DANA HALLISEY | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

The 2023 season is Dana Hallisey’s (formerly Cranston) seventh with the Montana volleyball program, including fifth as associate head coach. She oversees the Grizzlies’ middle blockers and in-match blocking assignments, in addition to scouting preparation and recruiting.

With Hallisey on staff, Montana has seen steady improvement, including four Big Sky Conference tournament berths and the program’s most wins and best winning percentage since 1999 in 2022.

The Grizzlies finished 17-12 overall, and 10-6 in conference play. Hallisey helped lead the Grizzlies to several accomplishments not seen in Missoula for decades. Montana won seven non-conference matches and had a .583 winning percentage during the stretch, both marks the best by the program since 2005.

The impressive play continued into the league schedule, where Montana finished with a 10-6 record. It was the best conference winning percentage (.625) since 2009 and the highest conference finish (t-4th) since 2010.

The season included a sweep of Montana State, marking the first time since 2013 that the Grizzlies went undefeated against their rivals. The Grizzlies completed the sweep and maintained the Main Line Trophy by defeating the Bobcats in front of a program-record crowd of 2,100 fans.

It also saw Montana sweep the road trip against Idaho and Eastern Washington for the first time in program history, part of a very successful road slate for Montana. The Grizzlies had seven road wins, the most since 2013.

Montana also strung together a five-game winning streak during the 2022 season, the longest for the Grizzlies since 2006.

Hallisey helped guide Ellie Scherffius to the fifth-best single season hitting percentage in Montana history in 2022, as the middle blocker hit .304 with nearly two kills per set. Scherffius was also named to all-tournament team four consecutive weekends, sweeping the awards in Montana’s non-conference schedule.

During the 2021 season, Montana earned its first .500 non-conference record in 16 seasons, including winning the UND Classic, which was the program’s first tournament title since 2005. After a 1-6 start to league play, Montana found its form in October and November, at one point going 5-2 over a four-week stretch, tied for the best record in the league during that span.

The period included road wins at Idaho (sweep), Southern Utah (sweep) and Montana State, as the Grizzlies claimed their second consecutive Brawl of the Wild win in Bozeman, and the Main Line Trophy for the first time. Montana also earned home wins over Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Idaho in 2021. The win over Sacramento State was the Hornets’ only set loss in a three-week span, while the Grizzlies held Eastern Washington to .000 hitting, the lowest by a Griz opponent since 1992. Montana swept the season series over Idaho for the first time since 1991.

In addition to helping develop All-Big Sky outside hitter Paige Clark, Hallisey also worked with a middle-blocking group that had two players average at least 0.90 blocks per set (top 15 in the Big Sky), a program first since 2013. Under Hallisey’s guidance, Montana has jumped 122 spots in the national rankings from 2016 through 2021, increasing its blocks-per-set average by more than a half-block.

Hallisey has also helped develop a youthful roster, with the Grizzlies starting at least three freshmen in every match in both 2019 and Spring 2021. During that two-year stretch, more than 50 percent of the team’s starts came from freshmen, totaling 149 combined starts.

In 2019, Hallisey helped develop Missy Huddleston into an All-Big Sky Conference middle blocker. Starting the season on the right side, she moved to middle blocker in late October and averaged 3.10 kills per set on .276 hitting while leading the league with 1.15 blocks per set over the final month of the season. She was twice named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, while the Grizzlies posted a winning record over that period to qualify for the Big Sky tournament, earning wins over Portland State, Montana State, Idaho, Southern Utah and Idaho State.

The Grizzlies’ win at Montana State was their first victory in Bozeman since 2015, and their come-from-behind win at Idaho was their first in Moscow since 1991. Montana overcame a 2-0 deficit and won the fifth set, 18-16, to become the first team all season to knock off the Vandals on their home court. That year, Montana ranked fourth in the Big Sky for blocking, with more than 2.0 blocks per set.

Montana broke through during the 2018 season by qualifying for the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2014. The team's 10 wins were its most since 2013, as were its seven Big Sky victories. Highlights included preseason wins over Gonzaga and South Dakota – an NCAA tournament qualifier that fall – and a 3-0 start to Big Sky play, capped with a five-set win over Montana State. Montana was led by senior outside hitter Mykaela Hammer, who was named an All-Big Sky first-team selection.

In 2017, Hallisey’s first on staff, the Grizzlies saw a three-win improvement from the previous season.

Off the court, Montana posted its highest grade-point average in five years during the 2020-21 academic year, despite classes being a hybrid of in-person and remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.63, second-highest in the athletics department, with eight players being honored on the dean’s list and the team earning the AVCA Team Academic Award. Over the past two years, a program-record 20 student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big Sky recognition (program-best 10 in 2020-21 and 10 in 2021-22).

In addition to her daily roles on the court and in the classroom, Hallisey's effects have been felt in a variety of ways. She pushed to get season tickets added for the first time in school history, which helped Montana record its highest season attendance average in 23 years in 2018. She also led an initiative to welcome back more than a dozen former players in 2018 for the program's first alumni weekend in more than a decade. Additionally, Hallisey has played a large role in elevating the program's social media channels, growing online engagement to new levels.

Aside from her role with the Griz, Hallisey serves on the AVCA assistant coaches’ committee and has had several blog posts featured by the AVCA and distributed nationally to college and high school coaches. She also has served as a club coach with the Montana Volleyball Academy.

Hallisey was hired in February 2017 after spending one season as a volunteer coach at her alma mater, Colorado State. The Rams won 21 matches and advanced to their 22nd consecutive NCAA tournament in 2016.

A native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Hallisey – then Dana Cranston – competed for Colorado State as an outside hitter from 2009-12. As one of the program’s all-time great players, she earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior, and in 2012 was named the Mountain West Player of the Year. Additionally that year, Hallisey was named an AVCA All-American, a Capital One Academic All-American and a finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.

The Rams went 96-25 in four years with Hallisey on the roster, winning four Mountain West titles and advancing to the NCAA tournament each season. There, the Rams picked up tournament wins over Middle Tennessee, Washington, Cal State Fullerton and Oregon, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2009. CSU spent the majority of Hallisey's career nationally ranked, and earned several top-25 victories, including over No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Washington.

Hallisey then spent five years in the Team Canada system, much of it alongside former Griz standout Jaimie Thibeault. They were teammates on Canada’s national team that represented its country for three summers of international competitions around the world (Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia and across Europe), nearly qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games. During that time, Hallisey also played professionally in both France and Germany.

Hallisey graduated from Colorado State in 2013 with a degree in business management and Montana in 2021 with her master of business administration degree. She and her husband, Montana Associate AD (Marketing and Communications) Nic Hallisey, welcomed their first child, Walter, in 2022.

OLLIE NICHOLSON | ASSISTANT COACH

The 2024 season is Olivia Nicholson’s first with the Montana volleyball program as an assistant coach.
 
Nicholson joins Montana after a professional playing career overseas in Germany and Denmark. She finished up her playing career in 2024 and joined the Montana coaching staff upon returning to the United States.
 
She played her collegiate volleyball at Colorado State, helping lead the Rams to three Mountain West Championiships and four NCAA Tournament appearances in her four years. In her time at CSU, Nicholson played nearly every position on the floor.
 
A middle blocker in high school, she was recruited as a pin and also spent time as a backup setter and defensive specialist. Following her playing career at Colorado State, Nicholson used her COVID eligibility to play beach volleyball at Texas A&M Kingsville while she pursued her Master’s degree.
 
She is originally from North Platte, Nebraska, and played in the USA Volleyball pipeline as part of the youth national team. Her time there led her to Colorado State, where she was coached as a freshman by current Montana associate head coach Dana Hallisey.