Clark records 1,000th career kill in Griz loss

Saturday, September 14

Fargo, N.D.

12:00 PM (MT)

Montana

3-5,0-0Big Sky

North Dakota State

3-4,0-0Summit League

Montana

North Dakota St.

Photo by: NDSU Athletics/Zachary Lucy

9/14/2024 3:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Paige Clark joined an elite and exclusive club at Montana on Saturday by reaching 1,000 career kills. Clark becomes just the 15^th Grizzly all-time to reach the mark, and only the fourth to do so in the 25-point rally scoring era.

The milestone unfortunately came in a losing effort as Montana fell to North Dakota State in four sets in Fargo. The Grizzlies fall to 3-5 on the year after the 25-16, 18-25, 27-25, 25-15 loss.

Clark is the first Grizzly since Amy Roberts in 2011 to reach the 1,000-kill mark. She is only the third player to reach the mark with all four of her years in the 25-point scoring era, and just the sixth player since 2000 to reach 1,000.

"Paige's impact is one where when she gets a kill, it grabs us so much momentum," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "She is physical and powerful in ways that give us poise and confidence in any situation. She has brought so many fans to our gym, and so many recruits to their commitments to be a Griz because of how she plays and what kind of teammate she is. She is a joy to coach and be in all of the best and worst moments with."

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Clark led the Grizzlies with 16 kills to bring her career total to 1,006. She has now reached double-digit kills in six straight matches. Maddie Kremer added 14 kills as the Grizzlies hit .178 as a team.

The defense stood tall at the net again with eight team blocks compared to six for NDSU, but the Bison were able to hit .285 to pull away for the win. Brenley Hansen led the Grizzlies with six blocks while four other players registered multiple blocks.

In the first set it was a couple of big runs from the hosts that separated the two teams. The Bison opened up with an early 5-0 run to jump ahead 8-3, but similar to Friday night the Grizzlies were able to battle back.

The offenses were both in sync to start the match as they were over .300 on both sides when Montana tied it up at 9-all.

They traded points to get to a 13-all tie before North Dakota State ran away with the set at the end. They used a 5-0 run to jump in front 18-13 and then scored seven of the final 10 points for a 25-16 win.

North Dakota State had all the momentum, and had an early lead in the second set as well as they looked to pull away. A 4-0 run from the Bison gave them a 12-8 lead, but the Grizzlies responded courtesy of Clark.

"Our response from last night was delayed and it took us having our backs against the wall again to lock into our highest, most aggressive gear. We found it, though, and found a rhythm that we sustained for the second and third sets."

She had a pair of kills and a block as part of a 3-0 run to get it to 12-11. They would climb back to a tie at 15-all with both of the defenses flexing their muscles. The teams were both hitting under .150 at the time.

Montana went on a couple of nice runs to close it out in emphatic fashion and win their first set of the weekend in Fargo. The Griz scored three straight to break that tie, then four in a row a moment later to go ahead 21-16. They scored the final four points of the set to win the set 25-18, and they picked up some history on the way.

Clark's 1,000^th kill put Montana a point away from the set, and an error by the Bison closed it out.

Clark got the scoring started for Montana in the third set as well as she had two kills and assisted on a block with Brenley Hansen to help the Grizzlies to a 3-2 lead. NDSU scored four straight to go ahead 6-3.

Montana then had its longest scoring run of the season, scoring eight straight points to jump ahead 11-6. It came with Clark at the service line, and the senior added a couple of aces to go with a balanced attack from the rest of the Grizzlies.

Montana kept the lead, and a kill from Sierra Dennison put them up 15-12. The Bison rattled off six straight points to retake control, and put Montana on the back foot for the home stretch.

The gritty Grizzlies fought back again, staving off a pair of set points for NDSU but in the end couldn't make up the difference and fell by two points in a set for the third time on the weekend at 27-25.

The similar story of the season struck in the fourth set, as Montana had an early lead and looked solid but a 6-0 run from North Dakota State put them ahead 12-7 and they would hold on to the lead the rest of the way.

"We need to be able to sustain our efforts and discipline through lineup changes and opponent adjustments in order to win close matches against gritty, relentless teams like NDSU," Lawrence said.

Montana will head to Kansas City for the Kangaroo Classic next weekend. They will play Bradley and Lindenwood along with the host Kansas City. The first match will be on Friday, Sept. 20 at 10:00 a.m. (MT).