Montana on six match winning streak for first time since 2006

Saturday, September 13

Terre Haute, Ind.

9:00 AM (MT)

Montana

6-3,0-0Big Sky

vs. Eastern Illinois

5-2,0-0OVC

Eastern Ill.

Montana

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

Montana on six match winning streak for first time since 2006

9/13/2025 12:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Final stats have not been uploaded for the match. This story will be updated once they are finalized.

After a nearly perfect Friday for Montana, it was likely that they would come back down a bit in Saturday morning's match against Eastern Illinois. And while they did make some uncharacteristic errors, they overcame those for a four-set win.

It's the sixth straight win for Montana as they finish their second straight weekend undefeated. It marks the first time since 2006 that the Grizzlies have won six straight matches.

"I'm really proud of the team," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think they have a lot of confidence right now and they are loving playing together. This team from really the offseason before our incoming folks got here has been doing all the right team building and investing in each other, so it doesn't surprise me that we play really unified and with such heart for each other."

It also guarantees a winning non-conference schedule for just the second time under Lawrence and first since 2022.

Montana placed four players on the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the event after a 3-0 win. Setter Gracie Cagle was named the MVP of the tournament after orchestrating a record-setting offensive weekend for the Grizzlies.

Mylee Blake, Olivia LaBeau, and Sydney Pierce were all named to the All-Tournament team as well.

Blake was the star on Saturday morning as she led the team in kills and put the finishing touches on the match with back-to-back aces in the final moment.

"Mylee had a great match and just a great weekend in general," Lawrence said. "I think what was impressive about her play, especially in this last match, was we didn't pass as well as we had in the last two matches so we were out of system a lot and unable to set the middle so she was against a double block on a lot of her swings but got us out of a lot of bad situations with smart play."

The Grizzlies went to Blake early in the first set and she helped them build a five-point lead out of the gates. Eastern Illinois bounced back and were able to take the lead at 13-12
Olivia LaBeau, who had another big performance for Montana, gave the Griz the lead on a kill and they would pull away for a 25-22 win in the first set.

LaBeau and Sydney Pierce were once again dominant in the middle for Montana, a story that is starting to get old at this point. That's alright with Lawrence.

"I hope that story is always an old one. I hope it's a repeat story because Olivia was automatic and so was Sydney," Lawrence said. "When they are in the front row together, that presence is so stressful for the other team. They were steady and formidable, and when we got them the ball it was really efficient."

The second set was a marathon as the teams were tied 12 times and the lead changed hands on five occasions. Montana trailed big early but had a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to cut it to 14-13.

The teams traded points down the stretch and were tied at every point from 18-18 on. The Grizzlies had one set point, but couldn't take advantage. Eastern Illinois finally put the set away 29-27 on their fourth chance at a set point.

Statistics in the third set were not available, but Montana won the set 25-20 to go up 2-1 in the match.

In the fourth, Montana once again found themselves trailing and it looked like things were headed towards a fifth set. Montana took a timeout trailing 19-14 in the set and Lawrence delivered a message to her team.

"I think there was a collective stress that settled in and we never really shook it until the final timeout of the fourth set," Lawrence said. "In that timeout, our reset was just to be as aggressive as possible. No matter how high error we go, we were going to stay hyper aggressive and just go for it."

Lawrence also made a tactical decision to change the formation and bring in a pair of freshmen in Annika Wright and Sophia Vella. The pair delivered big-time for their coach.

Montana scored four straight points, three of which came off the arm of Sydney Pierce, to cut the lead down to 21-20. Vella then had a couple of kills and a block as part of a 4-1 run as Montana took the lead at 24-23.

They once again extended past the 25-point mark where the Griz fended off a set point with a kill from Carley Spachman that tied the match at 26-all. Mylee Blake stepped up to the service line and put it away, dialing up back-to-back aces for the win.

"We found a sense of urgency paired with a real confidence to just go for it. And we switched into a 6-2 and Annika and Sophia came in and it was incredible," Lawrence said. "Annika was gutsy, I feel like that's her theme every time she gets in no matter what role she is going to be a playmaker."

The Grizzlies also ran out of substitutions in the long set, forcing Wright to play the front row for the first time in her collegiate career. There were a lot of moments that could have been stressful, but the Grizzlies held firm and secured the win.

The freshmen were the story of the day as Blake was Montana's leading attacker and Vella and Wright stepped up down the stretch. They also had three service aces from redshirt freshman Alex Stone and 12 digs from Madeline Sanderson.

"There were a lot of freshmen that stepped up but to me the addition of Annika and Sophia to the court was this visceral spark and then they just executed," Lawrence said. "That fearlessness from them combined with the attitude that was already kind of rolling on the court I think it was just in our hands down the stretch."

The match saw plenty of big swings in either direction and was more high-error than Montana has been previously. Lawrence knows that is going to happen sometimes. She was pleased by her team's response to adversity, and knows it will help them down the stretch in conference play.

"We talked throughout the match and in the locker room after about how many matches like that Big Sky play holds for us," Lawrence said. "I don't care if you're in last place or first, there is rarely a three-set sweep and it's rarely not decided by two points. Those battles are going to be something we need to thrive in and as much as those moments are excruciating and we haven't really been in that situation the last two weekends, we need that experience."

Montana will have two more matches next week to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. They play at Gonzaga on Thursday, Sept. 18 and then against Seattle in Cheney, Wash. on Friday.