Saturday, November 16
Missoula, Mont.
7:00 PM
Montana
10-16,5-10Big Sky
3
vs
0
Portland State
7-18,6-8Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Portland St.
15
25
17
0
Montana
25
27
25
3
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
Griz bottle senior night magic, win fourth straight
11/16/2024 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball
The emotions were high for Griz volleyball on Saturday night as the program celebrated the senior class prior to the match, and Montana was able to bottle that emotion and turn it into a powerhouse performance against Portland State.
The Griz swept the Vikings 25-15, 27-25, and 25-17 to win their fourth straight match and keep their hopes of a postseason bid alive.
Montana improves to 10-16 overall and 5-10 in Big Sky play with the win. It's the fourth straight 10-win season for the Griz, something that hadn't been done since 2008-11, and the fifth time reaching 10 wins in head coach Allison Lawrence's seven fall seasons in charge.
The Grizzlies hit .296 in the match, recording 47 kills to just 13 errors, and held Portland State to just .121 hitting. Montana has hit over .230 in all four matches during the current winning streak.
"It seems like every night and every week we are getting more and more resilient and more and more in rhythm," Lawrence said. "It was really incredible to see with this weekend being senior weekend and a home football game and just so many extra emotions going into the weekend. We wanted to use the emotions to help us focus, and you just saw a team that was very connected, very gritty."
Prior to the first serve, Montana had an on-court ceremony for the six seniors leaving the program at the end of the year. Paige Clark, Jackie Howell, Sierra Dennison, Ginny Pace, Casi Newman, and Maddie Kremer all received framed jerseys and flowers while their families celebrated with them.
The emotions can sometimes get in the way, but Lawrence and her team tried to channel that extra emotion for good. It certainly appeared to work as they dominated the Vikings. Maddie Kremer had 15 kills on .304 hitting in her final game inside Dahlberg Arena.
"I literally can't think about it because I've already cried so much," Kremer said of her final match at home. "Just thinking about what we've done and everything, thinking about what we needed to do by sweeping them is one thing and then thinking about it being my last game here is another, and it all coming together is one big emotional mess for me. But it's also such a blessing that I get to feel this right now."
Kremer has recorded at least 10 kills on better than .300 hitting during all four of Montana's wins during the current streak. She was the only Grizzly in double-figures and she narrowly missed out on a double-double with seven digs.
"I think that this new lineup we have, we are all hitting so well and it gives us so much room to swing and see the block and really spread it out," Kremer said. "It gives me an opportunity to have seams and everyone behind me and the setters are giving me such good balls, and it's really fun because it's like a field day."
She got things started on the night for Montana, serving them to a 4-0 lead right out of the gates. The Grizzlies went from a tearful pregame to a fiery opening to the match. Brenley Hansen had a solo block to make it 6-1 as it was all Griz early.
Maddie Pyles and Delaney Russel both started well with four combined kills on five swings in Montana's first eight points. The offense remained hot, as they took a 13-6 lead on a kill from Kremer. It was Montana's 11th kill of the set, and they were hitting .667 at the time.
Portland State was never able to get close, and a 6-0 run with Paige Clark serving helped ice the opening set 25-15.
Clark recorded her 129th career ace during the serving run, moving into sole possession of 10th place in program history. The senior also had nine kills on .389 hitting, and bumped her career total up to 1,262, which moved her from 8th to 6th in program history, passing Karen Goff and Kayla Reno.
"It's pretty cool just because not many people get to experience something like that," Clark said. "I'm just really grateful, that's really all I can say. The coaches gave me a chance to be an outside freshman year and it's paid off and I'm just so grateful."
Portland State had a brief early lead in the second set, but the Griz battled back. Sierra Dennison had a pair of kills as Montana eventually pulled ahead 12-9. The senior from Missoula, playing her last match in her home town, was key to the win. She totaled four kills on .400 hitting and had a team-high six blocks.
Montana fell behind 16-15, but then scored seven of the next eight points to take a 22-17 lead. Maddie Pyles had two kills and a block during the run, and continued her good run of play with a seven-kill, three-dig, three-block night.
The Griz had a quadruple set point, leading 24-20, but Portland State fended them all off to tie it at 24-all and then 25-all. A service error by the Vikings gave Montana a chance, and Clark put the set away with a kill to make it 2-0 Montana.
In the third, Montana scored the first three points and led 10-4 behind a balanced offensive attack. Portland State crawled back within two points at 15-13, but Clark went to the service line and Kremer went to work on offense to put the match away.
Kremer had four straight kills as part of a 6-0 Grizzly run that made it 21-13. An error by the Vikings would end the set and the match at 25-17, and Montana began their celebrations in front of a crowd of over 800, the third-largest of the year.
Casi Newman, the newest senior but still a hugely impactful player this year, finished with a team-high 19 assists and nine digs.
Jackie Howell had seven digs and two assists in her final Missoula match, and Ginny Pace also came in late to help the Grizzlies close out the victory.
It keeps Montana's postseason hopes alive. The Griz remain in 9th place in the Big Sky with eight teams making the conference tournament, but a win next Friday against Montana State combined with other results around the league could get the Grizzlies into the postseason.
A loss on Saturday night would have dashed those dreams. In her final match at home, Clark talked to the team in the huddle before the match.
"I told them that I just want more time with them," Clark said. "I just said, selfishly I want more time to play with you guys, and they did everything that they could to do that. I've only got a little left and being able to do that with the team here and all these people that I've spent so much time around, it's just been the best opportunity."
The Grizzlies now have that hope. The Main Line Trophy will be on the line as the Griz enter Brick Breeden Fieldhouse next Friday, but there will so much more at stake. Montana enters on a four-match winning streak. MSU is 1-3 against the same opponents during that time.
A Grizzly win, and the teams are tied at 6-10 in the league standings. Northern Arizona and Portland State will also factor into potential tiebreaker scenarios, but none of that matters unless the Griz taked down the Cats.
"There couldn't be more on the line. At the end of the day, that's kind of where you want it to be," Lawrence said. "You want to be in the rivalry with as much at stake as possible because it feels like the stakes are as high as can be regardless. It's a fun place to play, they are going to pack that place, there is Griz-Cat football the next day, so in a lot of ways the stakes couldn't be higher institutionally as we head onto their home turf.
"We have every reason to go in fighting for everything in our season and in our seniors, and I think we'll do just that."
The Griz swept the Vikings 25-15, 27-25, and 25-17 to win their fourth straight match and keep their hopes of a postseason bid alive.
Montana improves to 10-16 overall and 5-10 in Big Sky play with the win. It's the fourth straight 10-win season for the Griz, something that hadn't been done since 2008-11, and the fifth time reaching 10 wins in head coach Allison Lawrence's seven fall seasons in charge.
The Grizzlies hit .296 in the match, recording 47 kills to just 13 errors, and held Portland State to just .121 hitting. Montana has hit over .230 in all four matches during the current winning streak.
"It seems like every night and every week we are getting more and more resilient and more and more in rhythm," Lawrence said. "It was really incredible to see with this weekend being senior weekend and a home football game and just so many extra emotions going into the weekend. We wanted to use the emotions to help us focus, and you just saw a team that was very connected, very gritty."
The final point of a GRIZ SWEEP!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/QlorAn3dC3
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 17, 2024
Prior to the first serve, Montana had an on-court ceremony for the six seniors leaving the program at the end of the year. Paige Clark, Jackie Howell, Sierra Dennison, Ginny Pace, Casi Newman, and Maddie Kremer all received framed jerseys and flowers while their families celebrated with them.
The emotions can sometimes get in the way, but Lawrence and her team tried to channel that extra emotion for good. It certainly appeared to work as they dominated the Vikings. Maddie Kremer had 15 kills on .304 hitting in her final game inside Dahlberg Arena.
"I literally can't think about it because I've already cried so much," Kremer said of her final match at home. "Just thinking about what we've done and everything, thinking about what we needed to do by sweeping them is one thing and then thinking about it being my last game here is another, and it all coming together is one big emotional mess for me. But it's also such a blessing that I get to feel this right now."
Kremer has recorded at least 10 kills on better than .300 hitting during all four of Montana's wins during the current streak. She was the only Grizzly in double-figures and she narrowly missed out on a double-double with seven digs.
"I think that this new lineup we have, we are all hitting so well and it gives us so much room to swing and see the block and really spread it out," Kremer said. "It gives me an opportunity to have seams and everyone behind me and the setters are giving me such good balls, and it's really fun because it's like a field day."
Round of applause for Maddie Kremer 👏
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 17, 2024
The senior has at least 10 kills on better than .300 hitting in every contest during our four-match winning streak 🔥🔥🔥🔥#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/iGYXYu1Z34
She got things started on the night for Montana, serving them to a 4-0 lead right out of the gates. The Grizzlies went from a tearful pregame to a fiery opening to the match. Brenley Hansen had a solo block to make it 6-1 as it was all Griz early.
Maddie Pyles and Delaney Russel both started well with four combined kills on five swings in Montana's first eight points. The offense remained hot, as they took a 13-6 lead on a kill from Kremer. It was Montana's 11th kill of the set, and they were hitting .667 at the time.
Portland State was never able to get close, and a 6-0 run with Paige Clark serving helped ice the opening set 25-15.
Clark recorded her 129th career ace during the serving run, moving into sole possession of 10th place in program history. The senior also had nine kills on .389 hitting, and bumped her career total up to 1,262, which moved her from 8th to 6th in program history, passing Karen Goff and Kayla Reno.
"It's pretty cool just because not many people get to experience something like that," Clark said. "I'm just really grateful, that's really all I can say. The coaches gave me a chance to be an outside freshman year and it's paid off and I'm just so grateful."
Career ace No. 129 for Paige Clark, who enters the top 10 in program history! pic.twitter.com/NvreXuGYnX
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) November 17, 2024
Portland State had a brief early lead in the second set, but the Griz battled back. Sierra Dennison had a pair of kills as Montana eventually pulled ahead 12-9. The senior from Missoula, playing her last match in her home town, was key to the win. She totaled four kills on .400 hitting and had a team-high six blocks.
Montana fell behind 16-15, but then scored seven of the next eight points to take a 22-17 lead. Maddie Pyles had two kills and a block during the run, and continued her good run of play with a seven-kill, three-dig, three-block night.
The Griz had a quadruple set point, leading 24-20, but Portland State fended them all off to tie it at 24-all and then 25-all. A service error by the Vikings gave Montana a chance, and Clark put the set away with a kill to make it 2-0 Montana.
In the third, Montana scored the first three points and led 10-4 behind a balanced offensive attack. Portland State crawled back within two points at 15-13, but Clark went to the service line and Kremer went to work on offense to put the match away.
Kremer had four straight kills as part of a 6-0 Grizzly run that made it 21-13. An error by the Vikings would end the set and the match at 25-17, and Montana began their celebrations in front of a crowd of over 800, the third-largest of the year.
Casi Newman, the newest senior but still a hugely impactful player this year, finished with a team-high 19 assists and nine digs.
Jackie Howell had seven digs and two assists in her final Missoula match, and Ginny Pace also came in late to help the Grizzlies close out the victory.
It keeps Montana's postseason hopes alive. The Griz remain in 9th place in the Big Sky with eight teams making the conference tournament, but a win next Friday against Montana State combined with other results around the league could get the Grizzlies into the postseason.
A loss on Saturday night would have dashed those dreams. In her final match at home, Clark talked to the team in the huddle before the match.
"I told them that I just want more time with them," Clark said. "I just said, selfishly I want more time to play with you guys, and they did everything that they could to do that. I've only got a little left and being able to do that with the team here and all these people that I've spent so much time around, it's just been the best opportunity."
The Grizzlies now have that hope. The Main Line Trophy will be on the line as the Griz enter Brick Breeden Fieldhouse next Friday, but there will so much more at stake. Montana enters on a four-match winning streak. MSU is 1-3 against the same opponents during that time.
A Grizzly win, and the teams are tied at 6-10 in the league standings. Northern Arizona and Portland State will also factor into potential tiebreaker scenarios, but none of that matters unless the Griz taked down the Cats.
"There couldn't be more on the line. At the end of the day, that's kind of where you want it to be," Lawrence said. "You want to be in the rivalry with as much at stake as possible because it feels like the stakes are as high as can be regardless. It's a fun place to play, they are going to pack that place, there is Griz-Cat football the next day, so in a lot of ways the stakes couldn't be higher institutionally as we head onto their home turf.
"We have every reason to go in fighting for everything in our season and in our seniors, and I think we'll do just that."
Team Stats
PSU
Mont
Kills
32
47
Errors
17
13
Attempts
124
115
Hitting %
.121
.296
Points
44.0
58.0
Assists
30
42
Aces
5
3
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
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MB
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DS
/ VolleyballOH
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