Griz close out non-conference schedule in Kansas City

MONTANA VS. BRADLEY
Friday, Sept. 20 / 9:00 a.m. (MT) / Live Stats

MONTANA AT KANSAS CITY
Friday, Sept. 20 / 6:30 p.m. (MT) / Watch ($) / Live Stats

MONTANA VS. LINDENWOOD
Saturday, Sept. 21 / 10:00 a.m. (MT) / Live Stats

The final week of the non-conference schedule has arrived for the Montana volleyball program as they head to Kansas City this weekend for three matches as part of the Kangaroo Klassic.

The Grizzlies will have a pair of matches on Friday as they take on Bradley in the morning and Kansas City in the night game. They close out the weekend on Saturday morning against Lindenwood.

"I'm really excited for this trip. I think the schedule itself will be a challenge. I think it's our first preseason tournament where most of our matches are happening in the AM," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think navigating our first time doing that kind of schedule this season will be a challenge. I think the field is very exciting and the matches should be close and good and great prep for conference play."

It's been a roller-coaster ride of a non-conference so far for Montana to get to their 3-5 record. Montana opened the season with losses in the first two matches, responded with three straight victories that included a win over Oregon State to get above .500, but since then have dropped three in a row.

There has still been plenty of positive for Montana to take out of the opening eight matches. The Grizzlies, notably, have been dominant on the defensive side of the net as they rank 13^th in the NCAA in blocks/set with 2.93.

They have finished with double-digit blocks in three of the eight matches and have at least eight blocks in the previous three matches. Montana has outblocked its opponent in six matches and finished with fewer blocks on just one occasion.

Junior Sierra Dennison, a hometown player from Missoula, has played a key role in that. Dennison currently ranks 71^st in the country and 5^th in the Big Sky with 1.26 blocks/set. Her fellow middle blocker Brenley Hansen ranks 4^th in the NCAA with 1.67 blocks/set.

"I think it's been such a big focus of our team recently," Dennison said. "I know the coaches have put a ton of time into finding a way to rep that in practice in a way that will progress our blocking. I know our middle core has worked hard on how we can improve our blocking and I know our pins have done a lot of work on how we can line up better, how to make it easier for us to close, so it's definitely been a team effort. Our goal is to hold that for as long as we can and build off it going to conference."

It's been a special season so far for Dennison, who joined the Grizzly program out of Sentinel HS in Missoula. She injured her ankle her first year on campus and played a combined 19 sets in her first two healthy years.

Middle blocker has long been a strength for Allison Lawrence's team, and she was behind two extremely talented players last season. This year, she has already doubled her career block total with 34 and has been effective offensively as well with 17 kills.

"I think with Sierra, her resiliency is showing up and paying her back in big ways. People who love the process, you don't know when the process will love you back," Lawrence said. "I feel like the process is loving Sierra back because she went through a lot of hardship but poured in a lot of hard work through injury, through coming back from that, and then playing behind two middles that were outstanding. I think it's why you see her and our team ranked as one of the best in the country right now because of exactly how she did the hardest parts of this."

Dennison echoed her head coach's sentiment. She came to Montana with no expectations of herself, but a lastname that rings loudly for those that know the university. Her great uncle, George Dennison, was the University President for 20 years.

She is leaving her own mark this season as a highly impactful player on one of the top defenses in the country. It may have taken longer than she would have liked, but the payoff has been sweet this year with plenty of matches remaining.

"When I first got here, I didn't really have expectations for myself. I just thought let's run with it and see where it takes us," Dennison said. "I didn't have the start I thought that I would being injured and having to take a year off. Of course in the moment, it feels like the end of the world. Now being on the tail end of it knowing I still have an extra year to come back is something I'm so thankful for because I don't feel ready to leave the program."

Dennison and the Grizzlies will look to put everything together over two days in Kansas City at the Kangaroo Klassic. Their three opponents have a combined 9-17 record. The Griz will hope to get some momentum headed into Big Sky Conference play next week.
"I feel great. I really like this preseason. I think last weekend was tough, we fell short in both matches, but I think they were the exact matches that we needed to be in," Lawrence said. "We can look at both of those matches against a really gritty North Dakota State team and see the gap between what we were doing and what they were doing, and we know how to close that gap. I feel very encouraged in all of our performances."

CLARK REACHES 1,000 CAREER KILLS

Senior Paige Clark recorded the 1,000^th kill of her career in Montana's match at North Dakota State on Sept. 14. Clark became just the 15^th Grizzly all-time to reach the mark, and and the first since Kayla Reno in 2013.

Clark is also just the fifth player in the rally-scoring era to reach 1,000 kills and only the second who has done so in the 25-point rally-scoring era.

"Paige's impact is tough to put into words. Any time you have a player that just scores that many points and is that effective, but I think also anybody that watches our matches feels the energy that she plays with," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "She has the kind of kills that you really feel, so you remember all of those 1,000 kills. She's got a heavy arm and they are big momentum grabs for us."

Clark is a three-time All-Big Sky selection that has averaged 3.22 kills per set while playing a majority of sets for the Grizzlies since 2021. Her best year came in 2022 when she averaged 4.01 kills/set to lead the Big Sky. She was the first Grizzly to lead the league since 2002.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

Montana's block has been impressive this season as the Griz rank 14^th in the NCAA with 2.93 blocks/set. The Grizzlies have averaged at least 2.0 per set in all eight of their matches, and have reached double-digit blocks three times.

They had 31 blocks over a two-match stretch against Oregon State and Utah Valley. It was the first time in 25 years that Montana had registered at least 15 blocks in consecutive matches.

SCOUTING BRADLEY (3-6)

The Braves have won two of their previous three matches, both coming in five sets against Eastern Illinois. The first win snapped a five-match losing streak that dated back to a season opening win over St. Thomas.
Bradley has played one Big Sky opponent already this season, losing in four-sets to Idaho State on Sept. 7 in Irvine, Calif.
Head coach Alicia Williams enters her third season as head coach at Bradley. She arrived at Bradley after going 335-44 at Iowa Western in the NJCAA. The Braes went 10-21 in her first season and 9-22 last year.
Bradley rank 41^st in the NCAA with 546 team digs on the season. They are hitting .142 offensively while allowing opponents to hit .209.
Corrie Brown ranks 24^th in the country with 19 service aces.
Silan Demirkol averages 2.54 kills/set to lead the Braves.

SCOUTING KANSAS CITY (2-6)

The Roos enter the weekend coming off a 3-1 win in their last match over UT Martin. Their only other win on the year came against a Big Sky opponent as they beat Eastern Washington 3-1 on Aug. 31 in Orem, Utah.
Kansas City has another like opponent on the schedule in Utah Valley. The Grizzlies beat the Wolverines in four sets while the Roos were swept in a true road game.
Head coach Christi Posey in in her 14^th season at Kansas City with a career record of 211-162 (.566). She is Kansas City's all-time leader in wins, and she led them to a regular season championship and an NIVC invite after a 22-9 record in 2023.
The Roos are hitting .184 on the year while allowing opponents to hit .209. They rank 94^th in the NCAA with 15.07 digs/set.
Outside hitter Kaia Dunford leads the Summit League and ranks 19^th in the NCAA with 11.82 attacks per set, and has turned them into 3.75 kills. She is 84^th in the NCAA in kills/set.
Setter Sydney Henry is second in the Summit League and 61^st in the NCAA with 9.68 assists/set.

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD (4-5)

The Lions are coming off a four-set loss at Missouri last Sunday. Prior to that, they won both matches in the Lindenwood Invitational against Southern Illinois and Austin Peay. They are 1-3 in neutral-site matches this year.
Head coach Will Condon is in his eighth season as head coach at Lindenwood. He enters the year with a career record of 100-96 (.510), including a 28-14 record in neutral sites.
The Lions are hitting .170 as a team this year with 12.3 kills/set. They are allowing 11.7 kills to their opponents on .198 hitting.
Lindenwood has four players averaging over 2.00 kills/set, led by Addy McAleer with 2.53. Rebecca Janke has the best efficiency, avering 2.14 kills/set on .300 hitting.
Allie Otten averages 8.21 assists/set to lead the team.

MONTANA NOTES

The Grizzlies are 3-5 in the non-conference portion of the schedule. If they are able to get two wins this weekend, they will have five non-conference wins for just the fourth time since 2005.
If Montana were to sweep the weekend and finish above .500 it would be just the fourth time in the rally-scoring era that they have had a winning record in non-conference play. The last came in 2022, but prior to that Montana hadn't done so since 2005.
Paige Clark has 111 career service aces, which is the 13^th-most in program history. Clark needs just seven more aces this season to enter the top 10 in Griz history. She has recorded multiple aces in four straight matches, and has at least one ace in six straight.
Clark also ranks 56^th in the country and leads the Big Sky with 0.52 service aces per set.
Clark has registered double-digit kills in six straight matches and had her first double-double of the season (16 kills, 14 digs) last Saturday at North Dakota State.
Brenley Hansen has recorded at least three blocks in every match this year. The transfer from Salt Lake C.C. is averaging 1.67. There is plenty of season left, but that average would be the third-best in program history.
The Grizzlies have yet to play in a five-set match this season. They have played in five matches that were sweeps and three four-set matches.
After being held below .175 hitting in each of their first four matches this season, Montana has rebounded offensively and have hit over .175 in four consecutive matches.
Alexis Batezel is two digs away from 100 on the season. She is averaging 3.63 digs/set.
Gracie Cagle had 10 assists in Montana's last match. It's the fourth time this season that the sophomore has recorded double-digit assists.
Maddie Kremer reached double-digit kills for the second time this season in Montana's last match at NDSU. She had 14 kills on .394 hitting.
Casi Newman is averaging 7.40 assists/set this year, and has been in double-figures in all but one match this year.

HOMEWOOD SUITES & ERCK HOTELS

The presenting sponsor of Montana Volleyball is Homewood Suites and Erck Hotels. The hotel is partnering with Griz Volleyball to bring exclusive deals and rates to fans coming to town for any Griz volleyball event.

The following promotions are available for Montana volleyball fans through the partnership with Erck Hotels.
                  1. 9/5 to 9/8 tournament-$149 team rate/25% off our basic rate for fans
                  2. $159 team rate/20% off fan rate for all of the non-Griz football weekends
                  3. 10/12-$189 team rate/20% off fan rate for homecoming weekend
                  4. 11/16- $169 team rate/20% off fan rate for that weekend

Griz close out non-conference schedule in Kansas City

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Paige Clark

Sierra Dennison

Brenley Hansen

Maddie Kremer

Casi Newman

University of Montana Athletics

Griz close out non-conference schedule in Kansas City

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Paige Clark

Sierra Dennison

Brenley Hansen

Maddie Kremer

Casi Newman

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