Griz show improvement in loss to NDSU

Thursday, September 17

Spokane, Wash.

3:30 PM (MT)

Montana

3-6,0-0Big Sky

North Dakota State

6-2,0-0Summit League

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
North Dakota St.	25	20	25	27	3
Montana	17	25	23	25	1

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

9/17/2026 7:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

It may not have been the result that Allison Lawrence and the Montana volleyball team wanted, but there was still a lot to like from the 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 27-25 four-set loss to North Dakota State on Thursday evening.

The Grizzlies, playing without starting middle blocker Sydney Pierce, pushed the now 6-2 Bison to the brink and showed plenty of improvement from last week's results.

"I think there were some really encouraging things and it felt recognizable to us," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "I thought we got back on track in a way that felt really good and this one hurt a lot more because we were more in control of our destiny and had swings to put away sets and didn't."

The match momentum flipped in the third set behind a 7-0 run from North Dakota. What looked like a set heading in favor of Montana turned around, and it provided the advantage that the Bison would need to get the win.

The Grizzlies had a set point in the fourth, but couldn't take advantage with NDSU scoring the final three points of the match. Montana was right there, but came up agonizingly short.

Montana had an advantage from the service line, recording nine aces compared to just one by North Dakota State. The teams each finished with eight blocks in the match, but NDSU had 18 more kills and outhit Montana .234-to-.182 to get the win.

Slow starts have plagued Montana of late, and the trend continued on Thursday afternoon as Lawrence was forced into an early timeout after the Bison went on a 7-0 scoring run in the opening stages of the match.

It was a set dictated by big runs. The Griz scored three straight to get back within two after NDSU's opening run, but the Bison responded with an eight-point rally to go ahead 17-7.

Kaylee Paulson entered the match and ended the run with a kill, but it was too little, too late for the Grizzlies. North Dakota State took the opening set 25-17.

The first set was decided by big runs, but the second became a grueling back-and-forth with neither side stringing together more than three points. Blazina got Montana off to a good start with a kill and a block to make it 2-0.

Montana mixed things up with four different players recording kills in a five-point stretch to pull ahead 9-6. Paulson sent Montana into the media timeout with a kill to make it 15-12, but NDSU responded out of the break with three straight to tie it up at 15-all.

Isa Taylor had a service ace followed by a kill to give the Griz a 20-17 lead, one they would hold onto until the end when Delaney Russell had two kills and a service ace of her own to close things out at 25-20 and level the match.

After a difficult first set offensively, Montana rebounded in the second set. They went from .108 to .323 hitting from the first to second, committing half as many errors while upping their kill number by three. It was a nice adjustment by the Grizzlies to get back level.

"It was nice to see us growl and evolve through the match. I haven't felt this team sort of hanging on to results and I do like our short-term memory," Lawrence said. "NDSU could do no wrong in the first set. They were digging everything and we weren't stopping anything. Our offense felt OK but we just felt off balance but were able to reset and strengthen some things and go again. I think this team is a group of learners and the only answer is that we have to keep learning."

The momentum rolled into the third set with Montana using an early 4-0 run with Annika Wright at the service line to go up 7-4. The Griz took advantage of NDSU mistakes later in the set with a 4-0 run that included three attack errors to go up 11-7 and force NDSU into an early timeout.

The Griz led for a majority of the set, going up 17-14 on a kill from Mylee Blake. The next 10 minutes would be the most critical of the match as North Dakota State flipped the set with a 7-0 run. Montana's lead evaporated and suddenly the Bison, behind three kills from Courtney Peters, had control at 21-17.

The Griz responded, going on a 4-0 run to tie things up at 22-all, but North Dakota State got it across the line at 25-23 to go up 2-1.

North Dakota State got out well in the fourth set and led for much of the way, using a 3-0 run to take a 19-15 advantage that forced Lawrence into her final timeout. Out of that break, Sophia Vella recorded a kill, the Bison made an error, and Vella combined with Gracie Cagle for a block that made it 19-18.

The Bison went back up three, but the Griz tied it up at 22-all with a 4-1 run. NDSU inched ahead, but Russell and Paulson had back-to-back kills to give Montana set point and a chance to force a fifth set.

They were turned away, but a kill from Blake gave Montana another chance at set point. Once again, the Griz couldn't capitalize and North Dakota State didn't give them another chance, scoring three straight to close it out at 27-25.

Gracie Cagle averaged 10 assists per set for 40 total as she led Montana's offensive attack. Mylee Blake, starting for the second time this season, had the best performance of her sophomore year so far with 10 kills on .409 hitting.

Delaney Russell recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Paulson made a big impact off the bench for the Griz with three kills in the second set win and nine total kills for a new career high.

"I think Kaylee has come in and provided a terminal arm in moments where we're kind of inconsistent in producing from that position," Lawrence said. "That stabilized us a lot today and then was able to hold up passing and blocking in ways that helped as well."

This is the first four-match losing streak for Montana since October 2024. They will have a chance to end that streak at 3:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday afternoon when they face Seattle U in the rematch of a 3-0 Griz win earlier this season on Sept. 3.

"I think we're going to reset and if we can add a couple of things and make a few adjustments we are going to be feeling good tomorrow," Lawrence said.

Montana wraps up the weekend and the non-conference portion of the schedule on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (MT) against host Gonzaga.