record overall and a 13-1 mark in WAC play. They won the regular season championship before being upset in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament by Utah Valley.
The Vaqueros won two matches at the Women's National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The most successful season in program history ended in the quarterfinals of that tournament in a loss to Davidson.
The 27 wins by UTRGV were the most in program history and ranked them inside the top 16 in the country in overall wins.
Luanna Emiliano was named the WAC Setter of the Year in 2022 and was tabbed as the preseason favorite for the award again in 2023. Emiliano had 1,348 assists as a sophomore, the sixth-most in the entire NCAA.
Fellow team captain Luisa Silva Dos Santos joined Emiliano on the Preseason All-WAC team. She averaged just over two kills on .336 hitting last year, while also totaling 100 blocks.
Lowery is the defending WAC Coach of the Year, and is the program's all-time leader in wins (132) and winning percentage (.559), along with many other categories. f

CROSS BODY BAG PROMOTION
The first 200 students in attendance at the Friday night match against UTRGV will receive a free Griz cross body back. The bag is black with a white Griz script logo on the front.

BEER GARDEN
Fans in attendance will be able to purchase alcohol and return with it to their seats during Montana's two evening games over the weekend.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Alexis Batezel

Paige Clark

Elise Jolly

Sarina Moreno

University of Montana Athletics