Griz win 3rd straight, snap 13-game skid against Weber State

Saturday, October 25

Missoula, Mont.

2:00 PM

Montana

14-6,6-3Big Sky

Weber State

12-8,4-4Big Sky

Weber St.

Montana

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

Griz win 3rd straight, snap 13-game skid against Weber State

10/25/2025 6:03:00 PM | Volleyball

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By: Montana Sports Information

It's been a year of breaking new ground for the Grizzly volleyball program, and they added to a long list of accomplishments in 2025 with a 3-1 win over Weber State on Saturday night. It's the first time that the Grizzlies, now winners of three straight overall, have beat the Wildcats since 2017.

The Grizzlies dominated the first two sets and bounced back from a tough third with a dramatic 27-25 fourth set victory.

The back half of league play starts on a successful foot for the Grizzlies, who are now in a four-way tie for second place following the win. They have already exceeded last year's conference win total with seven matches to play.

"Overall, I'm proud of our resilience and to finish that fourth set the way that we did is just phenomenal," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think our passing down the stretch was rock solid. Maddie Sanderson was nails through the back half in ways that allowed us to get looks and have both arms up and available in two rotations that are tough with a front row setter."

The Wildcats had a set point in the fourth that could have pushed the match the distance, but the Grizzlies closed it out on a 3-0 run to hold on for the win.

Montana hit .296 in the match and won most of the statistical categories as they dominated sets one and two by scores of 25-15 and 25-14. They held the Wildcats to .207 hitting, finishing the night with more aces, kills, and digs than the visitors.

It was a balanced offensive effort overall for the Grizzlies. Four players finished with 10-plus digs, led by Alexis Batezel and Madeline Sanderson with 14 each. Gracie Cagle had a dozen and Annika Wright recorded 10.

The offense, led by the setting of Cagle, saw four different Grizzlies reach double figure kills. Delaney Russell led with 15, but the performance of the night came from Mylee Blake with 14 kills on .429 hitting.

Sydney Pierce and Olivia LaBeau each finished with 10 kills for the Grizzlies. It was LaBeau, Pierce, and fellow middle blocker Carley Spachman that set the tone early for the Grizzlies.

The first set was back and forth early with the teams tied at every single point all the way up to 10. Weber State pulled ahead 13-10, but Montana's offense found a completely different gear down the stretch.

They scored 15 of the final 17 points in the opening set, turning a deficit into a blowout win. The middles played a huge role in that as they combined for five kills over the final 15 points. Cagle added a couple of dumps from the setter position to keep Weber State's defense guessing.

"We handled the ball well in serve-receive and were able to spread their block out in ways that we wanted to by establishing our middle and right presence," Lawrence said. "(Olivia) LaBeau, Sydney Pierce, and Carley Spachman really established a strong swing and came out aggressive. I think that, plus a dump presence from Gracie, allowed us to go to the lefts in rhythm"

Montana hit .400 in the first set. They would get even better in the second, once again pulling away down the stretch with big runs. They led 12-11 when LaBeau recorded a kill to get a side out for the Grizzlies.

Emma Williams, the second libero, entered to serve and flipped the set completely in Montana's favor. Williams had two service aces as part of a 6-0 Grizzly run that allowed them to take a commanding 18-11 lead.

"Emma's service pressure, especially in set two, was a big moment that allowed us to relax in that set and help us feel like we were in the driver's seat," Lawrence said. "I think tonight took a lot of performances like that where we are hitting details and winning the game from the role we were in. It was a big difference maker and Emma made a huge difference in the match."

They would finish the set out with six straight points, this time with freshman Madeline Sanderson at the service line, to win 25-14. The Griz hit .455 as a team in the second with 17 kills and just two errors.

Pierce and Blake each had five kills while Russell and LaBeau had three each in the second set. It was a theme of the night for Montana as they were able to score effectively from several different positions.

"I think when you're scoring from all zones on the net it can be really stressful as a blocking team to make some changes," Lawrence said. "They served better to get us out of that, but I think we found our way back in the end."

The Wildcats did find an answer in the third set, winning 25-21 while holding the powerful Grizzly attack to just a .138 percentage.

The fourth set was competitive early but appeared to be going the same way as the first two as Montana used a 4-1 run to go into the media timeout up 15-12. They continued to hold a lead late, forcing Weber State's final timeout with a 21-17 lead.

The Wildcats came out of that firing and cut into the lead. Pierce gave Montana match point at 24-22 after a kill, but Weber State went on a 3-0 run of their own to take the lead at 25-24. This time it was Lawrence that needed a timeout and response from her team.

They went to Russell out of the break and she delivered with a rocket to tie it up at 25-all. An error from Weber State gave Montana another match point, and this time Russell delivered in the clutch with her 15^th kill of the match.

It helped Montana avoid a five-setter, which would have been the fourth in the last five matches. In two of those, the Griz were up 2-0, just like they were on Saturday afternoon. It was frustrating to be close to that point again, but Lawrence loved her team's response.

"I think the parts that made me frustrated were the parts where this pattern that has been there for us the last two and a half weeks where we're up and executing at a high level and then a team is able to serve tougher, have a little bit better defensive effort, and it knocks us on our heels," Lawrence said.

They found a way, in the end, to pick up the 14^th win of the season and extend the current winning streak to three matches. It's the first time that Lawrence has ever defeated Weber State in Missoula, another sign that this team is operating at a different level when compared to Grizzly teams of the past.

"I think we have a really tough team. I don't think you would ever look at us in any scenario and think we are stressed out, and to think that we aren't being physical or playing to the level that we can," Lawrence said. "I think we're ready to go for it at all times and I think that's such a big part of who we are. I expect it whether it is point one or it is 26-all."

The Grizzlies will now have a difficult closing stretch of the season with five of the final seven matches coming on the road. They start it off perhaps the most difficult trip in the Big Sky next week, heading to play first-place Northern Arizona and 6-3 Northern Colorado.