Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Montana
Senior class gears up for final season with Griz volleyball
8/22/2024 12:53:00 PM | Volleyball
When the Montana volleyball class of 2024 arrived on campus as freshmen, there were plenty of questions to be answered. There were questions beyond their control like, will we actually get to play in the fall this year? Will there be fans in the arena? What will my class schedule be?
But there was another key question that head coach Allison Lawrence asked of her team that year. In the spring season of 2021, the first following the global pandemic, Montana went just 2-14. It's a year that you would be forgiven if you don't remember.
The question, following the disappointment of that year, was what if it's great?
It's the motto that Lawrence and associate head coach Dana Hallisey have adopted since taking over the program. A simple saying that signifies so much to those who have lived it on a day to day basis inside the walls of the Adams Center.
Give everything you can. Live your life to the fullest, and you never know? It just may turn out to be great.
The senior class has taken that motto and lived it, turning around a Montana program that had struggled in mediocrity for several years. The group, which originally consisted of freshmen Paige Clark and Maddie Kremer and transfer Jackie Howell, but since has added Ginny Pace in 2022 and Casi Newman this season, has won at least 10 matches every year so far in their Grizzly careers.
They have won 39 total matches as Grizzlies. If they win just seven, it will be the most victories by a single class since 2013. It hasn't all been easy, and there have been speed bumps along the road, but this group is gearing up for one final ride in 2024.
"This group has known what it takes to be great while they've been here, and they've trusted in the process to reach that point," Lawrence said. "In other words, they've had their goals and have been patient enough to work toward it year after year. We've had setbacks, we've had moments where we've come up short, but they've never wavered in their pursuit of greatness."
Clark is already a three-time All-Big Sky honoree that will end her career as one of the best attackers in Grizzly history. Kremer had to wait a few years, but was a scout team MVP that made the jump in 2023 to bona fide starter. Howell sat out last year with an injury, but was one of the most versatile members on the team and should be a key player this year.
Pace joined later and hasn't seen the floor quite as much as the others, but her dedication to the team and the sport is unquestioned and raises the level of the program as a whole. In fact, it's players like Pace that have built the culture of success that is currently thriving.
"It's a group of people that have held extremely high standards for themselves. I think also an element of their own commitment to greatness is their joy in competing and playing volleyball," Lawrence said. "It leads to a practice environment that is very joyous as well as competitive, and I think that combination has attracted more of that to the program. It's brought tough, resilient people to the program that are what we need to reach the next level."
The play on the floor has improved, but all the peripheral things about Griz volleyball have also stepped up. They no longer play in the West Auxiliary Gym on campus, as they did when Lawrence took over as head coach, but instead on the arena floor. They set several attendance records over the previous two seasons, averaging over 850 fans per game.
There is routinely a long line waiting post-match, win or lose, to get autographs from the players on the team. The cheers in the crowd when Clark hammers a ball to the ground are the types of moments you relive when you get home. They've brought the community in and got all of Missoula behind them.
"I think there is a level of magnetism with this group that is pretty rare, and it works with the fans, too. I think it pulls a lot of people into what we're doing," Lawrence said. "Even in moments where we haven't come through and we've set our sights really high and haven't quite hit it, the loyalty for this group to stick with it and continue the pursuit of greatness is meaningful."
The seniors will be the leaders this year, but there is a large crop of players underneath them that will look to continue the winning legacy that they have established. They aren't done yet. This year is all about making that jump from good to great.
But their body of work has been like a lighthouse beam for other players. They see Montana no longer as a place where it would be tough to win, but as an opportunity to ride the wave to the top.
Montana's most recent recruiting class, which features six freshmen and two transfers, could be the best in program history. It's something that may not have happened without the class of 2024 around. They've let everyone that they can know that Missoula is special.
"I don't want to speak for them, but one thing that I've heard this group verbalize a lot is that they would not want to do this anywhere but here," Lawrence said. "I think it's also been an attractant for fans and other recruits is that you have people not only invested in winning, but they are also invested in the people and in Montana in a way that tugs at your heart a little bit."
The Big Sky Conference released its annual Coaches' Poll on Thursday, and Montana was picked to finish seventh in the league. The Grizzlies finished sixth in 2023 but were jumped in the poll by last year's seventh place finisher Eastern Washington.
Weber State, the defending tournament champions, were picked to finish first in the poll. Sacramento State, last year's regular season champions, received the most first place votes with four, but finished third in the poll. Montana State was picked second.
In all six of Allison Lawrence's fall seasons as the head coach at Montana, the Grizzlies have finished at or above their preseason prediction. They will look to make that seven out of seven this year as they make the push from good to great in the Big Sky.
Montana opens the season Aug. 30 at Grand Canyon. The Grizzlies will host the Ellesyn Invitational Sponsored by Homewood Suites & Erck Hotels from Sept. 5-8. Big Sky Conference play begins with a home match against Northern Colorado on Sept. 26.
2024 Big Sky Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Weber State (3) – 73
2. Montana State (2) – 70
3. Sacramento State (4) – 67
4. Northern Colorado (1) – 61
5. Portland State – 50
6. Eastern Washington – 40
7. Montana – 37
8. Idaho State – 25
9. Northern Arizona – 18
10. Idaho - 9
(First-Place Votes)
But there was another key question that head coach Allison Lawrence asked of her team that year. In the spring season of 2021, the first following the global pandemic, Montana went just 2-14. It's a year that you would be forgiven if you don't remember.
The question, following the disappointment of that year, was what if it's great?
It's the motto that Lawrence and associate head coach Dana Hallisey have adopted since taking over the program. A simple saying that signifies so much to those who have lived it on a day to day basis inside the walls of the Adams Center.
Give everything you can. Live your life to the fullest, and you never know? It just may turn out to be great.
The senior class has taken that motto and lived it, turning around a Montana program that had struggled in mediocrity for several years. The group, which originally consisted of freshmen Paige Clark and Maddie Kremer and transfer Jackie Howell, but since has added Ginny Pace in 2022 and Casi Newman this season, has won at least 10 matches every year so far in their Grizzly careers.
They have won 39 total matches as Grizzlies. If they win just seven, it will be the most victories by a single class since 2013. It hasn't all been easy, and there have been speed bumps along the road, but this group is gearing up for one final ride in 2024.
"This group has known what it takes to be great while they've been here, and they've trusted in the process to reach that point," Lawrence said. "In other words, they've had their goals and have been patient enough to work toward it year after year. We've had setbacks, we've had moments where we've come up short, but they've never wavered in their pursuit of greatness."
Clark is already a three-time All-Big Sky honoree that will end her career as one of the best attackers in Grizzly history. Kremer had to wait a few years, but was a scout team MVP that made the jump in 2023 to bona fide starter. Howell sat out last year with an injury, but was one of the most versatile members on the team and should be a key player this year.
Pace joined later and hasn't seen the floor quite as much as the others, but her dedication to the team and the sport is unquestioned and raises the level of the program as a whole. In fact, it's players like Pace that have built the culture of success that is currently thriving.
"It's a group of people that have held extremely high standards for themselves. I think also an element of their own commitment to greatness is their joy in competing and playing volleyball," Lawrence said. "It leads to a practice environment that is very joyous as well as competitive, and I think that combination has attracted more of that to the program. It's brought tough, resilient people to the program that are what we need to reach the next level."
The play on the floor has improved, but all the peripheral things about Griz volleyball have also stepped up. They no longer play in the West Auxiliary Gym on campus, as they did when Lawrence took over as head coach, but instead on the arena floor. They set several attendance records over the previous two seasons, averaging over 850 fans per game.
There is routinely a long line waiting post-match, win or lose, to get autographs from the players on the team. The cheers in the crowd when Clark hammers a ball to the ground are the types of moments you relive when you get home. They've brought the community in and got all of Missoula behind them.
"I think there is a level of magnetism with this group that is pretty rare, and it works with the fans, too. I think it pulls a lot of people into what we're doing," Lawrence said. "Even in moments where we haven't come through and we've set our sights really high and haven't quite hit it, the loyalty for this group to stick with it and continue the pursuit of greatness is meaningful."
The seniors will be the leaders this year, but there is a large crop of players underneath them that will look to continue the winning legacy that they have established. They aren't done yet. This year is all about making that jump from good to great.
But their body of work has been like a lighthouse beam for other players. They see Montana no longer as a place where it would be tough to win, but as an opportunity to ride the wave to the top.
Montana's most recent recruiting class, which features six freshmen and two transfers, could be the best in program history. It's something that may not have happened without the class of 2024 around. They've let everyone that they can know that Missoula is special.
"I don't want to speak for them, but one thing that I've heard this group verbalize a lot is that they would not want to do this anywhere but here," Lawrence said. "I think it's also been an attractant for fans and other recruits is that you have people not only invested in winning, but they are also invested in the people and in Montana in a way that tugs at your heart a little bit."
The Big Sky Conference released its annual Coaches' Poll on Thursday, and Montana was picked to finish seventh in the league. The Grizzlies finished sixth in 2023 but were jumped in the poll by last year's seventh place finisher Eastern Washington.
Weber State, the defending tournament champions, were picked to finish first in the poll. Sacramento State, last year's regular season champions, received the most first place votes with four, but finished third in the poll. Montana State was picked second.
In all six of Allison Lawrence's fall seasons as the head coach at Montana, the Grizzlies have finished at or above their preseason prediction. They will look to make that seven out of seven this year as they make the push from good to great in the Big Sky.
Montana opens the season Aug. 30 at Grand Canyon. The Grizzlies will host the Ellesyn Invitational Sponsored by Homewood Suites & Erck Hotels from Sept. 5-8. Big Sky Conference play begins with a home match against Northern Colorado on Sept. 26.
2024 Big Sky Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Weber State (3) – 73
2. Montana State (2) – 70
3. Sacramento State (4) – 67
4. Northern Colorado (1) – 61
5. Portland State – 50
6. Eastern Washington – 40
7. Montana – 37
8. Idaho State – 25
9. Northern Arizona – 18
10. Idaho - 9
(First-Place Votes)
Players Mentioned
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