Russell named Big Sky Player of the Week

The list of accolades for the 2025 Montana volleyball team just keeps getting longer. Delaney Russell is the latest Grizzly to be recognized by the Big Sky Conference for her play, earning offensive Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday.

Russell led Montana's offense to a perfect weekend. The Grizzlies swept defending tournament champion Sacramento State at home on Thursday and then hit the road to sweep Idaho on Saturday.

It's the first time Montana has opened league play with back-to-back sweeps since 1990, and Russell's big arm was a major reason for it. The sophomore averaged 4.33 kills per set on .276 hitting in the two wins.

"She's in a position on the court where she gets the most bad balls and has to score in scenarios where we can't set anyone else, but a lot of that goes unnoticed in her numbers because she's been able to produce at such a high clip," Lawrence said. "She's doing that in less than perfect situations, which is a testament to her range, here smarts, and her ability to carry a huge offensive load."

Russell dominated in the win over Sacramento State, recording 14 kills on .357 hitting to go with eight digs. She followed up that performance with a dozen kills again Idaho as Montana extended its winning streak to 10.

Montana's offense has been red-hot this season and the opening week of Big Sky play was no exception. The Grizzlies hit .315 over the two matches with Russell receiving 15 more attempts than any other player.

"She is player that is very selfless and plays for her teammates," Lawrence said. "I think when she does that her play gets more effective, and then she plays even more for her teammates, and then it just ripples out from there."

Russell leads Montana with 3.24 kills per set on the season and has been hitting .168. She has reached double-digit kills in seven different matches this season.

"I've been really impressed with Delaney's ability to add range to her game this season," Lawrence said. "Every week, she's added parts to her game that she is scoring with on the weekends. I think she's invested in her growth in a way that is very mature and team-first in its focus."

The offensive numbers led to the weekly honor, and have been a huge part of Montana's success this season, but what she does with her passing is just as important, according to Lawrence.

"She's someone that's ball handling a huge amount of first contacts for us, and I think that makes her offensive production that much more impressive," Lawrence said. "If you have large responsibilities hitting and passing, it's a lot to manage mentally. You see her poise to be able to manage it without one skill affecting the other. You're looking at an elite level of management in her game."

It's the fourth straight week that Montana has had a player earn the award as Russell joins Alexis Batezel and Gracie Cagle. It's tied for the most weekly honors by Montana since 1994 and is just the 5^th time in program history that they have received at least four in the same season.

Montana leads the Big Sky Conference in weekly honors this year. Sacramento State has three, while Portland State and Northern Arizona each have two.

The Grizzlies are back at home this week as they look to extend the program's longest winning streak in 31 years. They host defending regular season champion Northern Colorado on Thursday and then play first place Northern Arizona on Saturday.

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Gracie Cagle

Delaney Russell

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