MISSOULA — Thursday night’s five-set grind over Gonzaga was good for Montana volleyball as it prepared them for the tight matches they are likely to encounter in Big Sky Conference play.
Friday afternoon’s three-set sweep of Seattle U was good for plenty of other reasons as the Grizzlies capped off a historic non-conference schedule.
The win extends Montana’s winning streak to eight as they enter Big Sky Conference play next week as one of the hottest teams in the country.
Montana rolled over Seattle (6-6) in straight sets winning 25-21, 25-12, 25-20. The offense has stolen the show during the winning streak but it was the defense that led the Grizzlies to victory on Friday as they held Seattle to just .026 hitting on the day.
The Griz wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with an 8-3 record, which is tied for the third best in program history in terms of both total non-conference wins and non-conference winning percentage.
It’s the best 11-match start for the program since opening the 1999 season at 9-2, which is also the last time Montana had a .727-or-better winning percentage in the non-conference.
This is the second time under Lawrence that Montana has won at least eight non-conference matches in a season as they went 8-5 in 2022.
The eight wins in a row match streaks from 1992 and 1987 as the sixth-longest in program history. The Grizzlies won 22 straight on their way to a Big Sky title in 1991 and the most recent streak of at least eight matches was in 1994, when the Griz rattled off 16 consecutive.
Any way you look at it, it’s been a historic start to 2025 for head coach Allison Lawrence and company.
“We’re going to sit in this total victory of preseason for the weekend. It’s nice that we get two days of rest and can kind of let this soak in and let this continue to fuel our belief and our drive to be great,” Lawrence said.
“Then I think we can turn the page on Monday and start working on the first half of conference. It feels really good and I’m just so thrilled for the team because they’ve earned it.”
