Griz complete perfect weekend with sweep of Idaho

Saturday, November 9

Moscow, Idaho

7:00 PM (MT)

Montana

8-16,3-10Big Sky

Idaho

1-23,0-13Big Sky

Montana

Idaho

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

11/9/2024 9:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The downhill momentum that Montana started on Thursday turned into an avalanche on Saturday as the Grizzlies rolled over Idaho in a straight set sweep in Moscow. Montana won multiple sets by 10 points to win their second straight match and sweep the road trip 6-0.

Montana (8-16, 3-10 Big Sky) has now won four straight on the road against Idaho. They didn't play on the road at Idaho last year, but it's the second straight time they've swept the road trip over regional rivals Eastern Washington and Idaho. The Griz have won seven straight overall at the two locations.

They now return home to Missoula for the final matches of the year inside Dahlberg Arena. They play Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday needing to keep the winning streak going.

The Griz hit .337 as a team, the second-best percentage of the year. For the first time since September of last season, the Griz have hit over .300 in consecutive matches after they hit .328 in the sweep of Eastern Washington.

"Very proud of our weekend and our athletes' resiliency on the road," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "They have been fighting for growth in every way possible and we both grew and got some reward this weekend."

It was once again a complete effort for Montana with seven players recording at least one kill, but Maddie Kremer paced the offense with 14 kills on .355 hitting. She was two off her season high, and she finishes the weekend with 25 kills and just three attacking errors.

Kremer also had 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the year and fourth in the last five matches.

Paige Clark had nine kills, Delaney Russel six, and Maddie Pyles five. Every attacking player with a kill hit over .200 for Montana as they found success at every position. Sierra Dennison had a great comeback match with four kills on eight swings.

The setters once again spread the love. Gracie Cagle had 17 assists and Casi Newman had 15.

Sophomore Calista Ousley had her first career kill in the match as well.

"Starters set a tone that was contagious all weekend, as everyone who entered both matches added to our execution and level of play," Lawrence said. "It was such a team performance tonight against Idaho."

Montana had the advantage from the first serve, taking a 4-0 lead out of the gates and never relinquishing it in the first set. Similar to Thursday night, Montana used a balanced attack to generate good offensive numbers.

The Griz went up 10-4 after a Delaney Russell ace. The freshman had a strong start with two early kills to go with the ace. Montana had a 15-9 lead at the first media timeout and were hitting .308 as a team while holding Idaho to .056 hitting.

Montana doubled up Idaho with a kill from Maddie Kremer to make it 18-9. The senior had a stellar start with six kills on her first 12 swings. The lead was safely guided home to the end of the set 25-15. It's the fourth set won by at least 10 points this conference season for the Griz.

Kremer had seven kills on over .400 hitting in the opening set, and also had the co-lead in digs for the team.

The second set picked up right where the first left off as the Griz continued to roll. Montana took the first three points of the set and then extended it to an 8-1 run as Sierra Dennison had a nice stretch during the run with a pair of kills.

Everything went Montana's way in the set. They scored five straight points to go up 14-3 following a kill from Clark. Montana blew it out the rest of the way, coasting to a 25-11 win.

There was really no flaw for the Griz in the set. Montana hit .542 as a team with 13 kills and zero errors. They blocked six Idaho attacks, holding the Vandals to a zero hitting percentage with seven kills and seven errors.

On top of that, the Griz also dialed up a pair of service aces in the most dominant set of the season.

Idaho made it competitive in the third set, taking a 4-1 lead to start, but Montana battled back and took its first lead at 10-9 after a kill from Russell. The Vandals went back ahead 15-14, but a 6-0 run from the Grizzlies, with a pair of service aces from Russell, put them back in front.

It came down to the very end, but kills from Kremer and Pyles set Montana up for the 25-23 win in the third set. It's the sixth straight set win for Montana.

"Tonight we wanted to measure success based on how often we could remain in our tempo, our aggression, and our organization," Lawrence said. "We were flawless for that for two sets, and although we had a few breakdowns in set three, we battled from ahead and finished strong when it was on the line."

They will bring that momentum back home for Senior Week. The Griz play Sacramento State on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. and then the seniors will play their final game inside Dahlberg Arena on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. following the football game.