Montana aims for fourth straight rivalry win

MONTANA VS. MONTANA STATE
Friday, Sept. 29 / 6:00 p.m. / Tickets / Watch / Live Stats

FAN GIVEAWAY – VOLLEYBALL PINS
The first 500 fans to arrive on Friday night will receive a free Griz volleyball pin. The pin is in the shape of a volleyball with a maroon Griz script logo centered in the circle.

ESPN+ BROADCAST
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with a commentary team featuring "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran doing play-by-play and Nate Michael on color commentary.

ALUMNI NIGHT
Montana will honor former players with an on-court ceremony in between the second and third sets. There is a large group expected to be in Missoula as part of Homecoming Week, and former First Team All-Big Sky member Linde (Eidenberg) Carroll will join the ESPN+ Broadcast for an on-air interview with Corcoran.

MATCH PREVIEW
There is always one match that means a little bit more than the rest for the Montana volleyball team. When the rivals come to town, the pressure and intensity levels can't help but rise. The Grizzlies and Bobcats will take center stage on Friday night in Dahlberg Arena and meet for the 122^nd time beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Montana State comes to town with the best record in the conference and having started 2-0 in Big Sky play. Last season, Montana (5-9, 1-1 Big Sky) set an attendance record with more than 2,000 fans at the Brawl of the Wild match. Montana enters the game with a 60-61 all-time record against the rivals. It doesn't get any closer than that, and the Grizzlies would love nothing more than evening that record out.

And despite all the extra attention surrounding the game, the goal for head coach Allison Lawrence and her team will be to remain themselves and live in the moment.

"I think the pressure could not be higher on this kind of a game, and yet what we always try to focus on is just the joy of getting to play in a true rivalry game where more-and-more of those are kind of going away," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think it's a special night and the whole reason we want to play collegiate sports, so we just want to enjoy it."

It's been said before, but Montana's difficult non-conference schedule came together in an effort to prepare the team for these exact types of matches. The Bobcats are one of the top offenses in the conference and have had an impressive start to head coach Matt Houk's first season in Bozeman.

They have a power five win and haven't dropped a set so far in conference play. They will provide Montana with a great challenge in a match that, regardless of either team's record, always seems to be extra competitive.

"It's going to be a tight match," Lawrence said. "It is every year, the emotions run high, and MSU is playing so well and I think still have a lot of the strengths that they do every year and a style of play that we recognize as theirs. I think they are playing even better and more like themselves as the weeks go on."

Montana for its part comes into the match off the best performance of the season. The Grizzlies swept Eastern Washington on the road in a match that never felt in doubt, hitting a season-high .304 with nearly 15 kills per set. They trailed the Eagles for just five total points during the match.

The offensive flow was generated from a passing and receiving game that has made major improvements as the season has progressed. Montana often found itself in system on the attack, and it led to plenty of options for Carly Anderson to choose from and big days from a few attacking players.

Maddie Kremer had a career-high 15 kills, Paige Clark reached double-digit kills for the 10^th time this season, and Madi Chuhlantseff had eight kills on .533 hitting.

"I think that Saturday offensively was pretty great, so that was fun," Lawrence said. "It was fun to see us remain terminal through some ups and downs in our first contact. Eastern Washington has some really good servers that are up in the conference in aces per set, so it was fun to see us really weather that storm and also remain terminal the whole time."

A similar challenge awaits with Montana State. The Bobcats are one of the top teams in the conference in serving, but if Montana's serve-receive unit plays as well as they did on Saturday it should lead to a good day for the Grizzlies.

No matter what, the mentality for Montana remains the same. One year removed from a 17-win season, this campaign has been about the process. On Friday night, against a top team in the league and a large crowd, there should be plenty of opportunities for lessons to be learned.

There is a hunger to win, and to bring the Main Line Trophy back to Missoula for the fourth straight time, but Lawrence also wants to take any "must-win match" type of pressure of the game for her team.

"I think there is an expectation to find growth in success, but I think success to me and to our group this year is not really a pressure to get certain wins in certain moments," Lawrence said. "Yes, we are playing to win by all means. But I just don't think we're framing or internalizing our season like that."

Montana is hoping for a big crowd. Lawrence said that having fan support and engaging with the community is one of the main focuses of her program. It's why the team will make several appearances on the Oval this week to meet with students, and also why they stick around – win or lose – after matches to sign autographs and speak with fans.

It makes the moments like this that much sweeter. There is no better feeling than playing in front of thousands of fans inside Dahlberg Arena, and having Montana State in town should bring out one of the best crowds of the year.

"I expect it to be great. In our gym, regardless of how many people are there I expect it to be loud," Lawrence said. "Our students section has been growing and growing and I feel like there is such momentum for the in-game experience for a fan, especially a student fan. It's really exciting to see because our team wants to build those relationships."

You won't want to miss this match. There will be giveaways, alumni celebrations, and two excellent teams squaring off across the net. And, if Montana were to keep the Main Line Trophy in Missoula, the annual Yell Night on the Oval would be the perfect way to celebrate.

Week Six Montana Griz Volleyball Press Conference with Allison Lawrence https://t.co/XAy1Agan0d
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 25, 2023

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

Paige Clark has 10-plus kills in three straight matches and seven of the previous eight. She's averaging 3.78 kills per set over the last five matches, and 3.15 for the season which has her ranked eighth in the Big Sky. Clark has also been playing the full rotation, and ranks second on Montana with 2.04 digs/set.
Clark is seventh in the Big Sky in scoring (3.68 points/set) and 10^th in service aces (0.33/set). She also ranks 29^th in the country with 25 total aces, and 37^th with 500 total assists.
Carly Anderson is third in the Big Sky with 9.26 assists/set. She has also upped her game in the recent stretch, bumping that up to 9.72 in the previous five matches.
Anderson also has five double-doubles this season and ranks fifth on the team with 96 digs on the year. She is fifth in the conference in service aces with 0.46/set.
Madi Chuhlantseff has been solid and steady all year, and had one of her best performances in last Saturday's win. She had eight kills with zero errors on .533 hitting. The middle is third on the team with 1.96 kills/set.
Alexis Batezel stepped into the libero role this year and has improved as the season has progressed. She had one of her best performances on Saturday, recording 19 digs (6.33/set) to go along with excellent passing that helped Montana to its best hitting percentage of the year. She has double-digit digs in 12 straight matches and 13 out of 14 overall.
Batezel is currently fourth in the Big Sky with 4.11 digs/set.
Ellie Scherffius continues to be a defensive force at the net. She had a career-high eight blocks against Weber State (9/20) and has multiple blocks in 13 straight matches.
Scherffius is currently third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.319) and fourth in blocks (1.09/set).
Sarah Ashley has played all but one set this year as a defensive specialist and has constantly changed the momentum of a game with her serving. Ashley is ninth in the league in service aces with 18 total this year, and went over 100 digs on the season in the win against Eastern Washington (9/22).
Catie Semadeni has had some big-time offensive performances this year. She averages 1.80 kills per set and has three matches with double-digit kills. In all three of those matches, Semadeni hit over .320.
Maddie Kremer enters Friday night coming off perhaps the best attacking night of her career. She had 15 kills (5.00/set) in the sweep of Eastern Washington and hit .286 in the effort. It's the seventh time this season she has reached double-digits.
Kremer's performance Saturday was the fourth-highest attacking percentage in a single match by a Grizzly this year (min. 12 kills). She has four of the six highest percentages this season.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana is 0-7 when losing the opening set of the match. They are 5-2 when taking the opening set, and they won six of the previous eight first sets.
The Grizzlies hit over .300 for the first time this year in the win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. Montana have hit in the .200s six times, and the .100s seven times. They have not been held under .100 hitting in a full match this season.
The first win at home has eluded Montana so far this year. They are 0-4, although that record includes losses to two teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the national poll and a preseason Big Sky favorite in Weber State.
The Griz are 3-5 in matches that are tied 1-1 after two sets. Montana is 4-4 in the third set in such occasions.
Serving has been a strength for Montana with 90 total aces this year. They rank second in the league and 58^th in the country in the category.
The rotation has been consistent all season for Montana. There have been five players that have appeared in every set while three others have played at least 52 of the 54 total sets.
Montana are looking to start 2-1 in league play for just the eighth time since 2000. It would be the third time that Allison Lawrence is above .500 through three games in her seven seasons.
Head Coach Allison Lawrence is third in program history with 60 career wins. She has a 60-106 career record in six-plus seasons.

MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (9-3, 2-0 Big Sky)

Montana State enters the week tied for first in the Big Sky after sweeping the Idaho schools during opening week. They are 9-3 overall after an impressive non-conference schedule and are 111^th in the most recent RPI Rankings.
The Bobcats have plenty of firepower on offense, leading the league in assists (12.47/set) and kills (13.36/set). They are also second in the league in service aces with 1.87/set.
They started the season 7-1 with a power 5 win over Oregon State before falling in the final two non-conference matches.
Montana State is 41^st in the country in aces per set (1.87) and 47^th in assists per set (12.47).
Kira Thompson has been a handful for opposing defenses this year. She leads the Big Sky and is 40^th in the country with 4.00 kills per set. She also leads the league and is 25^th overall with 0.53 aces/set, and is also top 40 in the NCAA with 4.67 points/set.

SERIES HISTORY

The Grizzlies trail in the all-time series with an overall record of 60-61. They have the advantage in Missoula with a 30-25 all-time mark and have had the edge recently, entering Friday night on a three-match winning streak in the rivalry.

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Players Mentioned

Carly Anderson

Sarah Ashley

Alexis Batezel

Madi Chuhlantseff

Paige Clark

Maddie Kremer

Ellie Scherffius

Catie Semadeni

University of Montana Athletics