Griz shoot for most wins in 26 years on final road trip

MONTANA (17-8, 9-5 Big Sky) at WEBER STATE (15-11, 7-7)
Wednesday, Nov. 19 / 4:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats

MONTANA at IDAHO STATE (9-17, 5-9 Big Sky)
Friday, Nov. 21 / 7:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats

Montana volleyball is heading on its final trip of the regular season and is hoping to make it a long one as it will extend into the Big Sky Conference tournament in Greeley, Colo. early next week.

But before the Griz can get to the postseason, they have two huge regular season road tests remaining. Montana enters the week with 17 total wins, tied for the most in a single season by the program since 1999. One win this week, and they reach a point that no team in the last 26 years. Two wins, and it will be the best Grizzly season since 1994.

The Griz enter the week on a three-match winning streak and have won nine straight sets overall. They honored their seniors last Saturday in the final home match of the season and delivered a sweep of Eastern Washington on the floor.

They completed a season sweep of Idaho on Thursday and took the final three sets off rival Montana State the week before to start the hot run of play.

It's been one of the best offensive seasons in program history as the .227 team hitting percentage ranks 4^th all-time for Montana and is the best percentage of the rally scoring era.

The defense is what has carried them to the most recent wins, however. In the sweep of Eastern Washington, Montana held its opponent to a negative hitting percentage for the first time since 2012.

Idaho hit just .087 in the match on Thursday as the Grizzlies gave up 54 total kills but forced 48 attacking errors over the two matches on the week.

It allowed them to keep pace with the leaders in the conference and remain in sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.

Northern Arizona has clinched a share of the Big Sky title with a 12-3 record. They have just one match remaining this year and it comes against second place Northern Colorado in Greeley. If the Bears win, the teams will share the regular season title at 12-4.

Sacramento State is currently in third place but could very well play its way into a share of the title. They are on the road against Idaho and Eastern Washington, two teams with a combined Big Sky record of 0-26 when not playing each other. If the Hornets win both, they will finish the year at 12-4.

Montana is currently in fourth place at 9-5, but there are plenty of teams lurking behind the Grizzlies. Montana State is currently in solo fifth place with an 8-6 league record. They will also play at Idaho State and Weber State this weekend. If UM and MSU both sweep the weekend, it would likely set up a first-round matchup between the rivals.

Weber State and Portland State (both 7-7) will have plenty to say on that front. The Vikings hold the tiebreaker over MSU having won both regular season matches, and the Wildcats will get a second chance at the Bobcats on Friday.

Plenty still to play for as Montana puts a bow on one of the best seasons in program history.

The Grizzlies could not only reach 19 total wins this week, but they have the chance to finish at 11-5 in conference play. If they win both this weekend, it would be the best league winning percentage (.688) since 1994.

But in order to do that, they will need to win a pair of road matches against conference tournament teams in Weber State and Idaho State. The final stretch begins Wednesday at 4:00 in Ogden.

HOME SUCCESS IN 2025
Montana wrapped up the home season last week with a 9-2 overall record inside Dahlberg Arena. It's tied for the fifth most home wins in a single season all-time at Montana and is the most since 1999.

It's also the fifth-best winning percentage at home in program history. It's the best home winning percentage since 1999.

BATEZEL CLIMBS THE RANKS
Senior Alexis Batezel has climbed the program's all-time ranks this season and is currently in 4^th place in career digs at Montana with 1,440. She trails Brittney Brown (2008-10) by just 12 digs for 3^rd place.

Her 440 digs this season are also just outside the top 10 in a single season in program history. She needs 12 this weekend to crack the top 10.

GRIZ NOTES

The Griz have swept opponents on nine different occasions this year. They have been swept just once.
Montana is 5-4 on the road this season, winning the last away contest at Montana State. They have finished with a winning record on the road just once since 1994, going 7-4 in 2022.
The Grizzlies have at least one win against 8 of the 9 Big Sky members. Northern Colorado is the only team Montana didn't win against this season. It's the first time since 1999 that they've won a match against eight unique Big Sky opponents.
The 17 wins this year are tied with 2022 for the most since 1999.
They have clinched a winning record in Big Sky play for just the second time since 2013.
The Grizzlies rank 18^th nationally and 2^nd in the Big Sky with 16.63 digs per set this year.
They lead the Big Sky and are 42^nd in the country with 13.62 kills per set. They also lead in assists per set and are 45^th nationally with 12.62 assists per set.
Montana is 19-6 in sets decided by two points this year.
The Griz are 15-1 when hitting over .200 this year.
Montana is 14-1 when finishing with more assists, and 12-1 when finishing with fewer errors.

PLAYER NOTES

Delaney Russell has recorded 10+ kills in every Big Sky match this season. She's averaging 3.49 kills per set and recently went over 400 kills in her career.
Gracie Cagle needs 70 more assists for 1,000 this season. She's second in the Big Sky with 9.79 assists per set.
- Cagle leads the Big Sky and ranks 29^th nationally with 0.45 aces per set. She's recorded 13 aces over the previous four matches, including a 5-ace performance vs. EWU. It's the most aces per set by a Grizzly since Linde Eidenberg averaged 0.47 in 1992.
Alexis Batezel has 440 digs this season. She is averaging a career best 4.63 digs per set.
- Batezel played in her 110^th career match last Saturday. She has 1,440 career digs and will likely move into third place in program history
Maddie Pyles has started the last four matches for Montana. She's recorded at least 8 kills in al of them.
- Pyles had her best performance of the year on Senior Day last Saturday, recording 8 kills, 6 digs, and 6 blocks.
Freshman Madeline Sanderson recorded 12 digs vs. EWU. It's the 8^th time this season she's recorded 10+ digs.
Carley Spachman hit .571 against Eastern Washington with five kills. She also added 7 blocks, tying her career high. It was the 6^th time in her career she's had 7 blocks.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE (15-11, 7-7 Big Sky)

The Wildcats lost both matches on the road last week at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. They took the league leading Lumberjacks to five sets before falling in four in Greeley.
At home, Weber State is 8-2 this season. They did lose their last home match, against Sacramento State, in straight sets.
Head coach Jeremiah Larsen is 181-135 (.573) in his 11 seasons at Weber State. This is 7^th season that his teams have won 15+ matches in his career.
Weber State is hitting .207 in league play and allowing opponents to hit .211. They rank outside of the top five in the Big Sky in both categories.
The Wildcats rank 2^nd in the conference with 2.36 blocks per set.
They have been among the best in the Big Sky in service aces with 1.66 per set. They rank 2^nd in the Big Sky and inside the top 100 nationally.
Ashley Gneiting ranks 3^rd in the league individually with 0.41 aces per set. She's 75^th in the country in the category.
Setter Morgan Pratt ranks 4^th in the Big Sky with 8.26 assists per set. She's 124^th nationally in the category.
Kaylie Ray and Rose Moore are pacing the Wildcat offense this season. Ray averages 3.29 kills per set and Moore averages 3.25 to rank 6^th and 7^th in the league.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS
Montana leads the all-time series against Weber State 49-41. The Grizzlies are 18-20 in Ogden. Earlier this year, Montana snapped a 13-match losing streak to the Wildcats, winning for the first time since 2017. It was Lawrence's second win over WSU.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (9-17, 5-9 Big Sky)

The Bengals lost both matches last week on the road at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. They have lost six of their previous eight matches with the only wins coming against Idaho and EWU.
At home, Idaho State is 3-3 this season. They are currently on a two-match losing streak at home with losses to Portland State and Sacramento State.
Head coach Sean Carter is in his 4^th season at Idaho State. He has a career record of 51-64.
Idaho State has been good defensively this season, ranking 3^rd in the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage and leading the conference in blocks (2.41/set). They are averaging 2.60 blocks for the season, which ranks 28^th nationally.
The Bengals are also 2^nd in the league in digs with 16.83 per set in conference play.
Marci Bell leads the Big Sky with 1.28 blocks per set, a mark that puts her in the top 50 in the country.
Jaydin Watts, the preseason MVP in the Big Sky, ranks 3^rd in the league with 1.15 blocks per set and second in the league with a .379 hitting percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BENGALS
Montana leads the all-time series against Idaho State 48-41. The Grizzlies are 20-25 in Pocatello overall, but are 3-2 in the last five road games in the series. Montana won the first meeting this season in four sets, hitting .217 in the match.

HISTORIC NOTES FOR 2025
• Montana went 9-2 at home, the most wins since 2005 and the best winning percentage since 1999. It's the 2^nd most home wins in a season and 3^rd best winning percentage.
• The Grizzlies have hit over .300 in six different matches already this
season. It's the 3rd most in a single season in program history. The record
is 7, set in both 1991 and 1989.
• The Grizzlies went 8-3 in non-conference play in 2025. It's tied for the
3rd best winning percentage in program history for a non-conference
schedule and tied for the 3rd most wins.
• This is the first time in program history that Montana has finished undefeated in the month of September. It's just the 6th time ever that they've
had a perfect month, and the 10 wins are the 2nd most in an undefeated
month in program history.
• The current team hitting percentage of .227 is the 4^th-best for Montana in program history. The 1991 team holds the program record at .240.
• Montana has had the Big Sky Player of the Week five times already in
2025. It's the second-most all-time, trailing only the 1994 season when
Montana had six Player of the Week honors.
• Montana's .416 hitting percentage against Butler was the best in the
25-point scoring era and the best by the team since hitting .500 against
Canisius in 2007.
• The 10-match winning streak this season was the longest for the program since 1994 and tied for the 5th longest all-time.
• Montana won a match at Portland State for the first time since 2015.
The Grizzlies had dropped eight straight in the Rose City. It was the first
win for Coach Lawrence in Portland.
• The five errors committed by Montana in the Butler match are the fewest by a Grizzly team in program history. It broke the previous record of 7 set on four occasions.

Griz shoot for most wins in 26 years on final road trip

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Maddie Pyles

Delaney Russell

Madeline Sanderson

Carley Spachman

University of Montana Athletics

Griz shoot for most wins in 26 years on final road trip

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Maddie Pyles

Delaney Russell

Madeline Sanderson

Carley Spachman

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