Grizzlies ride dominant service game to 3-1 win

Thursday, October 23

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

13-6,5-3Big Sky

Idaho State

7-12,3-4Big Sky

Idaho St.

Montana

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

10/23/2025 10:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana volleyball team recorded a season-high 11 aces on Thursday night which, combined with the hot hand of Sydney Pierce, was enough to put an end to Idaho State's three-match winning streak in a 3-1 Grizzly win.

Montana (13-6, 5-3 Big Sky) outlasted a very good Idaho State (7-12, 3-4 Big Sky) defense that held the Grizzlies to just .217 hitting. Pierce was the bright spot for Montana, hitting .433 with a career high 15 kills.

It's the second time in the previous three matches that Pierce has set a new career high and also the fourth straight match she's reached double-figure kills.

"I think that Sydney was the player of the game for me not only numbers-wise, but her ability to finish with power, her routes were so explosive, and they just had no answer for her," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It allowed us to get into two-hitter rotations against a really outstanding Idaho State block."

She really came alive in the third set and was a key piece in Montana turning the momentum back around after a difficult second set.

The hosts started things out well, and one of the major themes of the night became evident very quickly. Montana had a 4-0 run in the first to jump ahead 8-6, but they were struggling to get the offense going. Idaho State had three service errors to give Montana some free points early on.

At the first media timeout, Montana held a 15-12 lead despite identical offensive numbers. Both teams went into the break with 25 attacks, seven kills, and three errors. The difference, as it would prove to be all night, was the service line.

The Bengals wouldn't get back within two points the rest of the way in a first set victory for Montana. The story quickly changed in the second. Idaho State scored five of the first six points and later went on an 11-1 run in a big 25-15 win to tie the match up at one set apiece.

Idaho State carried over the momentum into the third set and jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Montana, looking for answers, brought in freshman Avery Merritt for her first collegiate action.

Merritt delivered with an attack that caught the fingertips of a Bengal defender. ISU head coach Sean Carter challenged the call and, had it been overturned, his team would have gone ahead 8-3.

Instead, the call on the floor stood and the Griz cut the lead to 7-4. They would use that to start a 5-1 run that pulled them right back into the match. After a good back-and-forth, Idaho used a three-point run to take an 18-16 lead.

Montana went to middle blocker Carley Spachman for a kill and Gracie Cagle followed it up with an ace to tie the match at 18-all. Montana took the lead on a Bengal error, but the teams would be tied again at 19 and 20.

Pierce took over down the stretch for Montana, recording three kills to help the Grizzlies close out the set with five of the final seven points. Montana took the third set 25-22 to regain the advantage.

The sophomore from Billings finished the set with eight kills on just 11 swings and no errors. She hit .727 on her own while the rest of the team hit .125.

"I think she is really confident in her route choices and her spacing and positioning," Lawrence said. "I think that's huge for a middle, you have to make such fast decisions and be such a smart player. Then you also have to be physical and be able to accelerate. She's making decisions quickly, she's accelerating into her route, and her hitting window is so big."

There were big momentum swings early in the fourth set. Montana scored six straight points, three of which came off the hand of freshman Mylee Blake, to take an 11-6 lead. But Idaho State responded with a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to a single point.

Montana pulled back ahead 16-11 after a 4-0 run but the Bengals would score five of the next six to get back within a point yet again at 17-16.

They once again found the right rotation with Pierce getting plenty of sets down the stretch. She had two kills, which sandwiched an ace from Annika Wright, to make it 22-18 Montana. Grace Cagle had a well-timed dump for a kill that pushed the lead to 23-20, Pierce had her 15^th kill of the night to put them on the doorstep, and Delaney Russell put the Bengals to bed with a kill on match point.

The Grizzlies took the final set 25-22 for the 3-1 win.

"I think there was a little bit of that momentum shift after the first set where it at least felt like, for me, we can't have this momentum and then end up flat," Lawrence said. "I didn't love set two, but I did really appreciate our response to that in set three and our ability to hold that in set four."

The service game was the big difference maker on the night. Montana had 11 aces and just six service errors. Idaho State, meanwhile, had just three aces and eight errors from the service line. It's a 10-point advantage for the Griz before even factoring in how much it affected both offenses ability to find a rhythm.

"I think we have to set that kind of tone. I think against a team like Idaho State that runs a really fast, physical offense, you have to get them out of system," Lawrence said. "You have to risk maybe a tougher serve and maybe you have a few more errors than you'd like to, but you get a couple of aces and it ended up a ratio in our favor for sure. But that was our plan going in."

Idaho State has been one of, if not the best, defensive teams in the conference over the previous two seasons. They entered the night ranked 17^th in the NCAA in blocks and 43^rd in opponent's hitting percentage. Montana was able to hit .034 over the season average for Bengal opponents, including back-to-back sets hitting over .275 to close it out.

In the only set that Idaho State won on the night, they were able to hold the Griz to .030 hitting. Lawrence and her team adjusted and it led to big sets down the stretch for the win.

"Our passing had to get better, we had to get more up to the net, and then from there we had to disrupt patterns a little bit," Lawrence said. I think they did a great job going away from the attacker we just set and following our decision making and what patterns had just worked for us in rotations. I think they were playing to that and so we had to disrupt it with different decision making and different routes."

Mylee Blake had 11 kills on .280 hitting and Delaney Russell had a 10-kill, 15-dig double-double.

Gracie Cagle had 44 assists on the night, averaging 11.0 per set to extend her Big Sky Conference lead in that category. Cagle had her 11^th double-double of the season, and 5^th straight, with 13 digs.

It improves Montana to 6-2 at home this year, the most home wins since 2022 and second most overall during the Lawrence era, and 5-3 in Big Sky Conference play. They have already matched last year's league win total with eight games still to play.

The Grizzlies will be back in action on Saturday for their annual Dig Pink match. They host Weber State at 2:00 p.m. inside Dahlberg Arena with a youth clinic set to follow the match.

The Wildcats started the Big Sky season 4-1 but have since lost two straight, including a four-set loss at Montana State on Thursday night.

"They're always really talented and I think they are always a great blocking and defensive team," Lawrence said. "I think some parts