Griz look to regroup at home

MONTANA (5-12, 1-5 BIG SKY) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH (1-15, 0-6 BIG SKY)
Thursday, Oct. 15 / 7:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

MONTANA vs. UTAH TECH (13-3, 6-0 BIG SKY)
Saturday, Oct. 17 / 7:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

Montana volleyball returns home this week to host the two Big Sky newcomers in Southern Utah and Utah Tech. The Griz will look to get back to full strength and get some momentum going as they near the midway point of league play.

It is an interesting split this weekend as Southern Utah enters the week winless in Big Sky play while Utah Tech is undefeated with a current winning streak of 10 matches.

Montana, meanwhile, is coming off two losses on a road trip to Portland State and Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies have battled the injury and illness bug all season but were up against it on the recent road trip.

Starting outside hitter Isa Taylor has missed the previous four matches and starting middle blocker Sydney Pierce, one of the most efficient attackers in Montana history, was sidelined for both matches of the road trip.

They weren't the only Grizzlies playing at less than 100 percent on the road as Montana still fought hard against the Vikings and Lumberjacks. Montana lost three sets by the minimum two points and had set point opportunities in two of them as they scrapped in both matches.

It led to some breakout performances as head coach Allison Lawrence was forced to experiment with her lineups and rotations. Alex Stone had two career days in back-to-back matches at outside hitter with seven kills at Portland State and 10 at Northern Arizona in her first career start.

Elle McCandless started in place of Pierce, making her Big Sky debut with 10 blocks across the seven sets over the weekend (1.43/set). Annika Wright recorded her first career double-double at Portland State with 13 assists and 10 digs.

The depth is being tested for the Grizzlies, but the highlight of the weekend came from sophomore libero Madeline Sanderson. She recorded 30 digs against Northern Arizona, averaging 10.0 per set. It's the most digs in a 3-set match in program history and the most in the NCAA since last September.

Montana is now looking to translate that success into wins against teams coming to Missoula on very different trajectories.

Southern Utah is 1-15 overall on the year and looking for its first Big Sky win since rejoining the league this offseason. The Thunderbirds have lost seven in a row and rank 335^th out of 348 teams in this week's RPI.

Utah Tech, meanwhile, is coming off perhaps its biggest win of the season, sweeping Idaho State last Saturday in a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in the Big Sky. The Trailblazers haven't lost since September 6 and have dropped just five sets in that 10-match span.

The Trailblazers came in at 86^th in the latest RPI rankings, one spot behind Ohio State and one ahead of Rutgers.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Scot Gladstone on the call Thursday and Ace Sauerwein taking the mic on Saturday.

SANDERSON SETS A RECORD
Sophomore libero Madeline Sanderson set a Montana program record on the road against Northern Arizona with 30 digs in a 3-set match. The performance breaks Brittney Brown's record from 2010 and is the most digs in a 3-set match by any player in the NCAA since last September.

Sanderson is currently averaging 4.67 digs/set this season to rank 2^nd in the Big Sky, 19^th in the NCAA, and 4^th in UM history for a single season.

MONTANA NOTES

Madeline Sanderson's 30 digs were the most in a 3-set match in the NCAA since 9/20/25 when Alana Torres-Rivera of Houston recorded 30 against McNeese St.
Montana recorded 65 digs at Northern Arizona. It's the most in a 3-set match by the Griz since 2024 when they had 66 vs. Montana State.
UM leads the Big Sky in aces per set with 1.68 per set. They rank 73rd nationally in the category.
Alex Stone has recorded a career high in kills in three straight matches. It started with 5 vs. Idaho, followed by 7 at Portland State, and finally the current high of 10 at Northern Arizona. She made her first career start at Northern Arizona.
The Griz are 0-7 in four-set matches in 2026.
The Griz hit over .300 for the first time this season with a .323 percentage in the sweep of Idaho on Oct. 3.
The program picked up all-time win number 700 on Oct. 3 against Idaho.
When losing the first set, Montana is just 1-9 this season. The only time they have come from behind was on Sep. 5 vs. Cal Baptist.
The Griz have more assists than their opponent just twice this season. They are 2-0 when doing so, but 3-12 when allowing more assists.
Montana is 1-2 at home this season. They are 0-7 in road contests and 4-3 in neutral site matches.
15 sets have been decided by the minimum of two points this season. The Grizzlies are 7-8 in those sets.
Montana recorded 80 digs on Oct. 1 vs. Eastern Washington. It's the 3rd most digs in a 4-set match by a Big Sky team this season and the most by the Griz in a 4-set match since Oct. 4, 2025 when they had 93 vs. Northern Arizona.
Four of Montana's five wins have come in sweeps. The Griz are 4-5 in three-set matches.
They have played just one five-set match this year, winning over Cal Baptist in early September.
Montana is 4-3 when hitting over .200, and 1-9 when held below .200.
Montana is 2-2 when they have the same or more blocks and 3-8 when recording fewer.
UM has more service aces than its opponent in 11 of 17 matches.
Gracie Cagle's 7 service aces vs. EWU (10/1) were the most by a Big Sky player this season and tied for the 5th most in a single match by any player in program history.
UM has not won consecutive matches yet this season. They are 0-4 following a win.
Five Grizzlies have played every set of the season. Delaney Russell, Josie Blazina, Gracie Cagle, Annika Wright, and Madeline Sanderson haven't missed a set.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH (1-15, 0-5 Big Sky)

The Thunderbirds have lost seven straight matches, picking up just three set wins during the losing streak. They are 0-6 on the road this year and have lost 17 straight road matches dating back to Nov. 7, 2024.
Head coach Danielle Jensen is in her second season at Southern Utah with a 4-36 record.
SUU ranks last in the Big Sky in assists (9.25/set), digs (11.4/set), hitting percentage (.098), kills (10.05/set), and opponent hitting percentage (.259).
The Thunderbirds swept Chicago St. on Sept. 18 for the only win of the season.
They rank 335^th in the latest RPI Rankings.
Maya Banks leads SUU with 2.03 kills per set, but she has not played since Sept. 26.
Audrey Atwood averages 1.74 kills per set and had 18 in their last match against Weber State.
Celeste Uruena Jensen leads the team with 3.98 assists per set.
Natalie Moore averages 0.78 blocks per set to lead SUU. Zorana Stankovska leads the team in digs with 2.09 per set.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
Montana and Southern Utah have met 16 times, splitting the all-time series 8-8. 15 of the 16 meetings came when Southern Utah was a member of the Big Sky Conference previously from 2012-21.

In Missoula, the teams are 3-3. This is Southern Utah's first trip to Missoula since 2019, which resulted in a 3-1 Montana win. The teams played both matches during the COVID-shortened season in Cedar City and met just once in 2021, Southern Utah's final year as a Big Sky member, once again in Cedar City.

The Griz won that last meeting between the two in a sweep.

SCOUTING UTAH TECH (13-3, 6-0 Big Sky)

The Trailblazers enter the week on a 10-match winning streak that dates back to Sep. 6 when they last loss, a 3-1 match again LMU in Honolulu. They have lost just five sets during the winning streak.
Last Saturday, they defeated Idaho State in a matchup of 5-0 Big Sky Conference teams. The Trailblazers swept the Bengals in straight sets.
Head coach Camilla Hafoka is in her 6^th season at Utah Tech. She has a 76-65 (.539) career record.
They are 4-1on the road this season and have won three straight away from St. George.
This is Utah Tech's first season in the Big Sky. They were picked 7^th in the league's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
They have won seven matches in sweeps this season.
Utah Tech leads the Big Sky in assists per set (12.37), kills per set (13.61), and opponent hitting percentage (.155). They are also in the top three in digs per set (15.95) and hitting percentage (.229).
They have six players averaging at least 1.50 kills per set. Despite leading the league in kills, their top attacker (Nana Asiata) ranks 7^th in the league at 3.04.
Tessa Treanor ranks 2^nd in the Big Sky with 0.44 service aces per set.
Annalyse Shimada is 4^th in the conference and 58^th nationally with 1.24 blocks per set.
Marley Roe and Tehanie Waters run the offense for Utah Tech in a 6-2. Roe leads the team with 5.84 assists per set while Waters averages 4.40.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TRAILBLAZERS
This is the first ever meeting between Montana and Utah Tech. The Trailblazers are the only team on Montana's 2026 schedule that they have not faced before previously.

UP NEXT
Montana hits the midway point of Big Sky Conference play by splitting next weekend between home and away. They close the first half of the season on the road Thursday, Oct. 22 at Idaho State and return home on Saturday, Oct. 24 to start the second half of league play against Weber State.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josie Blazina

Gracie Cagle

Elle McCandless

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Madeline Sanderson

Alex Stone

Isa Taylor

Annika Wright

University of Montana Athletics