Volleyball Hosts PSU, NAU in Penultimate Homestand - Montana State University Athletics

BOZEMAN, Mont. - With just six regular season games remaining, the Montana State volleyball team looks to solidify its Big Sky Tournament bid in matchups against Portland State and Northern Arizona.

The Bobcats (15-8, 8-4) and the Vikings (11-12, 7-5) will face off on Thursday night in their second meeting of the season and 81st contest all-time, with MSU sweeping the most recent victory. The Lumberjacks (23-7, 13-3) will test their luck against the home-court advantage of Shroyer Gym on Saturday, as the Bobcats seek revenge after falling short of a win in the trip to Flagstaff earlier this year. The meeting marks the 78th, with MSU's most recent victory coming in Bozeman a year ago.

First serve for both matches will be at 7 p.m. MT with live streaming on ESPN+ and live stats powered by StatBroadcast. Tickets for the remainder of the season are on sale now.

SPELTS STANDING OUT
Senior Joelie Spelts has been Montana State's most consistent star this season. Spelts was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after helping the Bobcats to a pair of wins over Weber State and Idaho State, matching a career-high 17 kills against ISU. The senior is tied for the MSU lead with 267 kills, averages 2.87 per set while hitting .319 (amongst the 35 best percentages in the NCAA). In the Bobcats' win over Idaho, Spelts established a new school record, hitting .846 with 11 kills on 13 attempts. Spelt's .846 marks the 15th best single-match percentage on 10-14 attempts in the NCAA this year.

KARLI'S KILLING IT
Senior outside hitter Karli Heidemann leads the Bobcats with 3.26 kills per set this season, the seventh-best average in the conference. After missing sets early in the season due to injury, Heidemann has returned to her regular role on MSU's offense, leading the team's kills in eight of the last 10 matches. Heidemann's 267 kills are tied for the lead amongst MSU, equal with Joelie Spelts. With 23 service aces and 38 blocks, the senior has accounted for 313 Bobcat points.

TEE IT UP
Outside hitter and former MSU golfer, Lauren Greeny is high on the stat sheet in several categories after making her return to collegiate volleyball this season. After a knee injury sidelined her career as a freshman in high school, the 5th year's return to the court has exceeded expectations as she has totaled 236 digs, 189 kills, 34 assists, 21 aces, and 48 blocks across 92 sets this season.

SETTING UP SUCCESS
At the core of the Bobcat offense, sophomore Teagan Jaynes was named Big Sky Co-Offensive Player of the Week after an outstanding performance at NAU and PSU. Averaging 9.42 assists per set this season, the sophomore has already made her way up to No. 8 on Montana State's all-time career assists list at 1,782. She is second in the Big Sky with 848 sets this season, adding to 166 digs, 72 kills, and 25 service aces.

NOBLE EFFORTS
Sophomore libero Nicolette Noble was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after logging a career-high 24 digs against Marist. Noble then bested her career mark at the Mercer Invitational, logging 28 digs in the preseason finale with Georgia State, en route to her second Big Sky weekly recognition. She earned her third Big Sky honor after repeating the 28-dig mark against Weber State. After surpassing 500 career digs against Southern Utah, she continues to lead the Bobcat defense with 381 digs and 23 starts at libero this season.

OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Five Bobcats have surpassed triple digits on offense this season. Joelie Spelts and Karli Heidemann lead the team with 267 kills apiece. Lauren Greeny is up to 189. Sophomore Elli Tufto has 133 so far, and freshman Elli Esko is just behind with 132 as the duo continues to split reps at the outside hitter position. Setter Teagan Jaynes continues to distribute opportunities to the offense, targeting a variety of hitters and adding a challenge of her own as she has totaled 73 kills.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Led by Nicolette Noble's 381 digs, four more Bobcats have surpassed the 100 mark this season. Lauren Greeny has racked up 236, Teagan Jaynes is up to 175, and Karli Heidemann now has 149. Settling into her role as defensive specialist, sophomore Afton Thomsen was the latest to reach the mark, now with 105 digs and an increased presence on the court in conference play.

UNDER THE BIG SKY
Several Bobcats have found their way into the top of the Big Sky standings so far. Joelie Spelts holds the second-best hitting percentage at .391. Teagan Jaynes ranks second amongst setters, averaging 9.42 assists per set with 848 total. Jaynes also boasts the eighth-best aces per set average at 0.29, with a team-leading 26 aces so far. Karli Heidemann sits at seventh with a 3.26 kills per set average, and sixth averaging 3.82 points per set. Nicolette Noble ranks sixth with her 4.10 digs per set average. As a team, the Bobcats are third in the league with 13.03 kills per set and third with 16.37 points per set, fourth with a .227 hitting percentage, and third with 11.92 assists per set. 1,522.5 total points is the second-most by any team in the conference this season.

BIG WEEK FOR THE BOBCATS
In one of their most successful weeks this season, Montana State picked up two wins last week, one on the road at Weber State and the other at home in Bozeman. In Thursday's five-set fight, the Bobcats lost the first and third sets, but won the second, fourth, and fifth to down the Wildcats. After a day of travel on Friday, MSU returned to its home court to handily defeat second-place Idaho State, moving up to share the No. 2 spot in the conference standings with seven wins each. The Bobcats are behind only Utah Tech, who remain undefeated in Big Sky play.

TOOK THE MAIN LINE BACK TO BOZEMAN
In the 2026 Big Sky opener, the Bobcats downed the Montana Grizzlies in a four-set win. A trio of double-digit hitters paced the offense for the Bobcats, as Karli Heidemann led the team with 13 kills and added 11 digs. Senior Joelie Spelts was just behind with 12, hitting .409 on the night, in addition to eight blocks. As a team, the Bobcats led in nearly every category with 49 kills, 78 digs and 14 blocks to the Grizzlies' 44 kills, 73 digs and five blocks.

FIVE SET FIGHTING
Since the season opener against Delaware, eight of Montana State's games this season have finished after five sets, with six resulting in wins for the Bobcats. The Cats are 9-2 when winning the first set, and 6-1 when winning the first two.

PRESEASON PROGRESS
After concluding the non-conference season with a pair of wins at the Mercer Invitational, the Bobcats finished preseason play with a 7-4 record. Seven wins equal the most wins under Matt Houk since his inaugural season in 2023, when the Cats went 7-3 before Big Sky action began.

BESTED THE BISON
In the first game of the Bobcat Invitational, Montana State downed North Dakota State 3-2 in a five-set fight. MSU and NDSU posted even stat lines throughout the match, with momentum alternating between the sets. MSU fell behind early in the decider as NDSU crept ahead to a 6-1 lead, but the Cats showed no quit and battled back to a tie at ten before a 5-0 run to secure the victory.

STARTED WITH A SWEEP
Montana State opened the season with a weekend sweep at the Maroon and White Classic. With three wins in two days, the Bobcats are off to their best start since Houk's inaugural season in 2023. The MSU trio of Elli Esko, Nicolette Noble and Joelie Spelts earned all-tournament honors in Easton. Esko made her collegiate debut, powering the offense with 33 kills and a .329 pct. Noble, also named tournament MVP, was a key component in the defense and passing game, while Spelts racked up 29 kills and 11 blocks. Since the opening match, the Bobcats are 5-2 in three-set matches.

KEEP AN EYE OUT
Sophomore setter Teagan Jaynes and senior blocker Joelie Spelts were named to the All-Big Sky Conference Preseason Volleyball team. The pair of Bobcats join nine athletes expected to play a significant role in Big Sky action this season. Montana State was selected to finish sixth as a team.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Bobcats are 13-0 when the team has more service aces than their opponent, and 13-0 when the team has a higher hitting percentage.

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Players Mentioned

Elli Esko

Lauren Greeny

Karli Heidemann

Teagan Jaynes

Nicolette Noble

Joelie Spelts

Afton Thomsen

Elli Tufto

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