Montana opens Big Sky play against Weber State

Montana vs. Weber State
Wednesday, Sept. 20 / 7:00 p.m. / Tickets / Watch / Live Stats

UM STAFF/FACULTY APPRECIATION GAME

Griz volleyball will honor staff and faculty at the University during the match and are offering two free tickets for all UM Staff members. The tickets must be purchased online, in advance, and any staff looking to attend the match can call the Adams Center Ticket Office for a promo code.

MAIN LINE TROPHY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

The Grizzlies will next be at home in the Brawl of the Wild game against Montana State on Sept. 29. Montana swept the season series against the rival Bobcats in 2022 and retained the Main Line Trophy in the process. There will be a photo opportunity for Griz fans with the trophy in the North B section of the Adams Center prior to first serve.

PREVIEW

The wait for Big Sky Conference play is over. The difficult non-conference slate that came together in an attempt to prepare Montana volleyball to compete with the best of the league is completed. The Grizzlies emerge from it at 4-8, but more importantly with the belief that they've grown over four tough weeks and have the skills required to perform well in the Big Sky.

The first test will be difficult as Montana face off against Weber State on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Missoula. The Wildcats have consistently been at the top of the conference and enter the matchup with nine straight wins against the Grizzlies. It will be a great test to see just how much Montana progressed during the non-conference.

"I think we feel really good," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "In a preseason where you are hitting a lot of challenges and falling short in a lot of senses, I think there were frustrations and it's a little bit of a relief to get out of that and go into conference and slow down."

The schedule featured not only difficult opponents in the non-conference, including a pair of top 10 opponents and an LMU team receiving votes to be ranked, but also a non-stop pace. It's why Lawrence is excited for a change of pace with just three matches in a three-week stretch to start conference play. The Grizzlies played 12 matches in 23 days during the non-conference.

They left the final tournament in Boise, Idaho last weekend with a 1-2 record after beating South Dakota State but falling against LMU and host Boise State. The weekend was the latest example of results telling one story, but the on-court product telling something else. It should be a good preparation for the Wildcats.

"Even this last weekend, we gained a lot of tools for conference play and played a lot of teams that are similar in level of play to Weber State," Lawrence said. "I think we feel prepared and feel like there are levels that we've added in four weeks that we really needed. I think we're really ready."

The Wildcats have won five out of the previous six matches to go into Big Sky play with a 7-4 record. They were the best defensive team in the league last year, and are tracking for something similar so far this season.

In his ninth year at the program, head coach Jeremiah Larsen has built a solid program that will always be in the conversation for the Big Sky title.

"Weber State's strengths are in their consistency," Lawrence said of the Wildcats. "They are very disciplined, very well coach, and very systematic in their approach. I think when you scout a Weber State team they are very similar to past teams and the players execute their system very well."

Montana will be glad to see a familiar opponent that should help gauge where they stand in the hierarchy of the conference. They will also be glad to be back at home inside Dahlberg Arena. This is the first home match for Montana since losing to now-No. 10 BYU on Aug. 26.

The conversations have been had. The only way out of the non-conference was through it. For Lawrence, there is the expectation that after the crucibles her team has gone through over the last month, the Grizzlies that show up on Wednesday will be a very different team from the one that fans saw last month.

"It feels good to be at home. I think being on the road bonds you but it is also just tiring," Lawrence said. "It's great to be back home and in front of Griz nation. Then to open with Weber State and kind of test what we've been saying. We've been saying that this is what we are preparing for, and now it's time to put our money where our mouths are and put up a strong showing."

Week Five Montana Griz Volleyball Press Conference with Allison Lawrence https://t.co/OVlVtIJHIC
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 18, 2023

CA-3K

Carly Anderson became just the eighth player in program history to reach the 3,000-assist mark over the weekend. She reached the milestone in the loss to LMU on Friday, and enters Big Sky play with 3,051. She trails Diana Thompson (2002-05) by 231 for seventh in program history.

It's been a great start to the year for Anderson, who ranks 33^rd in the entire NCAA and leads the Big Sky Conference in total assists. She already has 433 on the year, averaging 9.21 per set.

Anderson is one of just 24 active players to have 3,000 career assists and ranks 22^nd among the group.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS

Montana stacked up the All-Tournament honors throughout the 12-match preseason with three players sharing six total honors. Ellie Scherffius bookended the preseason with a pair of honors to bring her career total up to eight All-Tournament teams.

Paige Clark picked up her play recently and was named to the final two teams of the preseason while setter Carly Anderson also earned a spot on two teams.

Elesyn Invitational – Ellie Scherffius
Buffalo Invite – Carly Anderson
UND Classic – Carly Anderson and Paige Clark
Boise State Classic – Paige Clark and Ellie Scherffius

ACES WILD

Montana have been excellent from the service line over the past two seasons. They were inside the top 100 in the country last year and are currently 40^th in the NCAA with 82 team aces this season. Carly Anderson (22), Paige Clark (18), and Sarah Ashley (17) are all inside the top 150 individually in total aces.

The service line has also hurt Montana, however. The Grizzlies allow 2.1 aces per set. The service game has been a pretty good indicator of team success. The three highest single match ace totals this year all came in wins.

WHERE THEY RANK

The Grizzlies have five players in the top 10 of the Big Sky Conference in a variety of statistical categories. Here are the players and where they rank compared to the rest of the league.

Carly Anderson: 3^rd in assists (9.21/set), 3^rd in aces (0.47)
Sarah Ashley: 9^th in aces (0.37/set)
Alexis Batezel: 5^th in digs (3.91/set)
Paige Clark: 7^th in kills (3.13/set), 8^th in aces (0.38), 6^th in points (3.70)
Ellie Scherffius: 3^rd in hitting percentage (.329), 7^th in blocks (1.02)

GRIZ NOTES

The Grizzlies defeated South Dakota State in four sets before falling to LMU in a sweep and Boise State in four.
It's a small sample size, but Montana currently rank 88^th in the country in average attendance at 731 per match. If they kept it up throughout the rest of the season, it will be Montana's best average since 1993. The Griz averaged 679 fans per match last year, which was also the most since '93.
Montana are hitting .196 as a team this season which ranks seventh in the Big Sky and are eighth in kills per set at just under 12.
The Grizzlies had 10-plus blocks in four straight matches heading into the Boise State Classic, but recorded exactly five blocks in all three matches in the final tournament of the preseason.
Even in losses, Montana has been very competitive this year. They have been swept just three times, all against very high level opposition, and seven of the 12 matches have gone to four sets.
Montana went 10-6 in Big Sky play last season, the program's best record in league play since doing the same in 2009.
Montana's 17-12 record in 2022 was the best mark for the program since 1999.
While she is just over 400 attacks short of qualifying, Ellie Scherffius would be the all-time leader in hitting percentage for Montana at her current rate. The senior is hitting .329 on the season to raise her career number to .295. Karen Goff (1991-94) is the program leader with a .294 hitting percentage (min. 1,500 attempts).

SCOUTING WEBER STATE

Weber State enters conference play with a 7-4 overall record. They played plenty of home matches in the preseason, going 4-2 in Ogden and just 1-2 on the road.
The Wildcats went 17-12 in 2022 with an 11-5 mark in Big Sky play. They earned the No. 3 seed at the Big Sky Championship were they were upset in the first round in five sets. They went on to play in the NIVC, losing in five to Drake in the first round.
They enter on a hot streak, winning five of the last six matches with the only loss coming to Utah in four sets in Salt Lake City. In the five wins, Weber State dropped just three total sets.
Weber State lead the Big Sky in blocks, averaging an astounding 2.57 per set. It's nearly a half block more than the second ranked team. They also led the league in the category in 2022.
The Wildcats have also been the most efficient offense in the league through the preseason. They are hitting .229 so far in 2023, which is tops in the Big Sky.
Serving has been a strength for Weber State and a weakness for Montana's defense this year. The Wildcats are second in the Big Sky and 50^th in the NCAA with 1.86 aces per set, while Montana have allowed the most aces (2.13 per set) of any team in the league.
Kate Standifird has been excellent in control of the Wildcats offense, leading the league with 10.26 assists per set. She also ranks seventh in the league in aces per set with 17 total this season.
Dani Richins is one of the top attacking players in the history of the Big Sky. Richins has been named First Team All-Big Sky four times in her career and was the league's MVP in 2021. She also leads the Big Sky this season with 0.54 aces per set and is Weber State's all-time leader in the category with 186 in her career.
The league's top 10 for blocks includes three Wildcats, including the league leader in the category Saane Katoa. Katoa averages a whopping 1.47 per set. Briell Rueckert is fourth with 1.06 and Kate Standifird is ninth with 0.98 per set.
Weber State are a perennial power in the league, winning at least a share of the Big Sky regular season title in two of the previous three seasons and finishing in the top three of the league every year since 2017.

SERIES HISTORY
Montana has the advantage in the all-time series with a record of 48-39, including a 26-16 record in Missoula. The series has been all Weber State as of late, however. The Wildcats have won nine consecutive matches against the Grizzlies with five sweeps. The other four matches ended in four sets. Montana haven't won against Weber State since Oct. 7, 2017.

UP NEXT

Montana will hit the road again for a matchup with Eastern Washington on Sept. 23. The match will begin at 3:00 p.m. The Grizzlies will then return home for the Brawl of the Wild on Sept. 29 at 6:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Alexis Batezel

Paige Clark

Ellie Scherffius

University of Montana Athletics