Bobcats Open Season Three Under Houk’s Watch
8/7/2025 5:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Third-year Montana State volleyball head coach Matt Houk will sleep well tonight after reflecting on the first day of practice in Shroyer Gym on Thursday afternoon.
Third-year Montana State volleyball head coach Matt Houk will sleep well tonight after reflecting on the first day of practice in Shroyer Gym on Thursday afternoon. The Bobcats return a mix of veteran and incoming talent as the program begins its quest for a first ever Big Sky Conference title.
"I feel good," Houk said. "We try to temper the expectations of what the first few days might be. I think it's good to come in and just let the play dictate where we take this thing versus coming in with some preconceived notion of what this is going to go like."
Noticeably present Thursday was competitive energy and solid communication. Five players- Lauren Lindseth, Madilyn Siebler, Camryn Greenwald, Joelie Spelts, and Karli Heidemann- played major roles for the Bobcats last year as MSU pushed regular season Big Sky champion Northern Colorado to five sets at the league tournament in Sacramento, Calif., in late November.
"It was a good day for the upperclassmen," Houk said. "I thought they all had a pretty good practice. We want to see them grow and not be complacent. I think they want to see themselves grow. And I think they know that if they want to have a season that lives up to their hopes and dreams, that they have to improve upon their game.
"Madilyn has to be out there killing balls and taking up large portions of the court and serve receive and Cam's got to kill a high percentage of balls," Houk added. "Lauren, and I think everyone knows, has a chance to be one of the best liberos in the league. But we can't talk about it anymore. It's time to go take it and go do the thing."
In all, the Bobcats return twelve players that were in the practice gym spring semester. Coupled with six freshmen and redshirt opposite hitter Makenzie Jackson, Houk and the rest of the Bobcat coaching staff are cautiously optimistic heading into the season which gets underway the last week of August with a home tournament in Shroyer Gym featuring Big 10 power Oregon.
Thursday, veteran leadership was evident in the first minute of drill sessions and culminating with two sets of live play to wrap up the first fall practice.
"Having a large group of returners is always a good thing," Houk said. "There's lots of people in the gym that understand the standards and where we're trying to go. Their commitment to what they did this summer means that we can get in here and we can get after it right away. We don't need to use day one to ease back into it.
"We told them yesterday during our meetings that you should plan on competing right away on day one," he added. "Today, we got in here, we did a hefty amount of work right away. And you know, we were able to get into some things that looked like real volleyball for almost an hour and that was cool."
The public's first opportunity for an early glimpse of the Bobcats takes place Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. in Shroyer Gym with the annual Blue-Gold Fall Scrimmage.
"I feel good," Houk said. "We try to temper the expectations of what the first few days might be. I think it's good to come in and just let the play dictate where we take this thing versus coming in with some preconceived notion of what this is going to go like."
Noticeably present Thursday was competitive energy and solid communication. Five players- Lauren Lindseth, Madilyn Siebler, Camryn Greenwald, Joelie Spelts, and Karli Heidemann- played major roles for the Bobcats last year as MSU pushed regular season Big Sky champion Northern Colorado to five sets at the league tournament in Sacramento, Calif., in late November.
"It was a good day for the upperclassmen," Houk said. "I thought they all had a pretty good practice. We want to see them grow and not be complacent. I think they want to see themselves grow. And I think they know that if they want to have a season that lives up to their hopes and dreams, that they have to improve upon their game.
"Madilyn has to be out there killing balls and taking up large portions of the court and serve receive and Cam's got to kill a high percentage of balls," Houk added. "Lauren, and I think everyone knows, has a chance to be one of the best liberos in the league. But we can't talk about it anymore. It's time to go take it and go do the thing."
In all, the Bobcats return twelve players that were in the practice gym spring semester. Coupled with six freshmen and redshirt opposite hitter Makenzie Jackson, Houk and the rest of the Bobcat coaching staff are cautiously optimistic heading into the season which gets underway the last week of August with a home tournament in Shroyer Gym featuring Big 10 power Oregon.
Thursday, veteran leadership was evident in the first minute of drill sessions and culminating with two sets of live play to wrap up the first fall practice.
"Having a large group of returners is always a good thing," Houk said. "There's lots of people in the gym that understand the standards and where we're trying to go. Their commitment to what they did this summer means that we can get in here and we can get after it right away. We don't need to use day one to ease back into it.
"We told them yesterday during our meetings that you should plan on competing right away on day one," he added. "Today, we got in here, we did a hefty amount of work right away. And you know, we were able to get into some things that looked like real volleyball for almost an hour and that was cool."
The public's first opportunity for an early glimpse of the Bobcats takes place Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. in Shroyer Gym with the annual Blue-Gold Fall Scrimmage.
Players Mentioned
MB/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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