MISSOULA — Paige Clark added to her already impressive numbers last weekend and earned Big Sky Conference player of the week honors for the second time this season, the league announced.
The Big Sky leader in kills put together a dominant weekend in Montana’s road sweep of Eastern Washington and Idaho. The Grizzlies won both legs of the road trip for the first time, and Clark’s play was at the heart of Montana’s success.
The sophomore from Idaho Falls, Idaho, finished with 36 total kills. Against Eastern Washington, Clark closed the match with nine kills in the deciding fourth set. She also had a season-high eight digs along with three blocks.
In the match against Idaho, the Grizzlies had a more balanced offensive attack. She had 24 fewer attacks, but it just made her production that much more efficient. Clark had 15 kills against the Vandals, hitting .371 in the effort. In the season series against Idaho, Clark totaled 30 kills while hitting over .400.
She also reached the 300-kill mark for the season early in the Idaho match and has double-digit kills in 21 of 24 matches this season. The performance against Eastern Washington was the third time in five matches Clark finished with at least 20 kills.
On the service line, Clark finished with three aces against Idaho and four total for the weekend. She has at least one ace in 20 matches this year. Clark leads the league in kills (3.82/set) and points (4.49/set), and is also fourth in the Big Sky with .39 aces per set.
It is the second award for Clark this season and fourth overall for Montana. It is the most player of the week awards for the Grizzlies since 1994. That team was the last Grizzly squad to win a Big Sky championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Clark and the Grizzlies are off to the best start in conference play since the 2006 season and return home for three straight matches beginning this Thursday against league-leading Portland State.
