Saturday, November 11
Ogden, UT
6 p.m.
Montana State University
17-7,9-4Big Sky
3
at
2
Weber State
17-8,10-3Big Sky
1
2
3
4
5
F
Montana St.
20
19
25
25
15
3
Weber St.
25
25
18
9
12
2
Madilyn Siebler (11).
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Bobcats Reverse Sweep Weber State; Take Two on Road
11/11/2023 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
“Volleyball is kind of crazy in that you can go from the outhouse to the penthouse in the flip of a switch,” said MSU head coach Matt Houk.
For the third consecutive time the Montana State volleyball team defeated Weber State in Swenson Gym. For the second straight time it was in a thrilling five-set fashion.
MSU (17-7, 10-4), who defeated the Wildcats 3-2 in the opening-round of the Big Sky tournament last November, remained a thorn in WSU's side on Saturday night with a come-from-behind 20-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-9, 15-12 victory on the Wildcats' home hardwood.
"Volleyball is kind of crazy in that you can go from the outhouse to the penthouse in the flip of a switch," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "I thought we played okay in the first two sets. We weren't doing anything bad it was Weber State doing things a little better. I thought we were doing a lot of good things."
Weber State (17-9, 10-4) used an 11-5 run at the midway mark of the first set to get the margin they needed, closing out the frame on a Liana Woodley kill. The second game also featured a WSU run as the Wildcats rattled off five unanswered points to take a 16-10 advantage. Dani Richins' kill gave WSU a 2-0 lead.
"Between sets two and three we addressed the need to be more disciplined with our block," Houk said. "We did a better job controlling ourselves and did much better in space, which led to stuffing and quality touches."
Behind five team blocks in the third set, Montana State put together a 9-2 run midway through the stanza and took the set on a Jourdain Kamps kill. MSU's senior outside hitter Kira Thomsen also got on track in the set posting six kills.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the fourth set following a Kamps ace and cruised to the win outhitting Weber State .458 to -.077 to set up a fifth and deciding game. MSU committed just one hitting error in the fourth on 24 swings.
"I thought we were pretty assertive in the fourth set," Houk said. "We found some serving targets that were working well."
In the final set, the Wildcats got out to a 5-2 advantage before the Bobcats went on a 5-3 run closing within 8-7 as the teams' traded sides. WSU held a 10-8 lead before MSU tied the contest at 10 and 11-all.
The biggest kill of the night came on a cross court kill by MSU sophomore Madilyn Siebler giving MSU a 12-11 lead- a lead it would never relinquish. Kamps followed with a kill and a Richins' hitting error gave the Bobcats a 14-11 cushion. WSU scored the next point, but Kamps put an exclamation point on the Bobcats comeback with her 18th kill of the night.
"We've had moments in the past where we had to battle, so this was not brand-new territory for us," Houk said of MSU's comeback. "We stood tall when down and Madilyn's shot was a good swing, set up by two great contacts before it, and then Jourdain put the match away. We leaned heavily on her tonight. She put in the extra work this week and it paid off."
Thomsen led MSU with 20 kills, while Kamps finished with 18 kills and a .486 attack mark. The product of Ennis committed just one hitting error on 35 attempts. Siebler and Jordan Radick each finished with eight kills.
Junior setter Nellie Stevenson had one of her best all-around performances of the season recording 46 assists, 20 digs, six blocks, four kills and two service aces. Also contributing at the net for MSU were Emma Pence with five blocks and Radick with six.
Sophomore Lauren Lindseth controlled the back row notching 31 digs.
With the victory MSU sits in a second-place tie in the league standings with WSU and Northern Colorado. All three squads are two-games back of league-leading Sacramento State.The Bobcats also completed its second road sweep of the season with its wins over Weber State and Idaho State this weekend.
The Bobcats host Sacramento State on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.
MSU (17-7, 10-4), who defeated the Wildcats 3-2 in the opening-round of the Big Sky tournament last November, remained a thorn in WSU's side on Saturday night with a come-from-behind 20-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-9, 15-12 victory on the Wildcats' home hardwood.
"Volleyball is kind of crazy in that you can go from the outhouse to the penthouse in the flip of a switch," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "I thought we played okay in the first two sets. We weren't doing anything bad it was Weber State doing things a little better. I thought we were doing a lot of good things."
Weber State (17-9, 10-4) used an 11-5 run at the midway mark of the first set to get the margin they needed, closing out the frame on a Liana Woodley kill. The second game also featured a WSU run as the Wildcats rattled off five unanswered points to take a 16-10 advantage. Dani Richins' kill gave WSU a 2-0 lead.
"Between sets two and three we addressed the need to be more disciplined with our block," Houk said. "We did a better job controlling ourselves and did much better in space, which led to stuffing and quality touches."
Behind five team blocks in the third set, Montana State put together a 9-2 run midway through the stanza and took the set on a Jourdain Kamps kill. MSU's senior outside hitter Kira Thomsen also got on track in the set posting six kills.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the fourth set following a Kamps ace and cruised to the win outhitting Weber State .458 to -.077 to set up a fifth and deciding game. MSU committed just one hitting error in the fourth on 24 swings.
"I thought we were pretty assertive in the fourth set," Houk said. "We found some serving targets that were working well."
In the final set, the Wildcats got out to a 5-2 advantage before the Bobcats went on a 5-3 run closing within 8-7 as the teams' traded sides. WSU held a 10-8 lead before MSU tied the contest at 10 and 11-all.
The biggest kill of the night came on a cross court kill by MSU sophomore Madilyn Siebler giving MSU a 12-11 lead- a lead it would never relinquish. Kamps followed with a kill and a Richins' hitting error gave the Bobcats a 14-11 cushion. WSU scored the next point, but Kamps put an exclamation point on the Bobcats comeback with her 18th kill of the night.
"We've had moments in the past where we had to battle, so this was not brand-new territory for us," Houk said of MSU's comeback. "We stood tall when down and Madilyn's shot was a good swing, set up by two great contacts before it, and then Jourdain put the match away. We leaned heavily on her tonight. She put in the extra work this week and it paid off."
Thomsen led MSU with 20 kills, while Kamps finished with 18 kills and a .486 attack mark. The product of Ennis committed just one hitting error on 35 attempts. Siebler and Jordan Radick each finished with eight kills.
Junior setter Nellie Stevenson had one of her best all-around performances of the season recording 46 assists, 20 digs, six blocks, four kills and two service aces. Also contributing at the net for MSU were Emma Pence with five blocks and Radick with six.
Sophomore Lauren Lindseth controlled the back row notching 31 digs.
With the victory MSU sits in a second-place tie in the league standings with WSU and Northern Colorado. All three squads are two-games back of league-leading Sacramento State.The Bobcats also completed its second road sweep of the season with its wins over Weber State and Idaho State this weekend.
The Bobcats host Sacramento State on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.
Team Stats
MSU
Weber
Kills
60
61
Errors
18
24
Attempts
170
178
Hitting %
.247
.208
Points
74.0
70.0
Assists
52
60
Aces
4
2
Blocks
10
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
18
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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