Griz start senior week off with massive win

Thursday, November 14

Missoula, Mont.

4:00 PM

Montana

9-16,4-10Big Sky

Sacramento State

16-10,9-4Big Sky

Sacramento St.

Montana

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Montana

11/14/2024 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

This week means a lot for Griz volleyball, both on and off the floor. The Grizzlies will celebrate Senior Night on Saturday, and the emotions are sure to be high as they celebrate a class that has changed Griz volleyball for the better.

But there is also the matter of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, and what Montana needs to do in these final two weeks to keep their postseason hopes alive. It started with a huge showdown against Sacramento State, a team that is tied for second in the league standings, that Montana hadn't beaten since 2021, and that entered Thursday on a four-match winning streak.

Montana squared off with the Hornets, and broke all those streaks in a thrilling five-set victory. The win improves the Grizzlies to 9-16 on the year and 4-10 in Big Sky play, and extends their winning streak to three matches.

"It's such a thrill and a testament again to our team's belief, loyalty, and unity," said head coach Allison Lawrence. "I definitely feel like after last weekend, even two weeks ago with our match against ISU, had a different feel to it. Since that moment, there has been momentum so coming in here it felt like we were a different team."

It's the 75^th career win at Montana for Lawrence.

The Hornets took the first set 25-20, but Montana bounced back in the second and third sets to take the lead. They fell in the fourth, but used a 6-1 run in the fifth to take control and see through the upset win.

It's the first and only meeting between the two this year. Last season, Sacramento State celebrated winning the regular season championship in Missoula after a victory over the Griz. They were in a similar spot this time around, trailing Northern Colorado by a game but winners of four straight to keep themselves in title contention.

Against one of the top teams in the league, Montana played with a new-found confidence that has been on display for the last three weeks. The Grizzlies hit .231 in the match, the highest allowed by the Hornets in nearly a month, and had a season-high 12 service aces.

It was a balanced effort for the Grizzlies. Maddie Kremer led the way with 16 on .310 hitting, continuing her fantastic run of play from last weekend. It's the third straight match hitting at least .300 with 10 or more kills for the senior.

Alexis Batezel had a season-high 23 digs, diving for balls all night and keeping Montana in points with her determination.

"I think Lexi played really well. She had a lot of fight and a lot of hustle," Lawrence said. "There were a lot of plays where we just weren't giving up and sending free balls over and then defending well out of that, so I think that really stole momentum for us in a great way."

Batezel keeps it alive (x2), and then the freshman Delaney Russell puts it away! pic.twitter.com/Cd08skVgBS
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 15, 2024

Paige Clark had a dozen kills on .258 hitting. She recorded seven of her kills in an absolutely dominant third set, hitting .636 in the period with zero service errors. Clark also moved into the top 10 in program history with her 128^th career ace.

Delaney Russell and Maddie Pyles both finished with 10 kills each as the two setters did a fantastic job spreading the ball around. Casi Newman had a double-double with 24 assists and 10 digs, and Gracie Cagle had 20 assists, seven digs, and two kills.

"It's weird to play a team in conference for the first time on Nov. 14. We have three conference matches left and it's the first time we're seeing them," Lawrence said. "I'm just really proud of the team. They want it so bad and you can see that in everything they're doing and I love the lesson that we didn't have to play perfectly to pull this off."

Montana also had 10 blocks, their most in over a month. Brenley Hansen had seven and Maddie Pyles had four. Sierra Dennison also got significant time on the night, finishing with two blocks.

"I thought Sierra came in and did a phenomenal job of hitting our scouting report and getting blocks and touches," Lawrence said. "Brenley finished blocks in ways that, they are a really savvy team that against a triple block can find seams, so that was really well done."

Sacramento State opened the match on a 6-1 run and led the whole way in the first set for an impressive start on the road. It was their 10th straight set win.

It looked like things may not go Montana's way on the night, as Sacramento State started to build some big leads in the second. They used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 14-8 and led by six on multiple occasions. The Hornets were the first team to 20, going ahead 20-15 on a kill from Ellie Tisko.

Then Maddie Kremer and Brenley Hansen combined for a block to give the serve back to the Grizzlies. Kremer went to the line, and served Montana to an 8-0 run. The 20-15 lead for Sacramento State turned into a 23-20 Griz advantage in the blink of an eye.

The tip from Maddie Pyles for Montana's 8⃣th straight point 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o36TOCXsnx
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 15, 2024

It would become tied again at 24-all, but service and attacking errors from Sacramento State allowed Montana to take the second 26-24 and level the match.

"I think what flipped the match for me was Maddie Kremer's serving run in the second," Lawrence said. "We had started the match, I think we are a good serving team, but they were passing well and it just felt like they were in rhythm, passing well, and then she kind of got the wedge in on their serve-receive and everybody else kind of followed and drove that wedge deeper."

The third set also hinged on a big service run from Montana, but this time it came early in the set and allowed them to control it most of the way. Casi Newman had two aces and Clark had three kills as part of a 7-0 Grizzly run early in the third. Sacramento State pulled within two, but Newman once again went on a long run as the Griz scored the final six points of the set with her at the service line.

Montana has struggled at times this season with putting sets away when they had the lead. They had narrow deficits late in both the second and third sets, and saw them through to take the lead against one of the top teams in the league.

"It's such a flip from the narrative of that middle part of our season. I think you saw the same thing at Eastern Washington. Maddie Kremer did it at Eastern, too. Maddie Pyles had a huge run. Casi had a big run at Eastern and a couple today.

"I think we're seeing that we can hold consistent pressure. It's not like they served eight aces in a row, but they served a tough ball and made Sac play the ball but kept aggression there and were playmakers," Lawrence continued. "I think when that's happening, we're earning big time advantages, and I think the confidence goes through the roof."

Griz in scramble mode, but Paige Clark gets it done from an impossible angle! That's six straight points for the Griz! pic.twitter.com/r4hEqYIW8T
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 15, 2024

Sacramento State took a big lead in the fourth and won that set 25-16, setting up a fifth set for Montana for just the third time this season. The Grizzlies had lost the previous two matches that went five sets.

The Hornets went up 2-0, but Delaney Russell tied it back up with a kill followed by an ace. They traded points to 4-4, and then Montana went on a 4-0 run with Gracie Cagle serving to double up the visitors at 8-4.

Just when it looked like the Hornets might claw their way back in, Newman returned to the service line. The Griz sided out with a kill from Clark, and then Newman dialed up back-to-back aces to make it 14-9 Montana.

Newman had five service aces on the night, the most since Sarah Ashley had the same number on the road at Sacramento State last season on Oct. 19.

Clark put the finishing touch on the win, ripping her 12^th kill of the night to end it 15-10.

The crowd on hand in Dahlberg Arena erupted like it hadn't done all season. There was extra energy in the gym with family members in town for Senior Week, but the Griz faithful also knew what was on the line and how much this win meant to the team.

"It was a gritty crowd, it felt like they were emotionally wanting it so bad for us, too," Lawrence said. "I think that's also a testament to this team. It's senior weekend and you see so many people from our community that have been watching these seniors for four years and feel a part of their family and are wearing shirts with their faces on them. I don't think that happens by accident."

The Grizzlies did their part on Thursday afternoon. They now will have to wait to see what the results around the league. They are now level with Northern Arizona on wins, but the Lumberjacks have one game more than Montana, and they own the tiebreaker.

Portland State and Montana State are playing on Thursday evening. The Grizzlies could still catch either of those teams at the moment, but likely need the loser of that match to then lose their final matches of the season as well.

The Bobcats and Vikings are also the only two teams remaining on Montana's schedule, so they will hopefully be able to take things into their own hands a bit.

Montana remains on the outside looking in, but they are in the best form of the season. They will look to keep that momentum rolling on Saturday when they host Portland State for Senior Night.

It's sure to be an emotional night inside Dahlberg Arena, but Lawrence is hoping that her team can turn that emotion into a great performance on the court.

"I think part of what makes our team great is our emotional connection to each other and this place," Lawrence said. "We are definitely an emotional group and coaching staff and feel very bonded. The theme of this weekend has been to play just as physical as we are emotional, and use those to make each other stronger. I think that's what makes us great, and I think that's where belief comes from.

"I want them to lean into that, even in the tough moments where there is grief mixed with joy," Lawrence said. "I think we need both of those things to get us in our highest gear, that's what makes our team so fun."