Cats outlast Griz in five

Saturday, October 11

Missoula, Mont.

8:00 PM

Montana

11-5,3-2Big Sky

Montana State

9-7,4-1Big Sky

Montana St.

Montana

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Montana

10/11/2025 11:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

A record crowd of over 3,000 fans were treated to five thrilling sets of volleyball on Saturday night inside Dahlberg Arena, but the night ended in heartbreak for Montana in a 3-2 loss to Montana State.

The Grizzlies bounced back after trailing after the first and third sets to extend it all the way out to five, but came up just short in the fifth in a battle of two teams that entered the night tied for first in the conference.

"First of all, MSU played so well," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It's the worst when you end up on the losing side of the rivalry obviously, but that match was so much fun in front of a record-breaking crowd with mostly close sets. It had the energy and intensity that the rivalry should have. I thought that part was unbelievable, our crowd was great, and you couldn't ask for a better environment."

Montana State outhit the Grizzlies .212-to-.176 on the night, finishing with fewer kills but also committing fewer errors than Montana. It was a match full of marathon points and out-of-system scoring with two elite ground defenses.

It also featured possibly the two best liberos in the Big Sky Conference with Alexis Batezel matching up with MSU's Lauren Lindseth. Lindseth had 27 digs for the Bobcats while Batezel had another monster night with 35 digs.

"I think Lauren is an incredible libero and I think the rivalry between, not them personally, but just two of the top liberos in the conference is fun," Lawrence said. "I think you could feel Lexi's pursuit and some of her floor moves to extend rallies were athletic and gritty and I think that gave us an edge and was contagious throughout our team."

The record-breaking crowd was loud from the jump and provided the energy as the teams traded points early. Montana State took control of the first set with a 6-1 run that flipped a Montana advantage into a 13-9 Bobcat lead.

The Grizzlies couldn't pull back even in a set where they hit just .091. MSU took the first set 25-19, and it looked like things might be swinging heavily in the visitors favor early in the second. The Cats opened up the next set with a 7-2 advantage.

Montana responded quickly to the deficit and used a 6-0 run with freshman Annika Wright at the service line to take the lead at 10-9. Montana had a 3-0 run later with kills from three different players to go ahead 17-13. The Cats would claw back late and take a 22-21 lead, but Montana closed it out strong.

Sydney Pierce had back-to-back kills to put Montana back in front and setter Gracie Cagle had the final two points of the set on dump kills to level the match back up with a 25-23 set two win.

The next two sets were both lopsided with the first going in favor of MSU. The Bobcats were doubling up the Grizzlies early and hit .361 in the third to win 25-17. Montana responded in kind.

The Grizzlies took a big lead early and then blew the doors off the fourth set with an 8-1 run that put them on top 21-12. Delaney Russell closed it out with a big kill for a 25-17 Grizzly win that set up the fifth set.

In the shortened 15-point fifth, MSU stole the momentum right away with a 4-0 run to start things. After a Montana response, they would go on a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. The Griz fought back and pulled within two on a couple of occasions, but MSU closed it on a 3-0 run to win 15-10.

"To me the biggest difference maker over the course of the match was that we did a decent job getting them out of system, but then they were able to score out of system and get out of tough situations a bit too easy," Lawrence said. "I think our blocking out of system was not what it needed to be in order to finish points that we had set up advantages in."

Russell led Montana with 21 kills on .197 hitting. It is the second straight match that Russell has gone over 20 kills and just the third of her career to reach that mark. The sophomore had several key plays throughout the night swinging momentum in her team's direction with forceful kills.

"I think when all the pressure was on she was dynamic and gutsy, and just risking it," Lawrence said. "I think one of the huge strengths of this team is that we don't play with fear. You see the fire in her eyes to be a playmaker and I think you see that show up on a stat sheet and see it pay us back in every area of our game."

Sydney Pierce had 10 kills on .194 hitting and Olivia LaBeau had 10 kills on .133 hitting. The duo have been among the Big Sky's best in hitting percentage this season and were clearly a focal point for the Bobcat block. Pierce also added eight blocks and LaBeau had six.

Cagle had 53 assists, a new career high for the junior setter. She also had seven kills on .545 hitting and 11 digs in a gutsy performance.

The Grizzlies have been quick to learn from losses this season and will take plenty from Saturday night's rivalry match.
"I think we can learn a lot from what MSU was able to expose in our block and defense," Lawrence said. "Our effort was great, and it doesn't matter what our effort is if our structure pieces allow teams off the hook in certain phases of rallies so I think we've got to get back to work on that."

Montana will hit the road next week with matches at Sacramento State and at Portland State. It's historically one of the more difficult road trips in the Big Sky Conference, so the Grizzlies will need to have a quick response.

The Big Sky Conference has been wild this season and the jam-packed standings reflect that. Montana entered the night in first but slipped to fifth with the loss. They could be right back in the driver's seat with a successful road trip.

"There is obviously no relaxing. It's urgent, and we're in a good position but we won't be if we don't find a bounce back," Lawrence said. "I think our response has to be immediate and it has been this entire season, so I think we know what to do and we will get back to work and go do it."

The official attendance on Saturday night was 3,001, shattering the previous program record of 2,237. The previous record was also in a Brawl of the Wild match set back in 2023.