Griz hang tough, fall in Big Sky opener

Thursday, September 26

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

5-7,0-1Big Sky

Northern Colorado

10-4,1-0Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Montana

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

9/26/2024 10:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies battled against one of the Big Sky's very best on Thursday night inside Dahlberg Arena, nearly splitting the overall point total on the evening, but the result was a 3-1 loss to Northern Colorado in the conference opener.

The Griz (5-7, 0-1 Big Sky) were in all three sets that they lost and dominated in the second set with a 25-15 win. It led to a total point distribution of 90-89 in favor of the Bears, and the match was closer than the 3-1 final scoreline would indicate.

The high-powered Northern Colorado offense, which ranks near the top of the country in many statistical categories, proved too much as they hit .258 compared to a .189 mark for the Grizzlies.

Montana did outblock UNC 9-8, equaled them in digs, and had their best serving night of the season with 11 aces. They got big nights from players all over the floor as well with impressive statistical outings from numerous positions in an encouraging overall effort against a team that has three Power 4 wins.

"I definitely don't feel satisfied, but I also really enjoyed that match. We've talked a lot this season about our push to go from good to great," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "To me, there were clear moments where our aggression maybe took a step back or we kind of lost some details and you could feel Northern Colorado kind of get some momentum and spread the gap on the scoreboard.

"However, when we were in the highest gear we can be and hitting our details, I think we played point-for-point," Lawrence continued. "I think that match has to give us a ton of confidence."

Paige Clark led the way with 15 kills on a season-best .344 hitting. Maddie Kremer and Maddie Pyles both reached double-figures as well as Casi Newman spread her 34 assists around. Newman also recorded her second double-double in the last three matches as she added 12 digs.

Alexis Batezel had 20 digs to lead the team, and the middle blocking duo of Sierra Dennison (4) and Brenley Hansen (5) helped lead the Griz to their sixth match this season with at least nine team blocks.

ACE # 7⃣ for Montana.

Griz are up big in the second!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/8MdRT12uO1
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 27, 2024

The team aspect of things, and the togetherness that Montana showed, really carried the day. Delaney Russell played as a second libero and had a service ace and some key scoring rallies on her serve to go with three digs. Montana played just eight players in the match.

The moments were there. The Griz may not face a tougher test all season than Northern Colorado, and they matched them nearly point-for-point in a complete effort.

"I think everyone from the service line, serve receive, attacking, all of our arms were going for it. There were no moments where we were playing hesitant or weren't playing to win," Lawrence said. "I'm really proud of our effort. There are things I'm frustrated with because I feel like that could have been our night to turn the corner against that team, but I also think Northern Colorado did what they do best."

Clark carried Montana to an early lead in the match, sparking a 6-0 Montana run in the opening set that gave them a 10-4 lead. At that time, Clark had already recorded three aces, two kills, and a block.

The offense was rolling, but Northern Colorado started to get back into the match with a couple of runs that cut the Griz lead down to 15-13. Both teams were hitting over .250 at the time.

The Griz had separation for most of the set, but UNC scored five out of six points to tie it up at 19-all. It was the first tie since the 4-4 mark, and once the Bears had the momentum they didn't let it go. After a brief Griz lead, they went on a 4-0 run and scored six of the final eight points to win the first set 25-22.

In the second, Montana once again went on a big run early to take a large lead. This team, they would hold on to it firmly. They used a 6-0 run as part of a stretch where they scored nine out of 10 points, gaining a big advantage from the service line.

Newman had an ace to make it 9-2 that was the seventh service ace of the night already for Montana barely over a set in. Their high coming into the night was 9, and they had recorded 7 on just two other occasions.

Hansen had a big hand in that. The middle blocker recorded her third ace of the night, the team's eighth, to make it 15-10. Montana forced UNC head coach Lyndsey Oates into both of her timeouts early. The Griz offense soared, and they used a late 4-0 run to jump ahead 21-12. They were hitting over .300 at the time, and while it slipped down to .259 at the end of the set, the Griz won in a blowout, 25-15.

REJECTION ⛔️

The Griz take the second and it's a best-of-three in Missoula!#GrizVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/G2thQ7iZCd
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 27, 2024

The service line was a major factor through the first two sets. Montana had eight aces and just five errors, while UNC had only two aces to go with nine errors. The Griz had a 10-point advantage just on service line scoring, and were also keeping the Bears offense out of rhythm with their efforts.

After two slow starts, Northern Colorado came out swinging in the third. They went up 6-1 after five of their first eight attacks were kills. They continued to extend the lead, building it up to 15-7 and then 18-9, which forced Lawrence into her final timeout. The Bears had a .417 to .000 advantage offensively at the time.

The Griz responded out of the break. They used a 3-0 run to cut it to 21-15, and Kremer ripped back-to-back kills later to bring the deficit down to just four. Clark and Russell both had impressive serving stretches that allowed the Griz to take seven out of eight points to claw back to 22-19.

The rally showed heart, but it came up short as the Bears closed it out 25-22. After hitting over .400 through their first 18 points, UNC's percentage dropped all the way to .143 at the end of the set.

There were lopsided starts to the first two sets, but not so in the third as the teams played nearly identical to start it off. Montana led 7-6, and at the time both teams were hitting exactly the same at .308. An ace for Montana was the difference maker.

Northern Colorado scored six of seven points to jump ahead 17-13, and allowed Montana to hold serve just a single time the rest of the way as they closed it out 25-20 in the final set.

Clark led Montana yet again, and reached double-figure kills for the 10^th straight time. The Big Sky Conference's leader in points per set put on another impressive show for the nearly 800 fans that were in attendance.

"Her stat line is phenomenal. She's someone that every year has gotten hungrier to get this program to where it could be," Lawrence said of Clark. "Tonight she started off with four or five kills in the first half of the first set and served a bunch of aces, which I think really got them on their heels in serve-receive. She was super impactful."

Montana falls to 3-5 in Big Sky openers under Lawrence, and loses for the 19^th straight time against Northern Colorado. They have a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday as they head to Portland to take on the Portland State Vikings.