Griz hang tough with Lumberjacks in Flagstaff

Saturday, October 10

Flagstaff, Ariz.

12:00 PM (MT)

Montana

5-12,1-5Big Sky

Northern Arizona

11-7,4-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Montana	23	21	26	0
Northern Ariz.	25	25	28	3

Photo by: Northern Arizona Athletics

10/10/2026 3:14:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The match was much closer than the final score line suggested on Saturday afternoon for Montana volleyball, but the breaks went the way of host Northern Arizona as they picked up a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-21, 28-26) in Flagstaff.

The teams played neck-and-neck with each other as the only time either side led by more than three points was after the very final point of the second set. The match featured 38 ties and 22 lead changes, both season highs for the Grizzlies.

Montana was right in every set, leading 21-20 in the first, 19-18 in the second, and they had two set points in the third at 25-24 and 26-25. They couldn't get over the finish line in the altitude at Flagstaff as the Lumberjacks pulled out narrow wins in all three sets.

It was a tough result with how close Montana was, but head coach Allison Lawrence had to experiment with the lineup once again with two starters missing and two others limited. She was proud of the response from her team to hang tough all match long.

"It felt like neither team could separate and I think we've tried a lot of different lineups in the last 10 days and that really settled in this game," Lawrence said. "Not that we found the lineup, but just that we made the decision to be in our most aggressive gear in whatever lineup we were in and with whatever changes we needed to make.

"It's a testament to our team that they've been fighting to get better every match and compete from the role that they are in," Lawrence continued. "I thought everyone held responsibilities and played in their most aggressive gear."

The defense showed improvements for Montana as they held Northern Arizona to just .194 hitting. Montana had six blocks, led by Elle McCandless with four as she started in place of the injured Sydney Pierce again. Madeline Sanderson had a match-high 26 digs.

The Lumberjacks entered the week with the top defense in the conference, holding opponents to just .155 hitting, a top-15 mark in the entire country. They lived up to their reputation by holding Montana to just .114 hitting.

The two defenses both playing well resulted in plenty of long rallies. It's a specialty of Northern Arizona as they average nearly 16 digs per set this year to rank in the top 25 in the country, but Montana battled right there with them. NAU finished with 61 digs, Montana 59.

"There were so many long rallies and I thought Maddie Sanderson put so much pressure on their offense just by herself," Lawrence said. "Our wing defenders were really aggressive to go dig tips and that is a team that extends rallies really well and we went toe-to-toe in that with them all match."

Delaney Russell led Montana with 10 kills on .214 hitting. She reached double digits for the first time in the last four matches and recorded a double-double for the fifth time this year with 11 digs.

Alex Stone recorded a career high in kills for the second straight match, reaching nine on Saturday afternoon after she recorded seven at Portland State on Thursday night.

The first set established a tone that the rest of the match would follow with the two sides scrapping and clawing for every point. The Griz and Lumberjacks were tied at one and then tied at every single point from there up until 11 with neither side scoring more than two in a row.

Montana was the first to take a multi-point lead with a 3-0 scoring run to move ahead 13-11, but Northern Arizona took four of the next five to go back in front. Alex Stone had two kills and service ace during a 4-1 Griz run late in the match that put them ahead 21-20, but the Lumberjacks finished the set with five of the final seven points to win a set that featured 17 ties and 11 lead changes.

Northern Arizona held the lead early in the second but Montana rallied in another close set, scoring five out of six points surrounding the media timeout to take a 17-15 lead. Delaney Russell was a huge part of that, recording two kills and an ace during the run.

The Griz had a lead at 19-18, but faded in the final moments as Northern Arizona scored four straight to take a 22-19 lead. An error from the hosts followed by a block from the Griz made things interesting as UM got within a point, but Northern Arizona finished it off with three straight to win 25-21.

Early in the third, the Griz took their largest lead of the match with four straight points to lead 5-2. Northern Arizona pulled level at five, but the Griz regained the momentum and led until a four-point run by NAU put them on top 19-17.

The Griz would hold off a match point opportunity with Stone ripping a kill through the hands of an NAU block to tie it at 24-all. An error from the Lumberjacks gave Montana set point at 25-24, but preseason Big Sky MVP Hannah Stoddard answered for NAU.

Mylee Blake gave Montana another set point opportunity with a kill down the line, but Stoddard had the answer again to tie it at 26-26. Two straight errors by the Griz ended the match in a sweep.

The Grizzlies had set point opportunities in the first set on Thursday night against Portland State that could have changed the narrative of that match. While it's difficult to not win those points, Lawrence's shorthanded team has battled hard just to get into those situations.

"I think the amount of set points that we've had in the last four days is frustrating, but it goes to show that while we've had to make a lot of changes and be in a lot of different lineups from some folks being out and others limited, that we're hungrier than ever to use whatever tools we have to win," Lawrence said. "I love our team's belief in that."

After a late match on Thursday night in the Pacific Time Zone and then a long travel day to Flagstaff, an already short bench for Montana faced even more fatigue with a 10:00 a.m. local start time.

The heart of this Grizzly team has never been questioned, but it was on display again on Saturday.

"This is a location where it's hard to extend rallies at elevation and it's a road trip where we had a long day yesterday and also such an early match this morning," Lawrence said. "I think to show up with the toughness that we did today knowing the fatigue that we feel at this point in the trip made me really proud."

The Grizzlies return home next week to face the two newcomers to the Big Sky Conference this year in Southern Utah and Utah Tech. The Thunderbirds are winless through five matches while Utah Tech is the lone undefeated team in the Big Sky at 6-0.

"I'm excited to get back home," Lawrence said. "This trip is long and requires a lot of extra energy and effort where one of the obstacles is the travel, but I couldn't be more excited to get back home, get some rest, and go battle it out again next weekend."