Thursday, October 30
Flagstaff, Ariz.
7:30 PM
Montana
1
at
3
Northern Arizona
Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana
Griz fall to league leaders on the road
10/30/2025 10:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Montana took the first set on Thursday night against first-place Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, but the league leaders rallied at home for a four-set victory. It's the 10th straight win at home for the Lumberjacks, who remained undefeated in Flagstaff this season.
The Grizzlies, winners of three straight entering the night, survived a wild opening set that saw 17 tied scores. In the back-and-forth opening set, the Grizzly offense proved to be too much for the Lumberjacks.
Montana (14-7, 6-4 Big Sky) had 18 kills while committing just four errors in the first set, pulling away late for the 25-23 win to improve to 16-6 in sets decided by the minimum of two this year. Northern Arizona improved to 18-5 and 8-2 in Big Sky play with the win.
On the road in one of the most difficult gyms to play inside of in all of the Big Sky, the Grizzlies looked up to the test early. They hit .389 in the first set on the way to the win and outlasted the top team in the league in a competitive set.
Delaney Russell had five kills on .400 hitting and Olivia LaBeau was nearly unstoppable with four kills and zero errors on .571 hitting in the first set. The Grizzlies were solid as a complete team to set a tone and grab some early momentum.
"It was point-for-point, both teams siding out almost at 100 percent from 15-on, and so that was fun," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We hit almost .400 and it felt like we passed really well, we felt in rhythm, we were ball handling well, and I think it's exactly how we wanted to come out. I'm proud of how we started the match."
Northern Arizona would adjust defensively in the second half and do well in limiting Montana's offense. The Grizzlies have been hot from the service line in recent weeks, but at elevation in Flagstaff they struggled more than usual from that spot on the floor with just one service ace to seven errors on the night.
The Griz hit under .100 in the second set and Northern Arizona pulled away late, scoring 12 of the final 16 points in the set to even things up at one set apiece.
The hosts carried the momentum from the 25-17 win in the second set into the start of the third. The Lumberjacks scored four of the first five points and built a 10-6 lead before the Grizzlies started to find their footing again.
Sydney Pierce and Delaney Russell had back-to-back kills and the 'Jacks followed it up with two errors. Montana would get six out of eight total points to tie the set back up at 12-all. They continued to battle down the set and were tied again at 18 after another kill from Pierce.
Northern Arizona picked up the separation they needed with a 3-0 run from that point. Montana would get back within a point on two occasions as LaBeau found two late kills, but the Lumberjacks finished off the third set 25-22.
"I was really proud of our preparation. I feel like any gym this team walks in to we start matches like ourselves," Lawrence said. "We started out hitting on fire, we passed well, we ball handled well, we hit scout details. This team is so prepared and ready to go and their professionalism is so high. I think NAU just executed really well. They played and served well, and I think when you're in your own gym and you're able to do that it opened things up and it felt lopsided."
They really found their rhythm in the fourth and final set. Northern Arizona turned a 7-1 lead early into a 25-15 victory to close out the match in four sets.
"They passed really well. I think Northern Arizona played a really great match," Lawrence said. "It was difficult for our servers to get them out of system and so they felt in rhythm as the match went on and we couldn't stop certain zones on the net. We had a hard time containing their middles, we had a really hard time containing their rights, and so it felt like without a consistent defensive pressure it was difficult to go on runs."
There were still plenty of takeaways and a lot of positive moments for Lawrence and her young team. After missing out on the tournament last year, the Grizzlies have come a long way already in 2025.
They went to the top team in the conference, in a difficult gym to play in at elevation, and had stretches of incredibly positive play. Despite the youth on the team, Lawrence said that she is inspired by how seriously they take things and how well they position themselves for success in each match.
"I really love our ability to prepare and execute from point one. I love that about our team and I think we have weapons that can go toe-to-toe and point-for-point with any team in the conference home or away," Lawrence said. "We weren't consistently doing that, which is where our growth needs to occur, but we were doing that in large stretches."
Northern Arizona hit .283 on the night and held Montana to just .177 hitting. The Grizzlies struggled at the service line, but held their own in other statistical categories. One big improvement that Lawrence saw from her team was the ability to continue to make plays even when the first touch didn't go as planned, whether it was on offense or defense.
"There are some tactical things we've been working on in the last two weeks that we did way better. I think we contained their out-of-system game better than we have so I think that part felt good," Lawrence said. "I think our floor defense took care of some responsibilities and added some range that I think we will really need as we move forward. There was some growth and I think there are things we are going to use, and I love that we are learners."
Alexis Batezel had another big night defensively with 20 digs to lead both teams. The senior libero provided a stable presence in the back that allowed Montana to settle into the match.
And despite the difficult result, the fight that her team continued to show until the end gave Lawrence pride that her team will never give up.
They will now have to reset before heading to Greeley, Colo. to take on a Northern Colorado team that swept Montana State on Thursday night to improve to 7-3 in league play. The Bears beat the Grizzlies earlier this season in Montana.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from Thursday's result for Lawrence and her team. They will need to bring their A-game to Greeley if they want to knock off the Bears and snap a 21-match losing streak to UNC on Saturday.
"I love that in a match like that where it felt lopsided at the end we are still learning and pushing and are always going to be a team that responds," Lawrence said. "I love that every time we called a timeout and asked for a response the team provided it. I think they will do that again as we head to Greeley and I think that's a strength of ours."
The Grizzlies, winners of three straight entering the night, survived a wild opening set that saw 17 tied scores. In the back-and-forth opening set, the Grizzly offense proved to be too much for the Lumberjacks.
Montana (14-7, 6-4 Big Sky) had 18 kills while committing just four errors in the first set, pulling away late for the 25-23 win to improve to 16-6 in sets decided by the minimum of two this year. Northern Arizona improved to 18-5 and 8-2 in Big Sky play with the win.
On the road in one of the most difficult gyms to play inside of in all of the Big Sky, the Grizzlies looked up to the test early. They hit .389 in the first set on the way to the win and outlasted the top team in the league in a competitive set.
Delaney Russell had five kills on .400 hitting and Olivia LaBeau was nearly unstoppable with four kills and zero errors on .571 hitting in the first set. The Grizzlies were solid as a complete team to set a tone and grab some early momentum.
"It was point-for-point, both teams siding out almost at 100 percent from 15-on, and so that was fun," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We hit almost .400 and it felt like we passed really well, we felt in rhythm, we were ball handling well, and I think it's exactly how we wanted to come out. I'm proud of how we started the match."
Northern Arizona would adjust defensively in the second half and do well in limiting Montana's offense. The Grizzlies have been hot from the service line in recent weeks, but at elevation in Flagstaff they struggled more than usual from that spot on the floor with just one service ace to seven errors on the night.
The Griz hit under .100 in the second set and Northern Arizona pulled away late, scoring 12 of the final 16 points in the set to even things up at one set apiece.
The hosts carried the momentum from the 25-17 win in the second set into the start of the third. The Lumberjacks scored four of the first five points and built a 10-6 lead before the Grizzlies started to find their footing again.
Sydney Pierce and Delaney Russell had back-to-back kills and the 'Jacks followed it up with two errors. Montana would get six out of eight total points to tie the set back up at 12-all. They continued to battle down the set and were tied again at 18 after another kill from Pierce.
Northern Arizona picked up the separation they needed with a 3-0 run from that point. Montana would get back within a point on two occasions as LaBeau found two late kills, but the Lumberjacks finished off the third set 25-22.
"I was really proud of our preparation. I feel like any gym this team walks in to we start matches like ourselves," Lawrence said. "We started out hitting on fire, we passed well, we ball handled well, we hit scout details. This team is so prepared and ready to go and their professionalism is so high. I think NAU just executed really well. They played and served well, and I think when you're in your own gym and you're able to do that it opened things up and it felt lopsided."
They really found their rhythm in the fourth and final set. Northern Arizona turned a 7-1 lead early into a 25-15 victory to close out the match in four sets.
"They passed really well. I think Northern Arizona played a really great match," Lawrence said. "It was difficult for our servers to get them out of system and so they felt in rhythm as the match went on and we couldn't stop certain zones on the net. We had a hard time containing their middles, we had a really hard time containing their rights, and so it felt like without a consistent defensive pressure it was difficult to go on runs."
There were still plenty of takeaways and a lot of positive moments for Lawrence and her young team. After missing out on the tournament last year, the Grizzlies have come a long way already in 2025.
They went to the top team in the conference, in a difficult gym to play in at elevation, and had stretches of incredibly positive play. Despite the youth on the team, Lawrence said that she is inspired by how seriously they take things and how well they position themselves for success in each match.
"I really love our ability to prepare and execute from point one. I love that about our team and I think we have weapons that can go toe-to-toe and point-for-point with any team in the conference home or away," Lawrence said. "We weren't consistently doing that, which is where our growth needs to occur, but we were doing that in large stretches."
Northern Arizona hit .283 on the night and held Montana to just .177 hitting. The Grizzlies struggled at the service line, but held their own in other statistical categories. One big improvement that Lawrence saw from her team was the ability to continue to make plays even when the first touch didn't go as planned, whether it was on offense or defense.
"There are some tactical things we've been working on in the last two weeks that we did way better. I think we contained their out-of-system game better than we have so I think that part felt good," Lawrence said. "I think our floor defense took care of some responsibilities and added some range that I think we will really need as we move forward. There was some growth and I think there are things we are going to use, and I love that we are learners."
Alexis Batezel had another big night defensively with 20 digs to lead both teams. The senior libero provided a stable presence in the back that allowed Montana to settle into the match.
And despite the difficult result, the fight that her team continued to show until the end gave Lawrence pride that her team will never give up.
They will now have to reset before heading to Greeley, Colo. to take on a Northern Colorado team that swept Montana State on Thursday night to improve to 7-3 in league play. The Bears beat the Grizzlies earlier this season in Montana.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from Thursday's result for Lawrence and her team. They will need to bring their A-game to Greeley if they want to knock off the Bears and snap a 21-match losing streak to UNC on Saturday.
"I love that in a match like that where it felt lopsided at the end we are still learning and pushing and are always going to be a team that responds," Lawrence said. "I love that every time we called a timeout and asked for a response the team provided it. I think they will do that again as we head to Greeley and I think that's a strength of ours."
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