Griz volleyball adds two transfers

The Montana volleyball team has announced the signing of a pair of transfer players that will join the Grizzlies for the fall 2024 season. Casi Newman and Brenley Hansen have signed NLIs to play for Montana next season.

The Grizzlies are coming off one of the best two-year stretches in program history, but had some unexpected holes to fill in the roster. Carly Anderson, Montana's four-year starter at the setter position, transferred to Wisconsin in January. Middle blockers Ellie Scherffius and Madi Chuhlantseff both graduated, and Chuhlantseff decided to forego her remaining eligibility.

Head Coach Allison Lawrence has addressed both potential holes in the roster with two solid transfers. Newman, a senior setter, joins Montana from UC Davis, where she played at least 90 sets in all three of her seasons with the Aggies. Newman averaged nearly 10 assists per set in 2022 as the primary setter, and has 1,949 total assists in her three-year career.

"We're really excited about Casi. She's a very impressive setter and I think just extremely well trained. I think she came up through volleyball playing for great setter coaches," Lawrence said. "You can tell in her footwork and her technique, and then she's been running an offense in a demanding conference that makes her mind really sharp and resilient.

She was a dynamic playmaker with the ball, recording 43 kills during her 2022 season. She was a one-time Big West Setter of the Week after recording a career-high 61 assists in a match against UC Santa Barbara.

Montana has been guided by the same hand at the setter position for so long, but they get a seasoned veteran to take control of the ship. Newman's demeanor should help her establish a leadership role within the program quickly.

"I really like her personality as a setter. She's confident and poised, but she's intense," Lawrence said. "She has a sense of humor about her where I feel like she shakes things off but also is extremely competitive and driven. I think with her level of experience and the level of volleyball she's been playing, I think that will add a unique leadership piece to her game that will be really fun to see."

Newman had been to Montana once before as her UC Davis team defeated Montana 3-1 as part of the 2022 Ellesyn Invitational. Newman finished with 48 assists and seven digs in the Aggies win. While playing in the tournament, she also got to experience the Montana campus in August.

Missoula left a lasting impression on her. When she came on her official visit and got to integrate more with the team and the staff, it made her decision much easier.

"I remember going on campus and the town was just gorgeous and I definitely fell in love with it," Newman said. "Then, going on my visit I had the same feeling. Then the coaching staff and the girls were all amazing, super welcoming, very nice."

She comes to Montana for the final chapter of her collegiate career, and said that while she had fun times in Davis she is looking forward to a change of pace in Missoula. She said she doesn't have any expectations for herself coming into a new program, she's "just going to go with it and be who I am."

Newman should become a major rotation player for Montana and help guide Gracie Cagle, who will be a sophomore in the 2024 season. She welcomes the challenge and opportunity to come in right away.

"It's always a plus going to a program where they have a need for a setter so I have a good chance of really making an impact on the court," Newman said. "I'm excited to see what's going to happen this coming year."

Brenley Hansen, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, had nearly 300 kills and over 150 blocks in her two seasons with the Bruins. The team was highly successful in her two seasons, winning 57 combined games and ranking inside the top five in the country in the NJCAA both years.

The 5-11 OH/MB, originally from Twin Falls, Idaho, led her high school team to its first ever state championship. Everywhere that she has been, Hansen has won, which has been a common theme for athletes joining Montana in the most recent recruiting classes.

There was also a sense of connection to Hansen, who played high school volleyball under former Idaho State player and Coach Jaclyn Hawkins. It was a good first step for Lawrence in knowing that Hansen would be a fit with her program.

"Anytime anybody like that where you know them as a player and a coach identifies an athlete that has the intangibles that you're looking for, I think that speaks volumes," Lawrence said. "It allowed us to really trust that Brenley had the pieces that we wanted to bring into the program for this position."

The Grizzlies have leaned on their middles heavily in the last two seasons. Chuhlantseff was an All-Big Sky player last year and Scherffius leaves the program tied with Karen Goff for the best attacking percentage in program history.

Montana will bring back a lot of weapons on the outside, but needed to reload a bit in the middle. Hansen will help do that.

"We've run a lot of our offense through the middle in the last couple of years and we still want to be able to do that," Lawrence said. "She's very quick and offensive and just a really dynamic athlete. I think she provides a lot of versatility while also playing really big and fast in the middle. I think she fits in with our established strengths and brings a set of tools that expands that position for us and gives us good options going into the fall."

Similar to Newman, once Hansen visited campus and got to interact with Montana's coaching staff and returning players, it did away with any doubts she may have had about a place she didn't know much about beforehand.

"When I came on my visit, I really loved it," Hansen said. "Just meeting the coaches, they are the nicest people ever, they are exactly what I want in a coach in a college program. And then meeting all the girls, it felt like people that will better me as a volleyball player and as a person, so that's a big reason as to why I chose Montana."

At first glance, Hansen may not give the impression of a dominant middle blocker at her size. Lawrence says she's an "unlikely hero" at the position but that her jumping ability and relentless work ethic more than make up for a size discrepancy.

"I feel like when people look at me as a middle, I'm considered undersized," Hansen said. "I actually love to use that to my advantage. I'm a quick hitter, I love the quick ball and I think that's why I do good in the middle is because I'm always up early and move better laterally."

Newman and Hansen join a freshman class of four that will be new with the Grizzly program in 2024. Montana won 17 matches in 2022 and 11 in 2023.

University of Montana Athletics

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