Playing with joy

If you've passed Maddie Pyles in the halls of the Adams Center, or walking across the Oval, or on the streets of Missoula, she's probably greeted you with a smile and a wave. The Grizzly senior has a personality that exudes compassion whether she's in a class or on the court.

It's an attitude that has helped lead the Montana volleyball program to tremendous heights in 2025 as the Grizzlies approach the close of the regular season next week. They have a chance, later today, to tie the 2022 team for the most wins by a Griz squad this century.

Pyles came a long way north to join Montana volleyball, leaving behind her Texas home to become a Grizzly back in 2022. The outside hitter from Kennedale HS made an immediate impact on the program, playing in 10 matches and averaging over a kill per set.

Montana won 17 matches that year, finishing tied for fourth in the Big Sky Conference. For a program that had seen some lows prior to head coach Allison Lawrence's arrival, this was a monumental season.

But for Pyles and her fellow freshman Alexis Batezel, it was all that they knew. They learned from a talented senior class of players that cared deeply about the people and the place that they represented.

"I think the seniors that I had truly loved the program," Pyles said. "They loved to win, and I think that was a big thing that I wanted to take from them moving forward. They showed their love for volleyball in a way that was very program-based. It wasn't an individual kind of thing, they just wanted to set this program up for success."

The Griz would win double-digit matches in her sophomore and junior seasons as well but fell short of expectations in 2024. Pyles, who constantly has a big smile on her face, thought back to her seniors as she approached her final offseason.

She put in the work through the spring and summer to make sure that her final season in Missoula was one to remember.

"All the returners worked so hard in the spring to create what we really wanted deep down and cut all the extra stuff out and focus on what really matters and what we needed to do to make this a successful season," Pyles said.

The work has paid off. Montana has made all sorts of history in the Pyles' final season, entering today's match with a 16-8 record and chance to tie the 2022 team for the most wins since 1999. They could pass even that squad from 26 years ago with three wins down the stretch.

They won 10 straight matches earlier this year, the longest streak since 1994. They had the third best non-conference record in program history and are hitting one of the best percentages all-time by a Grizzly team.

Pyles and Batezel's leadership has been impressive every step of the way as they have led a very young with multiple true freshmen and underclassmen playing heavy minutes.

"These two have been so committed to being what the team needs that I think who they are as leaders has just become what our team is," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think they've infused their leadership into so many areas of our team and to so many individual people that our team has become a reflection of them without having it be about them. I think that's a pretty rare thing."

It was a conscious decision made by the two senior leaders, who will be just two of five Grizzlies honored before first serve on Saturday. Olivia LaBeau and Carley Spachman, two transfers, have made huge impacts on the program in their lone seasons at Montana.

Elle Farmer, the Grizzlies youngest team member, has been an inspiration to the Grizzlies in her four years associated with the program.

But tracking back all the way to their freshmen year in 2022 and the success that came with it, Pyles and her teammate Batezel have been growing inside the program and readying for their moment as veteran leaders.

"Lexi and I wanted to be really intentional with how we went about our leadership. I think that was one of the biggest things because we knew that there were going to be freshmen and sophomores coming in and they were going to be in a starting spot," Pyles said. "We wanted to be intentional so that they knew that this is the standard, and we completely believe they can hold that standard and go above it and create their own over their years here."

A season full of highs reached another peak last weekend when Montana went to Bozeman and knocked off rival Montana State. Pyles and Batezel stood on the floor inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse for a photo with the Main Line Trophy in hand, big smiles knowing that they provided future Grizzlies with a moment of inspiration.

"It was awesome. That was probably one of my top memories ever and probably one of my favorite games," Pyles said. "Since it came toward the end of the season it means a lot, and I think Lexi and I just really, really wanted to take it home one last time."

But it hasn't been the easiest of senior seasons for Pyles. She was injured during fall camp, hurting her knee just days before the first match of the season. She was limited in the non-conference portion of the season and slowly played her way back into the rotation.

It started with some time as the second libero, and then as serving specialist. She got run in the back row and eventually started getting back into the front row to block and attack.

When Olivia LaBeau went down two weeks ago with an injury, Lawrence needed her senior to step up. She has done so over the last three matches and played a big role and helping the Grizzlies to a rivalry win last week and a sweep of Idaho on Thursday.

"I have been very happy to be back and trying to make the most of it. It wasn't how I wanted to start my senior season, and I didn't think that was how it was going to go, but now I'm just so happy to be back," Pyles said. "I talked to the coaches about how much I want to be with this group and just play with this group and make an impact. Individually, they bring so many strengths that I just wanted to experience playing with them."

It was a difficult couple of months battling through the injury, but it would be hard to tell that from the outside looking in. She is constantly bringing energy to her teammates in practices and matches, regardless of what her role is on that given day.

It's not an easy thing to do.

"I think there have been times where I wanted to sink into it, but I knew that I needed to keep being positive," Pyles said. "Nobody plays well when they're not having fun, so I think if I can bring that and make one sly joke and somebody hears it and is smiling then they aren't going to think about what they did on the last point."

The joy that she brings can sometimes hide the toughness that lies beneath that smile.

"She's had to be so physically tough and lead through her injury this year," Lawrence said. "It is a testament to her toughness."

Pyles' career will be bookended by two of the most successful seasons of the last 30 years of Montana Grizzly volleyball. The success doesn't just happen overnight.

"I feel like from where I sit you can see the through line to their freshman year and to their commitments in the offseason," Lawrence said. "They wanted to grow as much as they could so they could connect at the deepest levels."

She will play her final match inside Dahlberg Arena today with a chance to add another superlative to an already impressive resume. There has been plenty of individual success over her nearly 250 career sets played.

Pyles recently recorded her 300^th career dig. She's close to that mark in kills as well. The versatile player is also just 10 blocks away from 100 in her career. She has been everything that Coach Lawrence has needed her to be for the last four years.

But as she gets ready for her final home match in a Grizzly uniform, she thinks about the group that she gets to share the floor with more than anything else.

"It's a very surreal feeling. It's really cool because I just keep going back to the group," Lawrence said. "This is the group that I want to break the records with, and I know how hard the coaches work so it's really cool because they are so deserving. The transfers that are here just shows that what the coaches are doing and who they put on the team is making a huge impact."

Pyles is back on the floor, playing in a major role for a team that she has given so much of herself to. The impact that No. 8 has had on every teammate that she's been inside the locker room with over the last four years is one of the best legacies you can leave behind.

It's what sports is all about, at the end of the day.

"I think if you asked, every year, who was a teammate that you felt was always there for you? I think Maddie would be named by everyone," Lawrence said. "The amount of work she had to do to establish those connections was massive and probably really exhausting and came at a cost for her at times. I hope the end of her playing career is paying her back in all the ways that it should."

University of Montana Athletics

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