Griz lose heartbreaker in five sets at Sacramento State

Thursday, October 16

Sacramento, Calif.

8:00 PM (MT)

Montana

11-6,3-3Big Sky

Sacramento State

10-8,3-3Big Sky

Montana

Sacramento St.

Griz lose heartbreaker in five sets at Sacramento State

10/16/2025 11:22:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the snug confines of The Nest in Sacramento on Thursday as they tried to break a road curse that has haunted them for the last dozen years, but the host Sacramento State Hornets battled back to win in five sets and drop the Grizzlies to .500 in league play.

The Grizzlies (11-6, 3-3 Big Sky) haven't won in Sacramento since 2013 and have not won two sets in any matches since that previous win. They looked impressive out of the gates against the Hornets (10-8, 3-3 Big Sky), taking the first two sets on the road after sweeping them in Missoula earlier this season.

"I'm pretty frustrated with our stamina and ability to hold details," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We started out the match serving really well, passing aggressively, and slowing down their attackers as we were getting them out of system a bit. Then I think as the match continued you just had this feeling that it was slipping. We were serving tentatively a lot, they were in rhythm, and whenever (Sacramento State) is on the net their middles are very terminal."

Several Grizzlies had career nights despite the final result. Carley Spachman led Montana with a career-high 16 kills. It was just her second match this year in double figures. The middle blocker hit .462, going over .400 for the second straight match and 6^th time this season.

Sydney Pierce also had a big night in the middle with 14 kills and zero errors. It's a new career high for the Billings product, and she also hit over .700 for the third time this season.

Setter Gracie Cagle also had a career high 20 digs while recording six kills on .545 hitting and 45 assists. Cagle, especially early on, was able to find the middle blocker duo of Pierce and Spachman to cause a lot of damage.

"When we were able to get them the ball, especially through their middle zone on the net, they were terminal," Lawrence said. "It is indicative of us passing well enough and digging well enough in system to get balls to them, so that's a great thing. I think Sac did a great job in tight moments to keep us off the net enough to where we were forced to use our lefts in bad ball situations and from there we really weren't scoring enough to get out of those."

Montana hit .278 on the night with 64 kills and just 19 errors. It's the best hitting percentage of the last five matches for the Grizzlies. The Hornets were able to hit .292 against them, however, the best number by a Montana opponent all season.

The teams couldn't separate early with ties at every point all the way up to seven. Montana responded to a 3-0 Hornet run with four straight points of their own to take an 11-10 lead with both offenses hitting over .350 in the early stages of the match.

The Grizzlies would get even better down the stretch offensively and used a 5-1 run to take the lead for good at 19-17. Sydney Pierce delivered her third kill of the set on the final point to give Montana a 25-22 win in the opener.

Montana hit an impressive .419 as a team in the opening set with four players recording multiple kills without any errors. As a team, the Griz had 16 kills to just three errors in the first.

The Griz got red-hot from the service line in the second set to take a big early lead. They had three service aces in the first nine total points of the set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and forcing an early Hornet timeout.

Sacramento State would battle to get back into the set, but couldn't find an answer for the setter dump from Gracie Cagle. Cagle made it 14-13 Montana after her 6^th kill of the match on just seven attempts. The setter led the Grizzlies at that point in the match as the Cagle clearly saw something in the Hornet defense that she liked.

Montana rode the arm of Pierce down the stretch to help them build a cushion as she had three kills during a 4-1 Grizzly run that made it 19-16. The Hornets made a final push late, scoring three straight to take their first lead of the set at 22-21.

The defense responded for the Griz, forcing three straight attacking errors, the final coming on a statement block from LaBeau and Spachman to go up 24-22. The Hornets got one back, but a serve that floated deep would end the second set 25-23.

The set continued a positive trend for Montana as the Grizzlies improved to 12-5 on the season in sets decided by two points.

The Hornets scored the first three points of the third set and never looked back. They led by as many as seven, and while a 4-0 Grizzly run brought them within two points at 18-16, Sacramento State responded with four straight of their own and won the third set 25-21.

Montana hit .214, which wasn't far off the .220 hitting percentage by the Hornets, but the hosts had four service aces and three blocks that proved to be the difference makers in the set.

The fourth set was very tight early, but the Hornets used a 6-1 run to move ahead 13-9. They continued to push the lead out in the late stages of the set and would win 25-19 to force a fifth set.

The big difference maker in the third and fourth was the play of Victoria Marthaler. She had 12 total kills over the two sets, including an 8-kill eruption in the fourth on just 10 swings. Marthaler recorded 33 total kills on the night on .307 hitting.

"(Marthaler) felt pretty unstoppable for most of the night, especially after the first two sets," Lawrence said. "Our inability to execute adjustments and be playmakers down the stretch in the third and fourth feels very frustrating. We have to address that and address whatever collective stress that is hampering our ability to focus on the right things or be physical in the ways we can."

It was a dream start for the Grizzlies in the fifth set thanks to the arm of Spachman. The senior had three kills on the first three points of the set to give Montana the early lead. Cagle followed it with an ace and Olivia LaBeau added a kill to make it 5-0 Montana.

The hosts responded with a huge rally that completely shifted the momentum of the match. Sacramento State scored 10 of the next 11 points to go ahead 10-6. Montana didn't show any quit. The Griz pulled within one on Pierce's 14^th kill of the night that made it 12-11, but Marthaler was too much to handle.

The Hornet star had three kills in the next five points to give Sacramento State a 15-13 win in the final set.

It's the last Big Sky regular season match between Montana and Sacramento State as the Hornets will depart for the Big West next season.

Montana falls to 1-3 on the year in five-set matches. The last two losses have both come in five sets. In a very tight Big Sky Conference, where seven of the 10 teams have either two or three losses, these become even more frustrating losses.

But the good news for Lawrence and company is that the team has been in every match that they have played this conference season. They have proven that they can hang with anyone, but now they need to be able to put the finishing touches on matches.

"I think our last two matches we are winning sets and we are in position," Lawrence said. "I think that's the biggest takeaway is we are in position, and we can identify the parts of our game that have to get better individually and collectively to kind of turn that corner and go from close to getting us across the finish line.

"I think those things feel really clear technically and tactically, and we just have to be tough enough and loyal enough to our group to keep finding ways to get better," she continued. "We don't have to add a lot, we just have to find a few moments here and there, but we have to be tough enough to dig deeper for those things. My main takeaway is we are right there, but that's the agonizing part, too."

Motnana will look to rebound from the two-match losing streak on Saturday night in Portland. The Grizzlies will take on Portland State at 8:00 p.m. (MT). The Vikings defeated Montana State in five sets on Thursday night and are now tied with Montana and Sacramento State at 3-3 in conference play.