Milwaukee Hands Bobcats First Setback of Season

Friday, September 1

St. Paul, MN

3 p.m. (MT)

Montana State University

4-1,0-0Big Sky

Milwaukee

1-4,0-0Horizon

Montana St.

Milwaukee

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/1/2023 6:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“We had good distribution and movement and I thought Jourdain had two exceptional sets,” Houk stated. “We were getting her into open spaces, and she did a nice job taking advantage.”

By: Tom Schulz

Milwaukee out-hit Montana State .314 to .158 and held off a late Bobcat run to hand MSU its first setback of the season 26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22 on the second day of the Tommie Invitational hosted by the University of St. Thomas on Friday afternoon.

"I thought in sets one and two we did a nice job and were in control of ourselves," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "Milwaukee also played well, and they continued to play well as our quality dropped off in sets three and four."

The opening set featured 11 ties and five lead changes as Montana State (4-1) found itself down 23-20 in the late stages. The Bobcats rallied twice behind two kills from Jourdain Kamps to knot the frame at 24-all. Milwaukee (1-4) closed out the set on back-to-back kills.

MSU regrouped in the second set holding an early 7-4 advantage. The Bobcats would never relinquish the lead and won the set on a kill by Kira Thomsen.

Kamps posted 11 kills and a .500 attack mark over the course of the first two sets.

"We had good distribution and movement and I thought Jourdain had two exceptional sets," Houk stated. "We were getting her into open spaces, and she did a nice job taking advantage."

It was all Panthers in the third stanza at MKE out-hit the Bobcats .279 to .061. "We got a little erratic and had a hard time controlling the moment," Houk commented.

Milwaukee took control in the final frame getting out to an 18-11 cushion before the Bobcats battled back with an 8-2 run to pull to within 20-19. The run was sparked by a kill and two service aces via Madilyn Siebler. The one-point deficit was the closest the Bobcats got down the stretch as Milwaukee took the match on Ari Miller's 15^th kill.

"Kudos to Milwaukee," Houk said. "They played tough and did a nice job attacking down the stretch.

"For us, it wasn't just one thing," he added. "We were out of system more often, hitting the ball out, and playing high error. It became a combination of us giving them free points and their taking advantage of the free chances."

Thomsen led the Bobcats with 22 kills, while Kamps and Siebler added 12 and ten, respectively. Lauren Lindseth and Thomsen guided MSU defensively with 18 and 14 digs. Lindseth, Thomsen and Nellie Steven also paced the Bobcats from the service line with three aces, apiece.

"At this point of the season, it's about our side of the court," Houk said. "It's our first loss and the big thing I'm looking for is seeing how we respond mentally, emotionally, and physically."

Montana State closes out the Tommie Invitational on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. (MT) against Cal Baptist.