Montana starts season at Cougar Invitational

Friday, August 28

Pullman, Wash.

1:00 PM (MT)

Montana

Central Michigan

Photo by: Casandra Evans/University of Montana

8/26/2026 3:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

MONTANA vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Friday, Aug. 28 / 1:00 p.m. (MT) / Live Stats

MONTANA vs. WASHINGTON STATE
Saturday, Aug. 29 / 6:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats

The opening week has finally arrived for the Montana volleyball team as they kick off the 2026 season at the Cougar Invitational in Pullman, Wash. The Grizzlies will play a pair of matches on the weekend, facing off with Central Michigan Friday and host Washington State on Saturday.

The Grizzlies impressed at home in a pair of exhibition wins over Lewis-Clark State and Carroll College but now take the show on the road for the next four weeks as they start an 11-match streak on the road.

The Central Michigan match will not be streamed. The Washington State match will be available to stream on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.

Head coach Allison Lawrence is opening her 10^th season in charge of Montana and is doing so with a team that returns 13 players from a stellar 2025 campaign. The continuity has helped the Grizzlies get off to a great start in fall camp.

"I'm excited and I'm really proud of the team for a strong fall camp," Lawrence said. "It's just a feeling of thank goodness we are here. I can't wait to be playing. We had a couple great exhibitions and I couldn't be more excited. I think the team is performing well and we are having new problems pop up every day which I think means we're pushing the envelope and finding our edges."

The familiarity of the Montana team could serve as a strength in the season opener, but there is also an advantage on the side of Central Michigan with a new team in the first match of the year.

The Chippewas return just three players from the rotation last season. While Central Michigan can see tape on several of Montana's players, the Grizzly coaching staff will have to use a bit of guesswork to figure out exactly how Central Michigan's new group will play.

Washington State has more returners, but are expected to receive big contributions from newcomers, including middle blocker Kryssa Moerman (Metro State) and libero Kambree Rodriguez (Florida International), who were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List.

There should be plenty of experimenting for every team at the Cougar Invitational with adjustments being made on the fly as the teams settle into a new season.

The Grizzlies have two Preseason All-Big Sky players in Delaney Russell and Gracie Cagle. They also bring back starters Sydney Pierce and Mylee Blake, along with letterwinners Madeline Sanderson, Sophia Vella, and Annika Wright.

For Russell, the number of returners is a sign that what they are attempting to build at Montana is working.

"It's so sweet and I feel like it's very rare in athletics, but I think it's a testament to everything that we've worked really hard for culture-wise," Russell said. "And also our coaches because people wanted to stay and be together. I'm really grateful to run back some awesome times with them this year."

The continuity has also helped Lawrence get a jump on the fall. After a successful spring season, the Grizzlies didn't miss a beat when they returned for the first practice in early August.

The four newcomers, one transfer (Elle McCandless) and three true freshmen (Kaylee Paulson, Brooklyn Pierce, and Isa Taylor), fit right in with so many veteran players around to help guide them through the first few days.

"I think you can get into some layers of the team's toughness and some deeper identity stuff that you normally don't get into until later in the year in your preseason," Lawrence said. "There's a certain high-gear you can get into because you have ease about the details. We're not sort of spoon-feeding the basics in the first couple of days. Our first practices felt like the end of spring, and that's a testament to the team's work in the summer."

Montana will now be put to the test early as it starts the season on the road for the first four weeks. Lawrence is disappointed not to hosting a tournament this year, particularly on behalf of teammate Elle Farmer, who the tournament is named after. She said that the team is hoping to bring back the tournament in 2027 and will miss it this year.

"But with that being said, I love being on the road," Lawrence said. "Especially with a team that has these expectations, I think it's really fun to get to be just us on the road and have that as our start. Then you have the Cats as our first home game. All the pieces to sharpen us early are there and we have to accept that challenge, but I think there will be some unique benefits to that."

The Grizzlies are entering the 2026 season with expectations higher than they have been for decades in Missoula. Last year, they won 17 matches, tied for the most since 1999. They had the 5^th longest winning streak in program history at 10 matches. They went 8-3 in the non-conference for the 3^rd best winning percentage ever.

The success from last season, paired with a large number of returners, has the bar high in Missoula. The early recognition for the team, and for Russell and Cagle as Preseason All-Big Sky picks, is nice. But it only serves as motivation for the ultimate goal in November.

"I think it's really sweet to get recognition for all the work that we've put in over the last two years, but I think that's kind of it at that point," Russell said. "It's definitely a motivator and something to help us keep working day-by-day."

They will face their first test this Friday and Saturday in Pullman as they look to recreate the highs of the 2025 season and take it one step further in 2026.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN

The Chippewas went 9-21 in 2025, losing their final seven matches of the season. They finished 6-12 in the MAC. They went 24-7 and 15-3 in MAC play in 2024.
Arielle Wilson is in her second season as the head coach at Central Michigan.
Taylor Cripe is the top returning attacker for CMU, averaging 2.70 kills per set last year. She started 25 matches and played in 28 of the 30. Cripe also ranked 3^rd on the team with 23 service aces and 3^rd in digs per set (2.13).
Central Michigan lost its leader in kills, the top two in assists, and top two in digs from last year. They return just three rotation players from 2025.
The middle blocking position has seen a complete overhaul with the top five athletes in terms of blocks gone from last year's team.
They were picked 10^th in the 11-team MAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, and did not have any players make the Preseason All-MAC team.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE CHIPPEWAS
This is the third all-time meeting between Montana and Central Michigan. The Grizzlies are 2-0 against the Chippewas, but the sides haven't met since 2001. The Grizzlies won 3-0 in 1999 and 3-2 in 2001, both matches played at neutral sites.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE

The Cougars went 17-11 in 2025 and 11-7 in WCC play. This season, they make the switch to the new-look Pac-12 Conference.
Washington State brings back six returners from 2025 to go along with 10 transfers and one true freshman.
Head coach Korey Schroeder is in his 3^rd season at Washington State. Schroeder has a 33-23 record as head coach at Wazzu.
Three Cougars were named to the 2026 Pac-12 Preseason Impact List. Outside hitter Eliana Ti'a was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team last year and is back for her sophomore season. Transfer middle blocker Kryssa Moerman, a D2 National Champion at Metro State, and libero Kambree Rodgiguez, a transfer from Florida International, were also named to the Impact List.
Tia is the top returning attacker with 2.34 kills per set. The top three from last year's team in terms of kills are gone.
Livia Ward averaged 5.02 assists per set last year, splitting time with Italia Bernal in a 6-2. Bernal transferred to Cal State Fullerton following the 2025 season.
Washington State was picked fifth out of nine teams in the Pac-12 Preseason Poll, trailing Colorado State, Oregon State, Texas State, and Boise State.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COUGARS
This will be the 35^th meeting between Montana and Washington State as the two regularly played in the late 70s and early 80s. Washington State leads the all-time series 18-16 and has a 5-3 advantage in Pullman.

The sides have met just three times since the turn of the century, all three resulting in Cougar wins. The last matchup was in 2014, a 3-0 win for Wazzu in Missoula. The Grizzlies' last win in the series came in 1990.

SEASON OPENERS UNDER COACH LAWRENCE
Montana is 4-5 in season opening matches under head coach Allison Lawrence. The Grizzlies have lost their previous three season openers, including a five-set loss at Utah Valley in 2025.

The Grizzlies were swept during their opening weekend last year, starting 0-3, but followed that up with a 10-match winning streak to go 8-3 in non-conference play for the third best preseason winning percentage in program history.

NON-CONFERENCE FOES
Montana will play 11 matches against 10 different opponents in the non-conference portion of the schedule. They have two matches against Seattle U.

The 10 opponents combined to go 124-162 (.434) in 2025 with three of them finishing with winning records and six finishing with 10+ wins.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY
Delaney Russell and Gracie Cagle were both named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Russell led Montana and ranked 4^th in the Big Sky in kills at 3.56 per set. Cagle led the league in assists and service aces.

They are the first Grizzlies to receive the preseason accolade, which is in its second year.

GRIZ PICKED THIRD
Montana was picked to finish 3^rd in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' poll. They were tied with Idaho State in the poll but received two first-place votes to ISU's zero. It's the highest preseason placement for Montana since 2011.

The Grizzlies also had not received a first-place vote in the poll since 2010. They finished tied for third in the league that season.

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.