Griz look to rebound on the road

MONTANA (11-5, 3-2 Big Sky) at SACRAMENTO STATE (9-8, 2-3 Big Sky)
Thursday, Oct. 16 / 8:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

MONTANA at PORTLAND STATE (6-10, 2-3 Big Sky)
Saturday, Oct. 18 / 8:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

The Montana volleyball team will hit the road this week for a pair of tough Big Sky tests against Sacramento State and Portland State. They are looking to rebound after a heartbreaking five-set loss to Montana State in their only match last week dropped them to 3-2 in Big Sky play.

The Big Sky Conference is typically a tough league with plenty of parity, but it has been on another level so far this season. Montana entered last Saturday in first place and five sets later found themselves in fifth place.

The good news? They have a chance to climb right back up the league standings as no team has more than four wins and every single team in the league has a loss. In order to do so, Montana will need to break a couple of extended road losing streaks.

"I'm looking forward to another tight weekend of play," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "Sacramento State and Portland State always play well at home, so I think it's a big test for us especially after Saturday about how resilient we are and just getting back to work. It's a great thing to be able to work on and I think there are great things from Saturday that we want to carry over and some things we want to address."

Montana hasn't won at either location since 2015, setting up a daunting weekend. The history won't intimidate a Grizzly team that has already made plenty of history this season. It doesn't hurt that Montana is also 3-1 in true road matches already this season.

There is also the benefit of having seen one of these opponents already this season and winning in convincing fashion against them. The Grizzlies opened up Big Sky play with a sweep of Sacramento State and have now won two straight over the Hornets.

That was in Missoula, however. The Hornets are another beast when playing inside The Nest. Montana hasn't won in the venue since 2013, dropping seven straight road contests against the Hornets.

"Sacramento State has done some really good things at home and they have a nice resume going right now. We saw them first thing out of the gates, so I think they are a lot different and we are a lot different," Lawrence said. "I almost feel like we need to go into it a little bit more like we haven't played this team before. At home, they are particularly efficient, so I'm excited for that challenge."

Montana will then head to the City of Roses to face off with Portland State. The Vikings enter the week on a three-match losing streak after opening Big Sky play 2-0. Montana is currently a game ahead of both Sacramento State and Portland State in the league standings.

It's a similar story for Montana when playing on the Park Blocks. The Grizzlies haven't won a road match over Portland State in 10 years, but they have been very good against the Vikings over the past few seasons, winning three of the last five matches in the series.

The rivalry loss stings for the Grizzlies, but Lawrence knows that the perfect way for her team to get back on track would be to make some more history. They already had the longest winning streak by the program since 1994 to go along with plenty more superlatives during the non-conference season.

They can add on to some of that with a win in either venue this weekend. At the end of the day, Lawrence said it's easy to get too high or low following a single result. She wants her team to stay the course and know that the success that they had in the non-conference will translate into Big Sky play, and that there is a lot of volleyball left.

Saturday may have also served as a wake-up call that things in the Big Sky Conference are never easy. The top eight teams in the league are all separated by just two games, meaning one good or bad weekend by anyone can shake up the standings.

"I think taking that middle path and removing emotions and reactions and just being exactly where we are, we are in a great spot, we're playing great volleyball, we're beating great teams and we're pushing great teams late into sets," Lawrence said. "I think we just have to take confidence from that, but also we'd be fools to assume that this wasn't going to be very hard. I think you're seeing that across the board in the conference."

BATEZEL CLIMBS THE RANKS
Alexis Batezel has continued to climb in the record book at Montana for career digs. The senior libero passed Angie Bellinger on Saturday to move into 5^th place in program history with 1,296 career digs.

She now trails Erin Adams by just five digs for 4^th place. Batezel is averaging 5.02 digs per set this season, which is the 2^nd most in program history. She currently ranks 13^th in the NCAA and leads the Big Sky in digs.

BRAWL OF THE WILD SHATTERS PROGRAM ATTENDANCE RECORD
The annual Brawl of the Wild rivalry match is always the biggest of the year for home attendance, but the 2025 edition of the rivalry set a new standard. Montana set a new program record with an official attendance of 3,001.

The number shatters the previous record of 2,237, which was also set during a Griz-Cat matchup back in 2023.

"It was an incredible atmosphere," Lawrence said. "It was so loud and so fun, and that's what you expect for the rivalry. I really loved the crowd and I hope that everyone is hungry for more."

HISTORIC NOTES FOR 2025

The Grizzlies have hit over .300 in six different matches already this season. It's the 3^rd most in a single season in program history. The record is 7, set in both 1991 and 1989.
The Grizzlies went 8-3 in non-conference play in 2025. It's tied for the 3^rd best winning percentage in program history for a non-conference schedule and tied for the 3^rd most wins.
This is the first time in program history that Montana has finished undefeated in the month of September. It's just the 6^th time ever that they've had a perfect month, and the 10 wins are the 2^nd most in an undefeated month in program history.
The current team hitting percentage of .227 is the 4^th-best for Montana in program history. The 1991 team holds the program record at .240.
Montana's single season record for individual hitting percentage is .353 by Jaimie Thibeault in 2009. Olivia LaBeau (.352) and Sydney Pierce (.349) are both inside the top five all-time best single seasons through 16 matches.
Montana has had the Big Sky Player of the Week five times already in 2025. It's the second-most all-time, trailing only the 1994 season when Montana had six Player of the Week honors.
Montana's .416 hitting percentage against Butler was the best in the 25-point scoring era and the best by the team since hitting .500 against Canisius in 2007.
The five errors committed by Montana in the Butler match are the fewest by a Grizzly team in program history. It broke the previous record of 7 set on four occasions.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana is 3-1 on the road this year and is currently on a three-match winning streak. The Grizzlies have wins at Idaho, Gonzaga, and Indiana State.
Saturday was the first time this season that Montana lost while recording more assists than the opponent. The Grizzlies were 8-0 going into the match when doing so.
The Grizzlies are 123^rd in the latest RPI Rankings. They dropped two spots following the loss to Montana State, but are still the second-highest ranked Big Sky team.
Montana's 31 attacking errors on Saturday were the most in a match since recording 37 in the season opener at Utah Valley.
Last week was the first time since August that Montana went a full week without a win. The Grizzlies played a lone match during the week, falling in five sets to Montana State
Saturday's loss dropped Montana to 1-2 in five-set matches this season.
The Grizzlies are undefeated when hitting at least .200 this season. They are 4-0 when hitting .200-.300 and 6-0 when hitting over .300.
Montana has been very good in close sets this year. They are 11-5 in sets decided by two points.
No opponent has hit over .250 against Montana this season. The highest attacking percentage by an opponent was .242 at Gonzaga, a match that Montana won in five sets.
Alexis Batezel needs just four digs to reach 1,300 in her career. She would be the 5^th Grizzly in program history to reach the milestone.
Batezel has the two highest single-match dig totals in the Big Sky this season (40 & 35) and three of the top six. Her 40 digs against Northern Colorado were tied for the most in a single match in the NCAA this season.
Setter Gracie Cagle had a career-high 53 assists in Saturday's match against Montana State. It's the 2^nd team she has reached 50 assists in a single match. She also had a double-double in the match, which was her 8^th of the season.
Delaney Russell has had 21 kills in each of the last two matches. She has now gone over 20 kills in a match three times this year. She is now over 200 kills on the season. Russell ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky with 3.51 kills per set this season.
Sydney Pierce reached double digit kills for the 7^th time this season with a 10-kill performance against Montana State. She also recorded 8.0 blocks in the match, the second highest total of her career.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE (9-8, 2-3 Big Sky)

The Hornets are returning home for the first time in three weeks. They went 1-2 on the road over the previous two weekends, winning at Portland State but losing two straight at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
Head coach Ruben Volta is in his 18^th season at Sacramento State. The longtime mentor has an overall record of 288-257 and has led the Hornets to five 20-win seasons, including the last two.
Sacramento State came in at 156 in the latest RPI Rankings. The Hornets are 5^th amongst Big Sky teams in the rankings.
The Hornets have won four straight matches inside The Nest and are 4-3 at home this season.
They are averaging 1.73 aces per set, which ranks 2^nd in the Big Sky and 66^th in the NCAA.
Sacramento State is hitting .243 as a team, the 3^rd best mark in the Big Sky.
Ashlynn Archer leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 11^th nationally with a .438 hitting percentage this season.
Victoria Marthaler leads the Big Sky in both kills (4.55) and points (5.01) per set. Marthaler is in the top 25 in the entire NCAA in both categories.
Libero Reese Ampi ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky with 4.24 digs per set.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HORNETS

Sacramento State leads the all-time series 40-16. The Grizzlies, however, have won the previous two meetings, including a sweep over the Hornets in Missoula on Sept. 25.
The Hornets have been dominant at home against the Griz, leading the series 21-4 in Sacramento. Montana's last win in Sacramento came in 2013. The Griz have lost seven straight in The Nest.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE (6-10, 2-3 Big Sky)

The Vikings enter the week on a three-match losing streak. They fell on the road at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, both in four sets, and dropped a home match vs. Sacramento State on Oct. 3.
Portland State is 1-3 at home this year inside Viking Pavilion. They lost in five sets to Oregon and Oregon State on back-to-back days at home, averaging over 1,200 fans for the two contests. Their lone home win came in three sets over Idaho State.
Head coach Michael Seemann is in his 19^th season at Portland State. The veteran coach has a 288-251 overall record with the Vikings.
They are hitting .195 this season and allowing opponents to hit .233, which ranks 9^th in the Big Sky Conference.
PSU average 1.67 aces per set, which ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky and 81^st nationally. Allison Panter is averaging 0.49 aces per set to lead the Big Sky and rank 30^th in the NCAA.
Reese Biesemeyer is hitting .375 in five conference matches, which ranks 4^th in the Big Sky Conference.
Alivia Eikenberg is averaging 4.00 kills in league play, the 4^th best mark in the Big Sky.
Paige Stepaniuk ranks 5^th in the Big Sky in digs per set with 3.68. She has increased that number to 4.00 in conference play.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VIKINGS

Portland State leads the all-time series 65-20. The Vikings have been dominant at home against the Griz, going 35-5 in Portland. Montana has lost eight straight matches in Portland with the last win coming in 2015.
Montana won the last meeting between the two in straight sets on Nov. 16, 2024. The Grizzlies have won three of the last five against the Vikings.

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Olivia LaBeau

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

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