Red-hot Grizzlies open Big Sky play against defending champs

The longest winning streak of the century for the Montana volleyball program will be put to the ultimate test on Thursday night when they welcome the defending Big Sky Champions to Missoula. Sacramento State comes to town as the second-hottest team in the league riding a four-match winning streak, setting up a huge showdown in the conference opener.

The last three weeks for Montana have been historic on many levels as they have gone 8-0 to close out non-conference play. After a mostly frustrating 2024 season, the Grizzlies were able to go on a hot streak at the end of the year and have now won 12 of their previous 16 matches.

The success all started last November when Montana won four straight matches to make a push for the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The close to 2024, which included a five-set win over Sacramento State, has motivated sophomore Delaney Russell and her teammates to be even better in 2025.

"We had such a great spring and such great prep going into the year and then such a seamless transition with the freshman," Russell said. "It's been a great start and I think we have so much fire and want to win this year from last year, and think we've been carrying it through this year and hopefully we can continue it moving forward."

The Grizzlies have won five straight matches at home, a streak that began with last year's win over the Hornets. Sacramento State has been perhaps the best team in the league over the last two years, winning the regular season title in 2023 and the tournament title in 2024.

One of the biggest hurdles the Hornets faced in their title-winning year of 2023 was in Missoula. The Grizzlies led 2-1 after three sets and pushed the Hornets to the very brink in a 15-13 fifth set.

The Grizzlies would finish the job in 2024, winning in five sets over a Hornet team that would go on to win the Big Sky Tournament title just two weeks later. They will hope to do the same this year in the league opener.

Momentum has been on Montana's side in ways not seen in Missoula since the early '90s. Montana closed the non-conference schedule out with eight straight wins to finish at 8-3, the 3^rd best non-conference winning percentage in program history.

It has given the team confidence that they can be in any match in Big Sky play.

"It's huge for the program. I think what I love about it is just how much commitment this team has shown, not just this preseason or fall camp, but in their recruiting as individuals and then in the spring," Lawrence said. "Their commitment to doing this and being this accountable and to play in this gear with these kinds of goals, and then to see those goals realized is really cool to see."

The Grizzlies can point to several historical feats that this team has already achieved. Longest winning streak since 1994. Best non-conference since 2005. Best 11-match start since 2005.

It all makes for a great story to tell, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is Big Sky Conference play. The Grizzlies have a historic narrative on their side so far in 2025, but they are looking for redemption after missing the conference tournament last season. In order to right that wrong, they will have to carry over the success into league play.

"It's fun to have all of these huge, arcing narratives, but I think those are pretty meaningless and a little bit ego-driven anyways," Lawrence said. "It's just, let's enjoy what we've done and then leave it and focus on Thursday."

The Grizzlies, and everyone else in the Big Sky, will have a split week to open league play. After Thursday night's home match, Montana will hit the road to play at Idaho. The Vandals have finished last in the league three straight years, but have also been improved in 2025.

This weekend is the first step of league play, and Russell and her teammates are taking it feeling confident and energized after a historic non-conference slate.

"I think our confidence is through the roof right now and hopefully we can hold ourselves up to that, but hopefully be able to come into conference knowing that this is a fresh slate and that compared to last year we have some big goals," Russell said. "I think we're going to compete hard and do really well."

As for what the non-conference success means for Montana? Outside of adding lines into the record book, Allison Lawrence knows that all the last month does is help get the Grizzlies prepared for league play. They've done all they can in August and most of September. The real work now begins, and the Griz are ready for it.

"It means a lot that we've accomplished what we wanted to and I think it also builds this team's belief and confidence that we can have swings for set points and match point against anybody in conference," Lawrence said. "We've got the most learning and growth out of preseason as we can, so we're ready and I think that's a great place to be going into Thursday."

HISTORIC NOTES FOR 2025

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 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.
The Grizzlies have hit over .300 in five different matches already this season. It's tied for the 3^rd most in a single season in program history. The record is 7, set in both 1991 and 1989.
Montana's 8-match winning streak is tied for the 6^th longest in program history. It's the longest by a Grizzly team since 1994.
The Grizzlies went 8-3 in non-conference play in 2025. It's tied for the 3^rd best winning percentage in program history for a non-conference schedule and tied for the 3^rd most wins.
They are 8-3 through 11 matches for the first time since 2005. Montana opened that season 9-3.
The current hitting percentage of .232 is the best for Montana in the 25-point scoring era and would rank second all-time, trailing only the 1991 team at .240 hitting.
Montana has had the Big Sky Player of the Week three times already in 2025. It's tied for the second most since the turn of the century and trailing only 2022 when Montana had four players of the week in the same season.
Alexis Batezel is the 5^th Grizzly since 2000 to win the league's Player of the Week honor twice in the same season. She joined Paige Clark, Missy Huddleston, Whitney Hobbs, and Claudia Houle as the only two-time winners of the league's Player of the Week.

WINNING STREAK STATISTICS
Montana has won eight straight matches dating back to Aug. 30. It's tied for the 6^th longest winning streak in program history and the longest for the Grizzlies since 1994. Montana is hitting .299 as a team during the streak while holding opponents to just .174 hitting.

The Grizzlies have four players averaging over 2.70 kills per set during the streak and all of them are hitting over .220 individually. Gracie Cagle is averaging 10.18 assists/set and Alexis Batezel has averaged 4.89 digs/set during the last eight matches.

Carley Spachman is leading Montana in blocks with 1.35 during the streak.

As a team, Montana averages over two more digs per set than opponents (17.46 vs. 15.21), nearly a full block, and they have a dozen more service aces.

Overall, Montana has outscored its opponents 688-563 during the winning streak. The Grizzlies have dropped just four sets during the run with two of those four set losses coming by just two points.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
Montana wrapped up the non-conference schedule with an overall record of 8-3. It's tied for the 3^rd best winning percentage in a single season in program history and is also the 3^rd most wins that Montana has ever had entering Big Sky play.

The Grizzlies non-conference opponents went a combined 52-60, although Oakland's 0-12 record drops the winning percentage significantly. Seven of Montana's 10 opponents in the non-conference entered league play with a .500 or better record.

BATEZEL NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK (AGAIN)
Senior libero Alexis Batezel was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. Batezel led Montana's defense with 4.75 digs per set as the Grizzlies had another undefeated weekend.

She climbed from 11^th to 8^th in program history over the weekend with career dig number 1,179. She's one of just five Grizzlies since 2000 to win multiple player of the week awards in the same season.

Batezel is averaging a career-best 4.48 digs per set this season, which ranks 2^nd in the Big Sky and 38^th nationally.

HOME WINNING STREAK
Montana has won five straight matches at home dating back to last year, a streak that started with a five-set win over Sacramento State on Nov. 14, 2024. It's the longest home winning streak for Montana since 2018. The last time the Grizzlies won six straight home matches was 2011.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana is currently hitting .232 as a team, which would be the 2^nd best percentage in program history and the best in the 25-point rally scoring era.
The Grizzlies are averaging 17.08 digs per set, which is the most in the 25-point rally scoring era. They rank 8^th nationally and lead the Big Sky in the category.
The 8-match winning streak for Montana is the longest in the Big Sky and tied for the 13^th longest nationally. The Griz are one of 17 teams in the country on a winning streak of at least eight matches.
They are the Big Sky leaders in assists per set (12.18), digs per set (17.08), and kills per set (13.38).
The offense has been incredibly balanced this season with zero Grizzlies ranking in the top 10 in the conference in kills/set, despite the team leading the Big Sky in the stat. Four players average at least 2.40 kills per set, led by Delaney Russell with 3.08.
The depth has been impressive for Coach Lawrence this year with 10 different players appearing in over half of Montana's total sets. The Grizzlies have had 13 players appear in at least a quarter of the sets played this year as the young roster has been gaining plenty of experience from top to bottom.
Mylee Blake had 20 kills in Montana's win over Eastern Illinois. It's the most kills by a freshman since Paige Clark had 23 on Oct. 14, 2021 against Portland State. Blake is second on the team with 2.83 kills per set.
The Grizzlies are a young team. They have four true freshmen and one redshirt freshman that have appeared in over half the matches this season. They have just one senior who has played more than half of the total sets.
Montana is 8-3 in sets determined by two points, winning very often when the going gets tough.
They have committed fewer errors in seven out of 11 matches, and are undefeated when committing fewer attacking errors than their opponents.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MIDDLE
Montana's middles have been dominant this year, which has been the key to unlocking all sorts of success for head coach Allison Lawrence's team. The trio of returner Sydney Pierce and transfers Olivia LaBeau and Carley Spachman have made a huge impact on winning.

Pierce (.390) and LaBeau (.375) both rank in the top 75 nationally in hitting percentage. They've been efficient in large workloads as both players also average over 2.40 kills per set. Last year, Montana's top middle blocker averaged 1.12 kills per set on .214 hitting.

Spachman has anchored the Grizzly defense, ranking 68^th nationally and 3^rd in the Big Sky with 1.29 blocks per set. She has also hit .243 on 1.53 kills per set this season.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
Montana has had seven All-Tournament Team selections this season. Alexis Batezel earned the recognition after the first week of play at the Utah Valley Invitational. The Grizzly libero averaged 3.50 digs per set on the opening week of play.

Olivia LaBeau earned the All-Tournament nod following the Ellesyn Invitational after her blistering performance offensively. LaBeau hit .537 with 31 kills and just two errors in Montana's three wins.

Montana brought in four All-Tourney honors after the Pepsi Sycamores Invite, including the Tournament MVP honor going to setter Gracie Cagle. She averaged 11.1 assists/set, 3.4 digs, and had four service aces during Montana's 3-0 weekend.

Joining Cagle on the All-Tournament team were Sydney Pierce, Olivia LaBeau, and Mylee Blake. Pierce was nearly unstoppable on the weekend, hitting .500 while recording 2.70 kills per set and 1.00 block per set.

LaBeau averaged 3.00 kills per set on .383 hitting while Blake led Montana on the weekend with an average of 3.70 kills on .326 hitting.

In the final non-conference tournament of the season, Delaney Russell earned the honor. She averaged 2.75 kills per set to lead Montana while also recording 18 digs.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE (7-5, 0-0 BIG SKY)

The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Tournament Champions after winning the Big Sky Championship at home last season in five sets over Northern Colorado. They would go on to lose to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament to finish the year with a 21-12 record.
Sacramento State enters the week on a four-match winning streak, the second longest in the conference. They haven't lost since Sept. 12, going 3-0 last weekend while dropping just a single set in a home tournament. They defeated CSU Bakersfield, Pacific, and Fresno State.
Head coach Ruben Volta is in his 18^th season at Sacramento State. He has an overall record of 286-254 and has five 20-win seasons under his belt, including both 2023 and 2024.
The Hornets rank inside the top 100 in both hitting percentage (.240) and opponent's hitting percentage (.184).
Sacramento State is hitting .316 over their previous six matches and have gone 5-1 in that time period. Their only loss in the last two weeks is against 11-1 Boston College.
Ashlynn Archer has been one of the best players in the conference this season and claimed the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday. Archer is hitting .473, which ranks 6^th in the nation, while averaging 3.19 kills per set.
In the last six matches, Archer is averaging 4.00 kills on .558 hitting. The Hornets are 5-1 in those matches. If Montana wants a win on Thursday, they will need to find a way to slow the senior middle blocker down.
Archer also leads Sacramento State with 1.05 blocks per set.
Victoria Marthaler ranks 2^nd in the Big Sky with 3.95 kills per set. Marthaller is also 2^nd in points per set with 4.49. She is hitting .193 this season.
Reese Ampi ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky with 4.33 digs per set.

SCOUTING IDAHO (3-9, 0-0 BIG SKY)

The Vandals went 1-26 in 2024 and had won just two matches over the previous two seasons combined. They have been much improved in 2025 with three wins already under their belts entering league play.
Idaho has lost 40 straight Big Sky Conference matches dating back to Oct. 22, 2022. In the previous two seasons, they have won just seven total sets in 32 league matches.
Romana Redondo Kriskova is in her 2^nd season as head coach and has a 4-35 record.
The Vandals won a five-set match over Tennessee State last weekend but dropped the other two matches to Indiana State and Chattanooga. They also have wins over Oral Roberts and Manhattan.
The Griz and Vandals share three common opponents this year. Montana defeated North Dakota State, Indiana State, and Seattle U while Idaho lost to all three.
Idaho ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky and 51^st nationally in digs per set with 15.43.
Cayton White leads the Vandals with 3.17 kills per set. Kiana Greer is right behind her with 3.16.

SERIES HISTORIES

Sacramento State leads the all-time series 40-15 over Montana. The Grizzlies are 12-17 at home vs. the Hornets. The Grizzlies won the last meeting between the two sides on Nov .14, 2024 in what was the only meeting that season. The last two matches in Missoula between the Griz and Hornets have both gone five sets with each team winning once.
Idaho still leads the all-time series over Montana 40-36, but it has been all Grizzlies as of late. The Griz have won seven straight and nine of the last 10 against the Vandals. Montana is 14-17 in Moscow.

Red-hot Grizzlies open Big Sky play against defending champs

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Mylee Blake

Gracie Cagle

Paige Clark

Olivia LaBeau

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Carley Spachman

University of Montana Athletics

Red-hot Grizzlies open Big Sky play against defending champs

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Mylee Blake

Gracie Cagle

Paige Clark

Olivia LaBeau

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Carley Spachman

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