Volleyball takes momentum on the road

MONTANA (5-10, 1-3 BIG SKY) at PORTLAND STATE (5-10, 1-3 BIG SKY)
Thursday, Oct. 8 / Portland, Ore. / 8:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

MONTANA at NORTHERN ARIZONA (9-7, 2-2 BIG SKY)
Saturday, Oct. 10 / Flagstaff, Ariz. / 12:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

The Montana volleyball team picked up a big win on Homecoming weekend with a sweep over Idaho that they hope will propel the team forward through league play as they return to the road this week.

The Griz face off with Portland State and Northern Arizona this week in a new-look road trip as the league has adjusted with the additions of Utah Tech and Southern Utah.

Not only did Montana pick up its first win of league play on Saturday night, they did so in impressive fashion with a 10-point comeback in the third set to clinch the sweep.

There were plenty of key pieces to the Griz victory, but head coach Allison Lawrence changed the lineup and went deep into the bench against the Vandals to pull out the victory.

After trailing 17-7, the Grizzlies needed nearly every point to close things out in three sets. They were able to get just enough, ending the match with two crucial stuff blocks, including the match winner from Avery Merritt who had appeared in just eight sets entering the week.

"I think our execution down the stretch under the most amount of pressure was impressive," Lawrence said. "I think taking that to some away gyms where the other team is really comfortable lets us know we don't have to play perfect and when our backs are against the wall we can execute at this level. I hope those are the things that we take from Saturday."

The Grizzlies have been very good in first sets so far in league play, winning three out of four. They lost leads against both Montana State and Eastern Washington to start league play 0-3.

Against an improved Idaho team that has nine wins this season, the Grizzlies adjusted course and held on for a sweep to make it 10 straight wins over the rival school to the west.

"I think we had a great response from Thursday to Saturday and we were down pretty significantly in that third set," Lawrence said. "We had some road blocks in that match and were able to fight past them, so it was a great confidence builder of a match and it was nice to see our offense in a bit of a different system take off from that match and put up some really great numbers."

Montana went to a 6-2 on Saturday and the move paid off with the best offensive performance of the season. The Griz hit .323 with 44 kills to just 12 errors behind the setting of Gracie Cagle and sophomore Annika Wright.

Wright led Montana with a season-high 17 assists while Cagle had 14 assists and three service aces.

It allowed Montana more options attacking and led to an incredibly efficient day from the middle blockers. Sydney Pierce (eight kills) and Josie Blazina (six kills) combined to hit .667 with zero errors in the match.

"I think Gracie and Annika in particular executed a really thoughtful and competitive match and it was great to see their influence on our offensive numbers and have it be so consistent between the two of them," Lawrence said.

They now take the momentum from the win on the road against a Portland State team with identical overall and conference records as Montana.

They took a first step on Saturday, but Lawrence thinks the group is very close to reaching their full potential as they get closer to the midway point of Big Sky play.

"I think one of the strengths of this group is the depth," Lawrence said. "I think the consistency piece that we have been missing is that when we have had to make changes for whatever reason, whoever came in or whatever that change was almost provided less stability. We would kind of unravel that way. I feel like the key is that when we make changes we get better, and I think we're really close to that."

STRONG SERVICE GAME
Gracie Cagle put her name in the Grizzly record book last Thursday with seven service aces vs. Eastern Washington. The performance enters the top 10 for a single match in program history and is the first time since 2008 a Grizzly has recorded 7+ aces in a match.

Cagle leads the Big Sky Conference in service aces this season with 0.47 per set. She also led the league in the category in 2025 with 0.43 per set. Cagle's career average of 0.35 service aces per set is tied for 5^th in Montana history.

MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE
Montana's middle blockers had a strong performance in Saturday's win over Idaho. The duo of Sydney Pierce and Josie Blazina combined for 14 kills with zero errors, hitting .667 in the match. They helped Montana to a season-best .323 hitting percentage.

The pair also combined for 7.0 total blocks in the match.

MONTANA NOTES

The Griz hit over .300 for the first time this season on Saturday with a .323 percentage in the sweep of Idaho.
UM leads the Big Sky in aces per set with 1.81 per set. They rank 53^rd nationally in the category.
Montana is 0-5 in true road matches this season.
UM has not won consecutive matches yet this season. They are 0-4 following a win.
Four of Montana's five wins have come in sweeps. The Griz are 4-4 in three-set matches.
They have played just one five-set match this year, winning over Cal Baptist in early September.
Montana recorded 80 digs on Oct. 1 vs. Eastern Washington. It's the 3^rd 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.
The Griz are 0-6 in four-set matches in 2026.
11 sets have been decided by the minimum of two points this season. The Grizzlies are 6-5 in those sets.
Montana is 4-3 when hitting over .200, and 1-7 when held below .200.
Finished with more assists than Idaho on Saturday. It's just the second time this year they have more assists than their opponent and they are 2-0 when doing so.
Also had more blocks than their opponent for the second time this season against Idaho. Montana is 2-2 when they have the same or more blocks and 3-8 when recording fewer.
When losing the first set, Montana is just 1-7 this season. The only time they have come from behind was on Sep. 5 vs. Cal Baptist.
UM has more service aces than its opponent in 11 of 15 matches.
The second set has been the best for the Griz this year with an 8-7 record. They are just 5-11 in the third and fourth sets this season.
The program picked up all-time win number 700 on Saturday.
Gracie Cagle's 7 service aces vs. EWU (10/1) were the most by a Big Sky player this season and tied for the 5^th most in a single match by any player in program history. She leads the conference in service aces for the second straight year with 0.47 per set.
Sophomore libero Madeline Sanderson ranks 2^nd in the Big Sky this year with 4.28 digs per set. She set a new career high twice in the last three matches with 28 vs. Eastern Washington her current best.
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 PORTLAND STATE (5-10, 1-3 BIG SKY)

The Vikings lost twice on the road last weekend, falling to Weber State and Idaho State. Their lone Big Sky win came against Southern Utah at home two weeks ago.
Portland State is 2-1 at home this year, 3-1 in neutral site matches, but 0-8 on the road.
Head coach Michael Seemann is in his 20^th year at Portland State and is closing in on his 300^th career win. He has a 298-268 overall record with the Vikings.
They were picked 8^th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Portland State is second in the league, trailing only Montana, in service aces at 1.68 per set. They rank 77^th nationally.
The Vikings are second from the bottom in the conference in hitting percentage at .171. They hold opponents to just .224 hitting, which ranks 9^th in the Big Sky.
Alivia Eikenberg was a Preseason All-Big Sky selection. She leads the Viks with 2.52 kills per set but is hitting just .096 on the season.
Ava Blascziek has the most total service aces in the league with 26. She trails only UM's Gracie Cagle in aces per set at 0.46.
Jessica Truong averages 4.15 digs per set to rank 4^th in the league.
Reese Biesemeyer averages nearly one block per set to rank 9^th in the Big Sky.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VIKINGS
Portland State has dominated the series historically with a 65-21 overall record against Montana. The Vikings are 35-6 against UM in Portland. Montana has won three of the last four matches in the series, including a win in Portland last year.

The win was Montana's first in the Rose City since 2015.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA (9-7, 2-2)

The Lumberjacks won their last match 3-0 on the road at Weber State. They have split the first two weeks of the season with sweeps over Weber and Southern Utah and losses to the top two teams in the league, Utah Tech and Idaho State.
NAU was picked second in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Head coach Ken Murphy is in his 14^th season at Northern Arizona with a 232-153 (.603) record.
They have the top defense in the league, holding opponents to just .155 hitting this season. That number ranks 11^th in the entire NCAA.
The Lumberjacks are also top 25 in the country in digs (15.79 per set) and top 60 in blocks (2.43 per set).
Northern Arizona ranks in the top half of the Big Sky in every statistical category outside of service aces.
Hannah Stoddard, the preseason Big Sky MVP, ranks 3^rd in the NCAA in attacks per set at 12.57. She has turned those attacks into 3.67 kills per set, the 3^rd most in the Big Sky.
Stoddard ranks second in the league in points with 4.15 per set.
Preseason All-Big Sky pick Gigi Greenlee ranks in the top four of the Big Sky Conference in both blocks (1.23 per set) and hitting percentage (.380).

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona leads the all-time series 39-37 over Montana. The Lumberjacks are 21-14 in Flagstaff against the Griz. UM has lost three straight on the road in the series, but Montana has won four of the previous seven overall meetings vs. NAU.

UP NEXT
Montana will return home next week to face off with last place Southern Utah and first place Utah Tech.

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Players Mentioned

Josie Blazina

Gracie Cagle

Avery Merritt

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Madeline Sanderson

Annika Wright

University of Montana Athletics