Griz win again, finish up 3rd best non-conference slate in program history

Friday, September 19

Cheney, Wash.

3:00 PM (MT)

Montana

8-3,0-0Big Sky

Seattle

6-5,0-0WCC

Montana

Seattle U

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

Griz win again, finish up 3rd best non-conference slate in program history

9/19/2025 8:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Thursday night's five-set grind over Gonzaga was good for Montana volleyball as it prepared them for the tight matches they are likely to encounter in Big Sky Conference play. Friday afternoon's three-set sweep of Seattle U was good for plenty of other reasons as the Grizzlies capped off a historic non-conference schedule.

The win extends Montana's winning streak to eight as they enter Big Sky Conference play next week as one of the hottest teams in the country.

Montana rolled over Seattle (6-6) in straight sets winning 25-21, 25-12, 25-20. The offense has stolen the show during the winning streak but it was the defense that led the Grizzlies to victory on Friday as they held Seattle to just .026 hitting on the day.

The Griz wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with an 8-3 record, which is tied for the third best in program history in terms of both total non-conference wins and non-conference winning percentage.

It's the best 11-match start for the program since opening the 1999 season at 9-2, which is also the last time Montana had a .727-or-better winning percentage in the non-conference.

This is the second time under Lawrence that Montana has won at least eight non-conference matches in a season as they went 8-5 in 2022.

The eight wins in a row match streaks from 1992 and 1987 as the sixth-longest in program history. The Grizzlies won 22 straight on their way to a Big Sky title in 1991 and the most recent streak of at least eight matches was in 1994, when the Griz rattled off 16 consecutive.

Any way you look at it, it's been a historic start to 2025 for head coach Allison Lawrence and company.

"We're going to sit in this total victory of preseason for the weekend. It's nice that we get two days of rest and can kind of let this soak in and let this continue to fuel our belief and our drive to be great," Lawrence said. "Then I think we can turn the page on Monday and start working on the first half of conference. It feels really good and I'm just so thrilled for the team because they've earned it."

Montana had 48 digs to just 38 for Seattle and were led once again by libero Alexis Batezel with 10. Madeline Sanderson had nine and Delaney Russell eight as the Grizzlies were good on the ground and forced the Redhawks into 24 attacking errors.

The Grizzlies went deep into their rotation with 13 players seeing the court in what ended up a comfortable win. The dynamic duo of Delaney Russell and Sydney Pierce led the Grizzlies with eight kills each.

"It was an interesting match because there were moments where Seattle was high error in ways where we weren't getting a lot of attempts," Lawrence said. "Our hitting percentage was all over the place, our kill amount was low. It was hard to find rhythm sometimes."

Russell earned a place on the All-Tournament team for the event that featured Gonzaga, Seattle, and Eastern Washington.

The stats from the match don't jump out, and a big reason for that is the Grizzlies had the Redhawks off-balance offensively all day long. The Griz had six service aces, including three from Pierce as she tied her career high.

"Sydney stepped up today and had a few big serving runs," Lawrence said. "We had several kids hold their serve and Emma (Williams) came in and served in the second libero spot in the third and Halle (Walker) did the same thing in the last set and both of them stepped in and did great things."

There were three lead changes in the first set, but all of them came early as the teams traded small runs. Montana used a 4-0 to take a 10-8 lead, and they wouldn't trail the rest of the set.

Seattle made it interesting down the stretch, scoring five out of seven to tie it up at 19-all. The Grizzlies found a response through Pierce, who had a terrific opening set. The middle blocker had a service ace as part of a 5-0 Grizzly run that gave them set point at 24-19.

Pierce finished the first set with five kills on just six swings to go with two service aces.

Montana had a big run early in the second set with freshman Madeline Sanderson at the service line. Sanderson had an ace that was part of a 5-0 Grizzly run to help them take a 7-3 lead.

They would blow things open with a 12-1 run as they had Seattle's offense all out of sorts. The Griz had two separate 6-0 runs, the first of which came with Pierce at the service line and the second with Cagle delivering the first ball.

The aggressive serving from the pair, combined with a good defensive set, led to seven attacking errors by the Redhawks during the 13-point stretch. Montana would hold Seattle to just four kills with 13 errors in the set as they hit -.300.

The third set was the most tightly contested with five lead changes and nine ties, but Montana was able to comfortably pull ahead with six of the final eight points of the match. They had kills from Mylee Blake, Sophia Vella, Josie Blazina, and Delaney Russell during that final charge as it was once again a complete team effort for the win.

"We changed our lineup several times and were able to test our depth. And I think you learn a lot going point-for-point, but it's another thing when you're up and leading at 15 and have to hold that through the set and close it out without errors at the ends of sets," Lawrence said. "We need to be able to play from all points in the set and be the aggressor whether we're ahead or behind."

The Grizzlies have nearly matched their win total from 2024 and haven't even opened Big Sky Conference play yet. They will begin that second season with plenty of momentum next Thursday.

It's a preseason that is nearly unmatched in program history. When they take on Sacramento State, the preseason No. 3 team in the Big Sky, they will be starting a completely new season.

Lawrence hopes her team has learned how special it can be through the last three weeks, but wants that to only fuel them to reach new levels in Big Sky play.

"I think that we're a great team and we can achieve greatness, and I don't think the team needs that to be a takeaway," Lawrence said. "I think they've known that since the first day of fall camp. I think they've created opportunities for us to be able to look at our body of work and have the data to back up the fact that we can be in any match and have swings for set and match points.

"I want us to leave this preseason hungrier than ever," she continued. "I think this sparks us to risk it and want to be doing great things and winning big matches."