Griz at home for second straight week

MONTANA (6-14, 1-9 BIG SKY) VS. IDAHO STATE (16-5, 7-2 BIG SKY)
Thursday, Oct. 31 / 7:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

MONTANA VS. WEBER STATE (9-11, 6-3 BIG SKY)
Saturday, Nov. 2 / 2:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

GRIZ-O-WEEN
Grizzly Athletics will be hosting a free community event on the night of Halloween before the first serve of the Montana-Idaho State volleyball match. The event, now in its third year, will feature trick-or-treating, arts-and-crafts, and a variety of sports-related games and contests. It bergins at 5:30 in the Adams Center.

The event is hosted by Montana's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Committee (ADIC).

Additionally, children 8^th grade and under in a costume will get into the volleyball match for free.

WEEKEND PREVIEW
For the first time all season, Montana volleyball will play at home for the second straight weekend. The Grizzlies return to Dahlberg Arena this week to host Idaho State in a Halloween matchup, and close out the weekend with a Saturday afternoon match against Weber State.

There is plenty of season left for the Grizzlies, who play four of the next six at home. They will hope to change the fortune of their year in the coming weeks as the season begins to wind down. It's a team that has faced challenges this year, but regardless of where they sit in the standings or what the record is, head coach Allison Lawrence knows that there are still plenty of opportunities to improve and put the best product forward.

"To me, for myself and for our group, it's pretty immature to wallow in what's going on and what our record is," Lawrence said. "The reality is that every game that we are headed into is an opportunity to play at our best and find our rhythm. It's also not just short term, it's about every players career. If you're a senior, it's about what legacy you want to leave behind, how you're leading through adversity and struggle."

The team is a mixture of seniors, many of whom will leave a lasting legacy of helping the program turn a corner, and newcomers who arrived at Montana with the hope of ushering in a new culture of success.

Lawrence recruits the type of player that embraces these types of challenges to Montana. There have been highlights throughout the year to go with the current streak, but no matter which direction the results have gone the attitude of the team remains committed to playing their best volleyball at the end of the year and embracing all challenges.

"I want a team that is fearless. We aren't afraid of struggle, we aren't afraid of what people think, we aren't afraid of statistically where we are, that's what I want," Lawrence said. "I think if you can do that and build that toughness, it serves you well in so many areas. The answer is simple: face it, embrace it, look at yourself, and keep going. I think you can grow pretty strong from that."

Montana is currently on a four-game slide, and sit in 9^th place in the Big Sky Standings at 1-8. They have faced a difficult schedule with a majority of their games in the front half of conference play on the road. They were also the last team in the league, alongside Montana State, to have a one-match weekend.

Now, they should enter the week fresh and rested with another chance to play in front of the home fans inside Dahlberg Arena. They can't think about past results. All the matters is the seven games ahead of them.

"I think we're in this place now, you find yourself in these places in life, in sports, out of sports, and I think the only answer is to fight harder and keep going," Lawrence said. "Trust what you are doing well and then look at the places that you need to find growth. I think the answer is simple. The doing it is really hard. But we have a lot of hard workers that display courage every day, so I think we're going to get there."

One of the bright spots in last Friday's loss to Montana State was freshman Delaney Russell. The newcomer had five kills with no errors on 11 swings in the final set.

Russell played on a powerhouse Valor Christian team in high school, and was named the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023. She has a history of success, and the ability has translated to the collegiate level already. Friday's match was her fourth straight with a kill as she has received more opportunities as the year has gone on.

"It's been super exciting to see Delaney's growth over the season," Lawrence said. "I feel like every time in the season I've checked in with her about her role, the challenges, the good things, what are you learning, her answer is always gratitude and just explaining, 'I can't believe how much I'm learning from getting to do a role that I haven't been in before.'"

Regardless of her role, Russell has been constantly engaged with the team and an integral part of the success. Her attitude has remained impressive, and she's excited for what is to come down the stretch.

"It's been fun. Every single game, we talk in the locker room about things that can be better, things that were so good, it's just every single game is bit-by-bit getting better," Russell said. "The rest of the games that we have going forward, I'm excited to see what's going to happen when we put it all together."

She also has the fantastic opportunity to learn under Paige Clark and Maddie Kremer at the same position. Clark is one of the best players in Montana history, and is in the top 10 in program history for kills and a three-time All-Big Sky player.

Kremer had a breakout season in 2023 and has been a star for the Grizzlies this year. The duo have been together all four years. They know how far this program has come, and what it means to be a Grizzly.

"I think those two, I honestly couldn't ask for two better players to look up to," Russell said. 'I think that they are so uniquely different in their own ways and I think that there are parts of my game that are similar to both of theirs but also things that are super different. I think just being able to look at their energy, love for the game, and love for their teammates is so inspiring."

MATCH COVERAGE
Both matches will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein calling the action on Thursday and Scot Gladstone on the call Saturday.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (16-5, 7-2 BIG SKY)

The Bengals have won three straight matches, dropping just a single set in the process. They were at home last weekend, sweeping Portland State and then defeating Sacramento State in four sets.
Idaho State has been extremely impressive defensively this season. They lead the Big Sky in blocks, and rank second in the entire NCAA with 253 total blocks this year. They are also 17^th in the country in hitting percentage at .273, and have held opponents to .177 hitting, which also leads the Big Sky.
Three Bengals rank in the top 10 in the Big Sky in blocks per set. Jaydin Watts is 23^rd in the country with 1.41, Marci Bell is 41^st at 1.28, and Meline Robarge is just outside the top 150 with 1.07.
Marci Bell also leads the Big Sky and ranks 72^nd nationally by hitting .354 on the year.
Setter Aliyah Sopoaga is second in the conference with 9.35 assists per set.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE (9-11, 6-3 BIG SKY)

The Wildcats have won two straight and three of the last four. They beat Sacramento State in five sets last Thursday and then beat Portland State in four sets on Saturday. Two of their three Big Sky losses came in five sets.
Weber State ranks in the top 100 in the country in blocks per set (2.29, 92^nd), opponent hitting percentage (.184, 81^st), and service aces (133, 82^nd).
Saane Munyer leads the team with 1.10 blocks per set, ranking 7^th in the Big Sky.
The Wildcats are a balanced offensive attack. They have six players averaging at least 1.30 kills per set, but zero players averaging over 3.0.
Setter Kate Payne ranks 4^th in the Big Sky with 8.54 assists per set.

SERIES HISTORIES

Montana is 47-40 all-time against Idaho State. The Griz are 23-15 in Missoula, winning the last meeting in 2022. The Griz and Bengals did not face each other in Missoula during the 2023 season. Idaho State won the first matchup this year 3-1 in Pocatello.
Weber State is 49-41 all-time against Montana. The Griz do have the advantage in Missoula, going 26-17 against the Wildcats. Montana lost the first meeting between the two schools in five sets, and are looking for their first over WSU since 2017.

MONTANA NOTES

The Griz are currently in 9^th place in the Big Sky. The top eight teams will make the Big Sky Tournament at the end of November. Montana trails No. 8 Northern Arizona by two games and No. 7 Portland State by 2.5 games. They lost the only meeting against NAU this year, but will get Portland State at home on Nov. 16.
Montana is 5-1 when holding opponents under .200 hitting.
All six of Montana's wins have come when they outblock their opponents. They are 6-5 with more blocks, and 0-9 when their opponent has the same or more blocks.
Theh Griz are 3-4 at home this season.
Paige Clark needs two more service aces to enter the top 10 in program history. She has 126 in her storied career. Linde Eidenberg is currently 10^th all-time with 128. Jennifer Moran is 9^th on the list with 130 aces.
Clark was held to four kills on Friday night against Montana State. It matched the fewest of the season for the senior. She is two kills away from 1,200 in her career.
Maddie Kremer had 10 kills and 11 digs against Montana State. It's her fifth double-double of the season. She needs five more kills to reach 200 on the year, and she also recently passed 500 career kills.
Alexis Batezel had 15 digs on Friday, averaging 5.0 per set. Batezel now has 916 career digs. She would become just the 17^th player in program history to reach 1,000 kills if she is able to get 84 more this year.
Gracie Cagle set a new career high with four kills last Friday. It came in her first start of the season. Cagle also had 22 assists, which was four off her career high and just the second time she's recorded 20-plus in a match.
Maddie Pyles had 10 kills and 12 digs against Montana State. It's the second career double-double for Pyles. It's her sixth match with 10-plus kills and seventh match with 10-plus digs this season.
Freshman Delaney Russell set a new career-high with five kills last Friday. Russell has 13 attacks (also a career high) and hit .308 for the match. All five of her kills came in the third set, which was the closest of the match for the Griz.
Fellow freshman Sydney Pierce started her fifth straight match against Montana State. She had three kills and one block in the loss.
Russell has had at least one kill in her previous four appearances.
Brenley Hansen returned to action last Friday after missing the previous four matches. Hansen had three kills on .600 hitting to go along with three blocks in her return.

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Paige Clark

Brenley Hansen

Maddie Kremer

Sydney Pierce

Maddie Pyles

Delaney Russell

University of Montana Athletics