Weber State eliminates shorthanded Griz

Monday, November 24

Greeley, Colo.

10:00 AM

Montana

17-11,9-7Big Sky

(4) Weber State

18-11,9-7Big Sky

Montana

Weber St.

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

11/24/2025 12:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana volleyball program couldn't overcome the absence of two senior starters on Monday morning in Greeley, Colo. The Grizzlies fell in three sets to Weber State (25-18, 25-20, 25-20) in the first Big Sky quarterfinal match.

There was no quit in head coach Alison Lawrence's team as they battled to the very end, but preseason favorite Weber State, back at full strength after dealing with some injuries during the year, had an impressive offensive day for the win.

"I'm just so proud of this team," Lawrence said. "I loved our character and our identity throughout every phase of the season and especially at the end. We grew exponentially through a lot of success and were shaped by our hardships in ways where this young team is going to do really special things because of this senior class and because of all the lessons learned and experience gained this season. I'm proud of the people we were through it all."

The Grizzlies were already playing without the Big Sky Conference's Top Newcomer in Olivia LaBeau, who missed the final five games of the regular season with an injury that also kept her out of Monday's match.

The injury luck got even worse in the opening set. Maddie Pyles had a fantastic start to the match with three kills for the first four points on Montana's side. She was hitting .600 when she went down with an injury that would keep her out of the rest of the match.

As Montana looked to find a rotation that they could stabilize the match with, Weber State continued the impressive offensive performance that led to the win in last week's match between the two.

The Wildcats jumped out 9-4 early. Montana would get back within three, but a 7-1 run for Weber State put them on top 17-9. The Grizzlies would outscore them the rest of the way in the set, but it was too little, too late for UM.

The Grizzly offense was able to find some positives in the set, but without the middle blocking presence of Pyles and LaBeau they struggled to slow down the Wildcats. Weber State hit .500 in the first set with 16 kills on 32 swings and zero errors.

The Grizzlies took an early lead in the fourth set after a kill from Vella made it 4-3. Lawrence looked for a lineup that would work and made the call to put Avery Merritt into the match. The true freshman had appeared in just two matches all year, but made a difference with her attacking play on Monday.

The attack also leaned on First Team All-Big Sky member Russell through the set. She delivered with three straight kills to tie the set up at 10-all. Weber State responded with six of the next eight points to take control.

It was a similar story to the first set as Montana's offense found a good rhythm, hitting nearly .300 in the set and committing just five errors total. But the Wildcats remained red hot to build up a lead as large as six points down the stretch.

Weber State's first error of the match came on set point, but it wouldn't change the outcome as the Wildcats took the second set 25-20. They hit .342 in the second set to take control of the match.

Montana had another key contribution off the bench in the third set as Alex Stone wore the second libero uniform and made a big difference with her serve. She had two aces and forced another Weber State error at the service line.

After her aces, Montana led 10-6 with some momentum on their side for seemingly the first time. Weber State quickly erased that by scoring five of the next six points to tie it up at 11-all.

The Griz could have given in at that point, but a kill from Merritt got them the lead back and they went into the media timeout up 15-13 after Spachman's 8^th kill of the match.

Even down two sets, Montana showed the grit and character that have defined this team all season long.

"I loved our body language. I loved how we communicated," Lawrence said. "There was every indication in coaching them that they wanted to be in that moment and be a go-to player. They wanted to count on their teammates and to be counted on. I think our hearts and minds were in the right place and we got outplayed."

The Wildcats took seven out of eight points coming out of that timeout break to take control at 20-16.

Vella recorded a kill and Stone followed it up with two more impressive serves as a 3-0 Griz run made it 20-19. Vella had the final point of the night for the Griz, recording her 10^th kill to make it 21-20.

Weber State ended the match on a 4-0 run to win in straight sets.

"We were so consistent with who we have been throughout the season," Lawrence said. "One of our major goals was to hit those details and be us no matter what the scenario was and I'm very proud that we did that today."

Delaney Russell, back in her home state of Colorado, led the match with 12 kills and recorded her 15^th double-double of the season as she also added 13 digs. Senior middle Carley Spachman had eight kills on 10 swings, hitting .700.

Alexis Batezel had a match-high 15 digs. It brought her career total to 1,484 digs, the 3^rd most in program history. It also increased her season total to 484 digs, which is the 5^th most in a single season in program history.

The Grizzlies got some big contributions from players that were not expected to be in such pressure-filled situations. Freshman Sophia Vella had seen limited action this year with only five matches with 5+ attacks. She got 25 swings on Monday, doubling her previous career high with 10 kills on .240 hitting.

"Today you saw heartbreak in a senior not being able to finish a match and then a freshman step in and say, 'I'm going to do this for my senior. I'm going to contribute, and I'm going to go for it.' It was nice to see her have time to settle in, find her rhythm, and influence the match," Lawrence said of Vella. "I think big things are in store for her career."

Fellow freshman Avery Merritt had appeared in just two matches and attempted a single attack in her career entering the quarterfinal match. She had 16 swings on Monday and turned them into four kills.

Montana hit .198 as a team on the day and led in the digs category with 52 compared to just 42 from Weber State. But the blocks provided a key advantage for the Wildcats as they had 8.0 compared to just 1.0 from the Grizzlies.

Lawrence's team ends the season at 17-11 overall. It's the best winning percentage for the program since 1999. The Grizzlies had the longest winning streak by the program in over 30 years, one of the five best home records all-time, and the 3^rd best non-conference winning percentage.

It's a bitter way for the season to come to an end, but it's been a year of plenty of growth and excitement for Montana.

"I think the future of the program is very bright," Lawrence said. "I think more than just the athletic pieces being there, we have, culturally, a group of seniors that have really shaped the identity of our young players in ways that will pay them back in the future. We only leave this more hungry to get better and keep pushing this thing forward, but I'm going to miss this team big-time as a group."