Griz face regional rivals in first full week at home

MONTANA (4-9, 0-2 BIG SKY) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON (7-7, 1-1 BIG SKY)
Oct. 1 / 7:00 PM / Missoula, Mont. / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

MONTANA vs. IDAHO (9-5, 0-2 BIG SKY)
Oct. 3 / 7:00 PM / Missoula, Mont. / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

Homecoming has arrived for the University of Montana, and it comes not a moment too soon for a Griz volleyball program that has spent the first five weeks of the season on the road in 2026.

There will be plenty of festivities on campus and in the Missoula community over the weekend and the Griz are hoping to channel that energy into the first wins of the Big Sky season as they head into week two.

The Griz get Eastern Washington and Idaho inside Dahlberg Arena on Thursday and Saturday with both matches starting at 7:00 p.m. They will be streamed on ESPN+ with Riley Corcoran and Nate Michaels on the call Thursday and Asher Lynde bringing you the action Saturday.

Now 13 matches into the season, Montana will play in front of its home fans in consecutive matches for the first time in 2026. They couldn't have asked for a trickier start to league play, hosting rivals Montana State in a Tuesday night match following a weekend tournament and then traveling to preseason favorite Northern Colorado two days later.

The Griz leave that first week of play 0-2 in the league, but now have a chance to get their feet back under them after five matches in eight days. Eastern Washington and Idaho, the two teams that missed the Big Sky Tournament in 2025, come to Missoula improved from last year.

The Eagles and Vandals combined for just nine total wins all of last season, including a 4-28 combined league record. But this year, the Vandals entered Big Sky play with the best record in the league at 9-3 and the Eagles were at 6-6 after the non-conference.

They are both much improved, but after a 1-3 combined start on the first week of league play, Montana will be looking to get results at home against two sides that they have dominated in recent years.

The Griz have won nine straight over Idaho and six of the last seen against Eastern Washington. They will hope those trends continue as they look to get back on the right track in 2026.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Montana will hold a Teddy Bear Toss between the second and third sets on Thursday against Eastern Washington. Fans are encouraged to bring new teddy bears to the match to participate in the Big Sky SAAC's competition with the Big West Conference to help support children and families in need.

Collected teddy bears will be donated to the Watson Children's Shelter and Ronald McDonald Houses in the community.

RECORD SETTING CROWD
In Montana's last match at home, on a Tuesday night, Griz fans helped the program set a new single-match attendance record of 3,012. It eclipsed last year's rivalry crowd of 3,001, which came on Saturday of Homecoming following football, to break the record.

There were also over 1,000 students in attendance, the most on record for a court sport (volleyball, men's and women's basketball) since at least 2010.

HOMECOMING HISTORY
This weekend is Homecoming for the University of Montana. Fans attending Saturday's football game vs. Northern Colorado will be eligible for 50% off tickets to volleyball on Saturday night.

This is the seventh time under Coach Lawrence that Montana will be in Missoula for Homecoming and the fifth time that they will play on Saturday. They have a 2-4 record on Homecoming weekend and are 1-3 on Saturday when playing after football.

Overall, Montana is 10-7 in Homecoming matches and 9-4 when playing on the Saturday of Homecoming week. The Grizzlies have set program records for attendance twice in the last four years on Homecoming and the 2024 crowd of 1,046 against Eastern Washington was the largest for a non-MSU game since 1995.

MONTANA NOTES

The Griz lead the Big Sky Conference in aces with 1.76 aces per set. They rank 62^nd in the NCAA. They recorded 12 aces vs. Cal Baptist, the 3^rd most in a single match by a Big Sky team this season.
Montana is 0-5 in four-set matches this year. They have won three times via a sweep and once in five sets. They are 1-0 in matches that go the distance.
Opponents have hit over .200 in nine of Montana's 13 matches. The Griz are 2-7 when allowing opponents to hit over .200.
The Griz outblocked Northern Colorado 8-5 last Thursday. It was the first time this season Montana finished with more blocks than its opponent.
The second set has been good for Montana this year. They are 7-6 in the set, including a win at Northern Colorado. They are just 3-10 in third sets.
The Griz are 0-2 in league play for the second time in the last three years.
They last started 4-9 in 2023. They would recover to go 7-9 in league play that year to earn the 6-seed at the Big Sky Tournament.
Delaney Russell ranks 3^rd in the Big Sky with 0.39 service aces per set. Russell's five aces vs. Seattle U earlier this year are tied for the 3^rd most in a match in the Big Sky this season.
Russell is 7^th in the Big Sky with 3.00 kills per set.
Gracie Cagle, a preseason All-Big Sky pick, ranks second in the league with 8.80 assists per set. Cagle is also 9^th in the conference with 0.33 service aces per set.
Sophomore libero Madeline Sanderson is second in the league in digs with 4.13 per set. She set a new career high last Thursday with 21 at Northern Colorado and has reached double-digit kills in 12 straight matches.

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON (7-7, 1-1 BIG SKY)

The Eagles went 6-6 in non-conference play this season and split their first weekend at home with a win over Weber State in four and a three-set loss to Idaho State.
Head coach Jon Haruguchi is in his 5^th season at EWU with a record of 46-82 (.359).
Last season, the Eagles went 3-25 with a 1-15 record in Big Sky play.
Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky in blocking, averaging 2.72 per set. They rank 20^th in the NCAA in the category.
The Eagles have 149.5 blocks this year, the 3^rd most in the entire country. Montana, for comparison, has 68.0.
Eastern averages the fewest service aces in the Big Sky at 1.29 per set. They are second to last in assists (9.87) and kills (11.02) per set.
Kalista Lukovich has the two highest single-match kill totals in the Big Sky this season, recording 28 vs. Nevada and 26 vs. CSU Bakersfield. She has been named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week three times already this season.
Lukovich leads the conference with 4.29 kills per set. She ranks 19^th in the NCAA in kills per set and has the fourth most total kills with 236.
Lukovich has 717 attacks this season, more than any other player in the NCAA.
Sidney Gray (1.19, 4^th) and Judith Bolomboy (1.02, 6^th) both rank in the top six in the Big Sky in blocks per set. Gray is inside the top 100 nationally in the category.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
Montana leads the all-time series 63-45 over Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies have won six of the last seven matchups against the Eagles with the only loss coming in 2024. Outside of that loss, Montana has an 18-2 advantage in sets won over EWU since 2021.

The Griz are 32-14 in Missoula against the Eagles. The two sides met just once last year with UM winning 3-0 in Missoula.

SCOUTING IDAHO (9-5, 0-2 BIG SKY)

The Vandals had the best non-conference record in the league at 9-3. They were swept at home during the opening week of league play, falling 3-0 to Idaho State and 3-1 to Weber State.
Head coach Romana Redondo Kriskova is in her 3^rd season at Idaho with a 16-53 (.232) record.
Idaho's nine wins this year are the most in a season for the Vandals since winning 13 in 2019. They had won just 12 matches over the previous four seasons.
They have more total kills than any team in the Big Sky with 690.
The Vandals are a net even in the hitting percentage department, hitting .202 while allowing opponents to hit the same number.
They rank 3^rd in the Big Sky in aces (1.55 per set) and 5^th in blocks (2.22 per set).
Kiana Greer ranks 6^th in the league with 3.19 kills per set. She is 60^th in the NCAA in total points with 214.
Greer is also 4^th in the league with 19 service aces.
Koen Makaula ranks 5^th in the Big Sky in blocks with 1.17 per set.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VANDALS
Idaho leads the all-time series 40-38 over Montana, but the gap has been closing rapidly in recent years. Montana has won nine straight over Idaho with the previous five wins coming in sweeps. Idaho led the series 39-27 in 2019, but since then UM has won 11 out of 12.

The Griz have a 19-17 advantage in Missoula and have won five straight at home.

MONTANA SEEKS 700^TH WIN
Montana, in its 52^nd overall season as a volleyball program, is seeking win number 700 overall on Tuesday. The Grizzlies have a 699-842 all-time record since the first season in 1975.

LAWRENCE CLOSES IN ON 100 WINS
Head coach Allison Lawrence is in her 10th season leading Montana and is closing in on a career milestone. Lawrence has 96 wins with Montana. 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.

Griz face regional rivals in first full week at home

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Players Mentioned

Gracie Cagle

Delaney Russell

Madeline Sanderson

University of Montana Athletics

Griz face regional rivals in first full week at home

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Delaney Russell

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