Double Digit Hitters Lead Bobcats Back to Win Column - Montana State University Athletics

Thursday, November 12

Cheney, WA

7:00 pm MT

Montana State University

16-10,9-6Big Sky

Eastern Washington

10-17,4-11Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Montana St.	25	25	21	25	3
Eastern Wash.	21	17	25	8	1

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

11/12/2026 10:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State women's volleyball team snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday night, defeating Eastern Washington in four sets. The Bobcats (16-10, 9-6) dominated the Eagles (10-17, 4-11) in nearly every phase of the game, with four players in double-figure kills.

"It was an important win for us, and maybe more important than the win was the way we played tonight," head coach Matt Houk said. "We had a streak of matches where we weren't in it offensively, and it was nice for us to get back to looking the way I know we are capable of. Volleyball seasons are long and there's ebb and flow. Obviously we weren't feeling great about the last few, but it's we did a good job of bouncing back. To go and put up 62 kills in four sets is a nice way to show that we are a strong offensive team and we can produce."

The Bobcats opened the match with a three-point run and carried that momentum throughout the night. Leading for the entirety of the first set, MSU closed out at 25-21. Although the hosts took an early lead in the second set, the Bobcats strung together a run to a 25-17 advantage.

EWU jumped out to an early lead in the third set, and although Montana State fought through three set points, but the Eagles picked up their only win of day at 25-21. Despite the deficit in set three, MSU answered with their most dominant performance of the night in the final, closing the match at 25-8.

The tale of the tape for the Bobcats was the four Bobcats in double-figure kills, led by Karli Heidemann and Joelie Spelts who each had 14 along with seven digs. Lauren Greeny put down 11 kills, added six digs and had a pair of aces, and Elli Tufto had 10 kills of her own. Just short of double-digits, middle blocker Alice Steman rounded out the MSU offense with nine kills, hitting .571 on 14 swings.

"When you look at the amount of swings everyone took, having four athletes in double digits is something that makes us really unique," Houk said. "That's what makes us difficult to play against. Opponents can't dedicate their blockers in any one direction, and they have to deal with all of it. To have Karli and Joelie leading the way with 14 each was awesome. Elli Tufto and Lauren Greeny held down their pins as well, and Alice was a handful tonight. She was extremely hard to stop when she got the ball."

Teagan Jaynes continued her consistency at setter, with 51 assists, four kills, and a team-high three aces. Leading the defensive efforts for the Bobcats, Nicolette Noble had 14 of the team's 55 digs. Freshman Taylor McDonald also added seven digs and a pair of aces.

"Teagan is getting her feet to the ball and she's letting it go with a lot of confidence," Houk said. "She's spreading it out a ton and keeping her hitters in rhythm, and it's not a coincidence that she's going to be close to the 2,000 mark, if not over it, by the end of her sophomore year. It's a big deal when you have a setter that can stand out in that way and set any one of your hitters at any given time. I think it's a big deal, and she had some really good serves tonight. She ended up with three aces tonight, so she was putting a ton of pressure on the opponent from that standpoint as well."

The Bobcats conclude play on the road on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Idaho. MSU will return to Bozeman for the final games of the regular season with senior night against Northern Colorado on Wednesday and Montana on Friday night.

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