Griz close out tough weekend in Michigan

Saturday, September 12

Rochester, Mich.

8:30 AM (MT)

Montana

3-5,0-0Big Sky

UAB

6-3,0-0American

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Montana	14	21	22	0
UAB	25	25	25	3

Montana goes up against Lewis-Clark State in an Exhibition match on Tuesday August 18, 2026, on Robin Selvig Court in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Casandra Evans/University of Montana

9/12/2026 10:42:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana volleyball finished up a tough weekend in Michigan on Saturday morning with a 3-0 loss to UAB. The Grizzlies were winless on the weekend with all three matches played in the last 24 hours.

The Blazers won 25-14, 25-21, and 25-22 on Saturday morning.

The Grizzlies fall to 3-5 after three weeks of play. They will finish out the non-conference portion of the schedule next weekend in Spokane at the Zags Volleyball Classic.

"It was frustrating. We woke up this morning ready to turn the page and establish our side of the net and we didn't do it," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "It felt like once one thing started to stabilize something else lost its consistency."

Sydney Pierce had seven kills on .429 hitting for Montana. Delaney Russell led the Grizzlies with 11 kills and Josie Blazina added eight. Gracie Cagle had 27 assists and two kills from the setter position.

Madeline Sanderson led the team with 11 digs and Russell recorded a double-double by adding 10 digs to her 11 kills.

"I think our adaptability and decision making under pressure all weekend was not where it needed to be," Lawrence said. "Every part of our game got put under a lot of stress and pressure and ultimately we couldn't find ways to get in rhythm consistently enough to find our way back to our own game again."

Montana was coming off a pair of losses on Friday, the second of which ended around 9:00 p.m. local time. They were back in action at 10:30 a.m. in Michigan on Saturday and came out a bit sluggish from the start, falling behind 8-1 in the opening set.

The Blazers kept their fire through the opener, never letting the Griz back within six to take the opener 25-14. The Griz had eight kills and seven errors in the first set to hit just .032.

The Grizzlies improved in the second set offensively, hitting .278 behind the trio of Russell, Blazina, and Pierce. They combined for 14 of Montana's 16 kills on over .400 hitting.

But an early 4-0 run from UAB gave them a three-point cushion that they would not relinquish. Montana got within a point after kills from Blazina and Pierce sandwiched a service ace from Sanderson, but UAB responded with three straight to go back up 14-10.

The Griz showed grit late. Trailing 21-15, Montana scored six of the next seven points to make it 22-21 in the closing moments. Russell had two kills during the run, and Pierce capped it off with a solo block followed by a kill.

The Blazers scored the next three points to win the second 25-21.

Montana had its best set in the third, leading 5-2 after back-to-back kills from Pierce. It was the defense that played the biggest role in Montana's efforts in the third. After allowing UAB to hit over .375 in the first two sets, they held the Blazers to just .190 in the third.

It went back-and-forth until Montana gained some ground with four out of five points to take a 17-14 lead. The final dagger came from UAB on a 7-1 run that gave them a 21-18 lead. The Griz would get within a point twice, but the Blazers held on for the 25-22 win and the sweep.

Lawrence went to her bench to try to switch up the energy, and freshman Kaylee Paulson had some bright moments finishing with five kills and seven digs in just two sets of action.

"We tried a lot of lineups and a lot of people got looks. Kaylee did some nice things in the last set and found a rhythm in a few moments," Lawrence said. "I think ultimately this weekend is about trusting that we need to go through these things to find our best game by using what we can and leaving the rest."

Montana will play next on Thursday, Sept. 17 against North Dakota State in Spokane. The match, which opens up the Zags Volleyball Classic, will begin at 3:30 p.m. (MT).