Griz volleyball hosts Tuesday exhibition to kick off 2026 season

The Montana volleyball team will be in action on Tuesday night at 6 PM as they host Lewis-Clark State in an exhibition to kick off the 2026 season. The match will be free to the public. There will not be a stream available.

It will be the first chance for fans to catch the Grizzlies in action and one of the only opportunities in the early portion of the season. Montana will host another exhibition against Carroll College on Aug. 24, but will be on the road for the first 11 matches of the regular season.

There are plenty of familiar faces returning from a Grizzly team that won 17 matches last season. Montana returns nearly 70 percent of its starts and kills, 85 percent of its assists, and 93 percent of its service aces from last year's team as 13 players return in 2026.

After two weeks of fall camp, the Grizzlies are ready to hit the floor against a real opponent.

"I'm really excited that L-C State was able to come over and we're really thankful to them because getting in front of our home crowd, especially without a home tournament this year, feels really important," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I think you put the jersey on, get in the arena, and add fans and it's all of a sudden a different feel than what we can replicate in practice. I'm excited to see what it brings out of our group."

There is plenty of familiarity within the Montana side with just four newcomers entering the fold in 2026. The Grizzlies are looking to replicate last season's success and build upon what was one of the best years this century for the program.

The 17 wins matched the most by a Grizzly team since 1999. Montana also finished 9-7 in Big Sky play, tying for 4^th place in the league standings. Tuesday night will be the first chance for the Grizzlies to see a fresh face across the net, and an opportunity to learn where they will need to grow.

"Every year you reach that point where your patterns are just your patterns, so you need a little shake-up," Lawrence said. "A different opponent will provide that and then we'll solve problems as they come up. That's the best part is discovering where your weaknesses are so you can address them."

Lawrence has liked what she has seen from her group through the first two weeks of fall camp, and the comfort that this team has with each other is a big reason for that. Montana has seven juniors and five sophomores on this year's team with just two seniors and three freshmen.

The large junior class, featuring several players that have seen the court since they were freshmen, has embraced more leadership this season. It has led to a smooth transition for everyone involved with the program.

"It has been a really good fall camp. We have a hard-working team and I think it has been great to see the work that was so well established in spring pick up where it left off," Lawrence said.

The credit for much of that goes to the returners, whom Lawrence said worked hard to evolve this summer and implement new cultural and on-court pieces. The work in the spring and summer has carried over into the first two weeks of fall camp.

"We have been able to hit the ground running because the returners were able to provide some great scaffolding for our new players as we introduce new people to our group and also kind of settle back into season standards and performance standards that happen under pressure this time of year," Lawrence said.

The Grizzlies have won 10-plus matches in each of the previous five seasons, including 17-win years in 2022 and 2025. It has led to the best four-year stretch for the program since the mid 90s.

Many of the players returning in 2026 played key roles during the highly successful 2025 campaign. While it may be easy to look at last year and the returning players for this season and assume the Grizzlies will make another leap, Lawrence said that adjusting to new roles will be crucial for this group.

"There's some tension between this group really understanding what it takes to have the success that we had last year and having athletes that were on the court when we had that success, and having athletes stepping into roles that they weren't in last year," Lawrence said. "It's one thing to know what needs to be done and to feel what that felt like last year, and another thing to have this new group do it."

There will be a guiding presence in the middle of the floor for Montana as setters Gracie Cagle and Annika Wright both return. Cagle, a second-team All-Big Sky selection last year, led the league in both assists and service aces last year.

Wright played in 97 out of 106 sets for the Grizzlies last year, averaging over an assist per set as a true freshman.

"Gracie and Annika together have pushed each other so much," Lawrence said. "Their individual success is definitely influenced by each other so much, and I think them being so experienced and coming back together, we just didn't skip a beat in terms of our offense and the calm that a veteran setter brings."

The experience of the setters, combined with a solid core of middle blockers, led to some exciting moments in the spring that has Lawrence eager to see what they can do in the regular season.

"Our middles and setters crushed spring. It was really fun to see our All-Conference players that returned have that influence in our own gym in the spring and not let off the gas," Lawrence said. "I think when you have a middle and setting core that is really experienced and hardworking, it feels like you have an experienced group regardless of what the makeup of everything else is."

Sydney Pierce had one of the five best seasons in Grizzly program history in terms of hitting percentage. As a sophomore, Pierce hit .328 with 2.25 kills per set, which put her in the conversation at the end of the year as a potential All-Big Sky level player.

The junior from Billings will look to make another jump in 2026 as the key piece in that area of the floor.

"In the middle, we have Sydney who did what she did last year and set a standard for herself," Lawrence said. "She has high goals for the rest of her career and we know she can very effective and kind of a force to be reckoned with."

Josie Blazina, a junior from Belgrade, made the switch to middle blocker last season and showed many moments of promise. She could play a key role this year for the Griz.

"Our other newer middles that are coming into that position, I think because of Sydney's leadership, know what is expected of them and where their work ethic needs to be," Lawrence said. "I think Josie has blossomed as a middle over the last 12 months. She did great things last year and was pushing and growing in practice, and I think internally it's very obvious what her impact is from the middle and it's been fun to see that show up."

Delaney Russell earned First Team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore to become the fourth Grizzly under Lawrence to earn that recognition. Russell averaged 3.56 kills per set to rank 4^th in the Big Sky and finished the year with 15 kill-dig double-doubles.

She's joined by Mylee Blake and Sophia Vella as effective pin attackers.

"Our pin group is really exciting," Lawrence said. "We have a lot of good arms and I think Delaney has taken what was a good serve-receive, 6-rotation skill set and made it really, really good. All of her details in the offseason and summer to move her passing game up another level has been impressive."

Perhaps the biggest loss from the 2025 team comes at the libero position. Alexis Batezel is gone after a nearly 1,500-dig career, leaving the jersey open for the first time in years. There are candidates to replace her within the group of defensive specialists, and all of them learned under Batezel's leadership last year.

"I think that position is really exciting. I think we are fast and athletic and really athletic," Lawrence said. "I think the pieces that (Batezel) brought to the game were great leadership pieces for those younger defensive specialists and liberos to sort of understand what their roles were. I think they have taken those and run with them, and I'm excited to see who steps up in the competitive moments."

Montana took plenty of steps forward last season. The program's longest winning streak in 30 years. Top five seasons in program history for both non-conference record and home record. Tied for the league finish since 2010.

In the 10^th year of Allison Lawrence's time as head coach at Montana, there has never been more momentum within the program. Before the 10^th year starts up, Lawrence has looked back on her career and all the ups-and-downs that come with coaching.

"I think it feels like a milestone just because it hits me at odd times that it's been a decade," Lawrence said. "I think milestones, for me, are about reflection and I think about all the teams over 10 years and the things that we are able to talk about and work through now. It hits me what this process has been like looking back and seeing all the stages and steps of it. I think this is a great vantage point to take a few extra breaths and just remember all the athletes, the hard lessons, and the breakthroughs and feel that wider perspective of what this is really about."

She will have a chance to join the 100-win club at Montana this year, joining Dick Scott and Jerry Wagner as just the third coach to reach the century mark.

Her associate head coach, Dana Hallisey, has been by her side all 10 years. The longevity for the staff is rare in this day and age of collegiate athletics.

"It's amazing to reflect on all the things that we've been through together and life stages that we've gone through together," Lawrence said. "It doesn't happen this way often, so I feel very grateful for that and also just amazed by it."

Lawrence, Hallisey, and the rest of the Grizzlies are ready to kick off the season in earnest on Aug. 28 when they face off with Central Michigan in Pullman, Wash. They will get a dress rehearsal on Tuesday night against Lewis-Clark State.

FIREPOWER RETURNS
Montana will be returning plenty of its top talent from last season. The Grizzlies bring back 93.1 percent of their service aces, 84.4 percent of their assists, and nearly 70 percent of their kills.
The Grizzlies have four starters back from last year's squad, including setter Graice Cagle, outsides Delaney Russell and Mylee Blake, and middle blocker Sydney Pierce.

LAWRENCE CLOSES IN ON 100 WINS
Head coach Allison Lawrence is in her 10^th season leading Montana and is closing in on a career milestone. Lawrence has 93 wins with Montana to start the season. She would become just the third coach in program history to reach 100 wins, joining Dick Scott (403) and Jerry Wagner (102).

Lawrence could move into second in program history for career wins this year with another 10-win season. Her teams have won at least 10 matches in each of the previous five seasons.

ROAD WARRIORS
Montana will play the entirety of its non-conference schedule on the road this season. It's the first time since 2017, Lawrence's first year as head coach, that Montana does not have a home non-conference game.

The first home game of the regular season for Montana will be on September 22 in the Big Sky opener against Montana State. It's the latest home opener since 2017 when the Griz made their home debut on September 28.

RUSSELL HUSTLE
Junior Delaney Russell was named First Team All-Big Sky last season after leading the Grizzlies and ranking 4^th in the Big Sky with 3.56 kills per set. Russell also averaged 3.81 points per set to rank in the top five in the league.

She's the third Grizzly under Coach Lawrence to be named First Team All-Big Sky, joining Mykaela Hammer and Paige Clark. Russell has a chance to become the first two-time First Team All-Conference player for Montana since Jaimie Thibeault earned the honor three times from 2008-10.

SETTING UP FOR A BIG YEAR
Senior setter Gracie Cagle was named Second Team All-Conference last season after leading the Big Sky Conference in both assists (9.89/set) and service aces (0.43/set). After a standout season, she has the chance to climb the all-time ranks at Montana.

Cagle could crack the top 10 in career assists if she is able to match her production from the 2025 season again this year.

PIERCE'S PROWESS
Junior Sydney Pierce put together one of the five best seasons in program history in terms of hitting percentage last year. She hit .328 on the season while averaging 2.25 kills per set. She hit over .400 in 13 different matches last year, including five matches where she hit over .500.

Pierce opens her junior season with a career hitting percentage of .324. She is still over 300 attacks short of qualifying for Montana's all-time career hitting percentage leaderboard, but if she is able to maintain similar production this year she could overtake Karen Goff's career record of .294.

2025 HIGHLIGHTS

Montana won 17 matches in 2025, tying the most for the program this century. They also won 17 matches in 2022.
The Grizzlies finished 9-2 at home last year, the most home wins since 1999 and tied for the 5^th best winning percentage in program history.
Last season, the Griz finished 8-3 during the non-conference portion of the schedule. It tied for the 3^rd most wins and 3^rd best non-conference winning percentage (.727) in program history.
The current streak of five 10+ win seasons is the longest since the Grizzlies had seven straight 10-win seasons from 2005-11.
Montana won 17 matches last year. The best two-year stretch for the program in the last 30 years was when they won 34 matches in the 1999 and 200 seasons.
As a team, Montana hit .227 last year. It is the 4^th best single season hitting percentage in program history. Olivia LaBeau (.333, 4^th) and Sydney Pierce (.328, 5^th) both ranked in the top five for individual hitting percentage in a single season.
Delaney Russell earned First Team All-Big Sky honors last season while Alexis Batezel and Gracie Cagle earned Second Team honors. It's the first time since 2008 that Montana had three players honored by the league with at least one earning First Team honors.

MONTANA NOTES

Montana set a single-match attendance record in 2025 with 3,001 fans in attendance for the Montana State match. The Grizzlies also had the 2^nd best season average attendance in program history with nearly 1,000 fans per match.
The Grizzlies will have a pair of sisters on the team this year as Brooklyn Pierce joins her older sister Sydney on the roster. They are the fourth pair sisters to play for Montana and first since Kelsey and Taylor Schile were on the roster together in 2014.
Montana had 18 players on the 2025 roster with nine newcomers and nine returners. This year, they have much more consistency in roster construction with 13 of 17 players returning from last year.
The Big Sky will have a new look this season. Sacramento State has left the conference, but Southern Utah and Utah Tech have joined the league to bring the total members up to 11.

Griz volleyball hosts Tuesday exhibition to kick off 2026 season

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Mylee Blake

Josie Blazina

Gracie Cagle

Olivia LaBeau

Brooklyn Pierce

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Sophia Vella

Annika Wright

University of Montana Athletics

Griz volleyball hosts Tuesday exhibition to kick off 2026 season

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Batezel

Mylee Blake

Josie Blazina

Gracie Cagle

Olivia LaBeau

Brooklyn Pierce

Sydney Pierce

Delaney Russell

Sophia Vella

Annika Wright

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