University of Montana Athletics

Friday, September 13 / 6:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats
GAME 2

Saturday, September 14 / 12:00 (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

After a successful home tournament, Montana volleyball players now turn their attention to the North Dakota State Bison, who travel to Fargo for two games this weekend.

The Grizzlies and Bison will face off Friday night at 6 p.m. MT and again Saturday morning at noon. Games will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus.

Montana (3-3) lost the finals of the Ellesyn Invitational in Missoula last weekend, but had reason to celebrate at the end of their home tournament. They picked up their first sweep of the year with a win over Southern Miss and scored a very impressive victory over a 5-1 Utah Valley team.

“I’m really proud of the results,” said head coach Allison Lawrence. “I thought it was a great tournament. I wish we would have done differently, but I think we were challenged in a way that we’ll be challenged in all of our conference games. If you look at the entire weekend, we got to see a lot of players from our roster and put a lot of people to the test.”

It has been the defense that has led the way for Montana this season. The Grizzlies are ranked 8th in the league.^th in the entire NCAA in blocks/set, averaging over 3.10. The middle blockers were tremendous in this effort Sierra Dennison (27 blocks) and Brenley Hansen (26) are both ranked among the top 100 nationally.

The impressive blockade has also made it difficult for opponents to beat Montana well. They are ranked 63rd^rd in the country by allowing their opponents only a batting average of .164.

The Griz have already held two opponents under .100 batting average this season, which is already their total from last year. It’s a different story in the middle, with Dennison and Hansen both new to the starting lineup this year, but so far it’s paid off.

“I think we’ve had to battle through some great situations and overcome different obstacles every game and have a ton of success,” Lawrence said. “If you would have told me years ago when we were planning that we’d be 2-1 on paper on a weekend like this, I would have been really happy.”

Montana now turns its attention to the North Dakota State Bison. The defense that has led them so far this season will be crucial, but the Griz also hope the offense can find new momentum against a Bison team that has allowed its opponents to reach a .270 batting average in five games this season.

The weekend trip will be very different from the experience during the first two weeks of the season. Instead of three games in three days against three different opponents, Montana will face the same opponent twice in less than 24 hours.

It’s a test to help them prepare for the Big Sky Conference schedule, where they’ll face seven league opponents multiple times, so they can assess the good and the bad and make adjustments from there.

“I find it super exciting,” Paige Clark said. “You get to know the other team and the first day you just learn everything and the second day it’s like a conference game when you just know everything about that team. I feel like that really prepares us for conference. You can fix mistakes that you might have made the first time around or continue things that worked and just go over information together as a team.”

Lawrence said it simplifies things in the scouting department because you only have to focus on one team. It also allows for more rest while continuing to push yourself physically.

There have been some teachable moments in the first two weeks. The highs have been great, but there have also been difficult times. Lawrence hopes her team continues to fight through the adversity and learn along the way.

“I think I want them to continue to be themselves. This team is very competitive, and I don’t think you know it until you get into the fray with them,” Lawrence said. “They’re very determined and competitive learners, and every time we get into a bad situation, we learn from it really well… I think there’s so much unity and trust, I think it’s a really great team effort.”

CLARKS SEARCH FOR 1K

Experienced outside attacker Paige Clark is nearing 1,000 kills in Montana. The three-time All-Conference player has 978 and could very easily reach the 1,000-kill mark this weekend.

Clark has averaged 3.40 kills per set so far this season and has reached double-digit kill totals in four consecutive games. She has the most kills on the team in 2024 with 68 kills and has a .162 batting average this year.

Clark passed Heidi Willams on Montana’s all-time list in the final game and would be only 15th.^th Grizzly in program history reaches 1,000. To get into the top 10 in program history, she needs at least 1,110 kills in her career.

AWARDS FOR ALL TOURNAMENTS

Two different Montana players have earned All-Tournament honors in the first two weeks of the season.

Maddie Pylesa junior making her first career start, was named to the All-Tournament team at the Grand Canyon Invitational. The honor came after an incredibly even weekend in which she led the team to a victory over Oregon State on Sunday.

Pyles recorded 17 kills, 12 digs and 12 blocks over the weekend. She had a stellar performance against Oregon State, nearly posting a triple-double with 10 digs, 9 kills and 7 blocks. Her energy also helped stabilize Montana after a slow start to the weekend, as head coach Allison Lawrence said she was one of the two pillars for the Griz over the weekend.

Paige Clark earned the post-tournament honors at the Ellesyn Invitational last weekend. The powerful outside hitter reached double-digit kills in all three matches and finished with a total of 38 kills (3.80/set) and a .240 batting average.

Clark also had five service aces and just one receiving error in the weekend’s ten sets, while finishing third on his team with 18 digs.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NDSU

This is only the fourth meeting between the two schools. The Bison lead the standings 2-1. This is the first game between the two schools to be played in Fargo. North Dakota State won the previous two meetings in 2008 and 2016. Montana’s last win was in 2005. This is Coach Lawrence’s first game as head coach against NDSU.

SCOUTING IN THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA (1-4)

• The Bison finished the 2023 season 18-11 overall and 9-7 in the Summit League. They were eliminated in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
• NDSU lost its first four games of the season, but won its last game, defeating Southern Illinois Edwardsville 3-1 at home in the NDSU/UND Tournament.
• In their four losses, the Bison have forced their opponents into five sets three times, losing in the final set to FGCU, Illinois Chicago and West Virginia.
• North Dakota State has a 1-1 record at home this season. They are 7-3 in Fargo in the 2023 season.
• Head coach Jennifer Lopez is in her eighth season as head coach of North Dakota State. She has an overall record of 102-94 with the Bison, including back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023.
• The Bison have a .177 batting average as a team this season and have been good at the service line. They rank 81st^st in the NCAA with 1.82 aces per set. Opponents have a batting average of .270 through five games, with four opponents hitting over .200 against them.
• Ali Hinze leads the Bison with 3.41 kills/set. She ranks 5th.^th in the Summit League and in the top 200 nationally in that category.
• Logan O’Brien is second in the Summit this year with 83 digs.

GRIZ NOTES

• Montana recorded 15 blocks in the win over Oregon State and another 16 blocks in the win over Utah Valley. It’s the first time since 1999 that the Grizzlies have recorded at least 15 blocks in back-to-back games.
• The Grizzlies have a record of .500 or better after six games for only the fourth time since 2009. It is the third time in seven fall seasons that an Allison Lawrence-led team has been at least .500 after six games, joining the 2022 and 2017 teams. Montana also had a record of .500 or better in 2011.
• Montana outscored its opponents .181 to .145 at the Ellesyn Invitational. All three matches were quick games, as they played in two sweeps and one match ended in four sets.
• The Grizzlies are 3-0 when they have more digs than their opponents this year. They are also 2-0 when they have more assists.
• Paige Clark is fourth in the Big Sky in kills at 3.40 per set. She is also third in service aces at 0.45 per set.
• Casi Newman has an average of 7.28 assists per set, ranking fifth in the Big Sky Conference.
• Brenley Hansen ranks second in the Big Sky with 1.86 blocks per set. She has played just 14 sets and has a total of 26 blocks this year. Sierra Dennison is fourth in the conference with 1.35 blocks per set and Maddie Pyles also cracks the top 10 with 1.10 per set.
• Sweeper Alexis Batezel ranks third in the Big Sky in digs with 3.80 per set.