Bobcats Corral Broncos

Saturday, August 28

Boise, ID

2:30 p.m.

Montana State University

2-1,0-0Big Sky

Boise State

2-1,0-0Mountain West

Montana St.

Boise St.

Jordan Radick (10) and Jourdain Klein put up a big block against Boise State on Saturday afternoon.

Photo by: Jack Murrey

8/28/2021 6:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Montana State posted a weekend-high .279 attack mark and its block stymied Boise State en route to a 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14 victory, Saturday afternoon in Bronco Gym.

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State posted a weekend-high .279 attack mark and its block stymied Boise State en route to a 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14 victory, Saturday afternoon in Bronco Gym.

"Everyone turned up," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "Across the board, we had great contributions from the entire line-up. We talked prior to the match that we needed to play Bobcat volleyball and not worry who's on the other side of the net. We served tough, put up a big block and really did a nice job digging around it. We executed what was presented to us."

MSU sophomore Kira Thomsen earned tournament MVP honors after recording 13 kills, a .357 attack mark, 13 digs and four aces. Her four aces helped Montana State (2-1) overcome an early deficit in the opening set, igniting the Bobcat offense as MSU built a 19-12 advantage following a kill by Hannah Scott.

Montana State closed out the set on a kill via Jourdain Klein.

Boise State (2-1) rallied in the second frame taking an 18-11 lead, but the Bobcats rattled off a 7-1 run sparked by four Scott kills pulling MSU to within 19-18. Thomsen tied the match at 20-all and with the set even at 22-all, MSU received an ace from Audrey Hofer, a block courtesy of Klein and Jordan Radick, followed by another Hofer ace to give the Bobcats the victory and a 2-0 lead.

The third stanza featured eight ties and four lead changes. Leading 18-17 down the stretch, the Broncos outscored the Bobcats 7-3 winning the game on a block.

MSU opened the fourth set taking a 4-1 lead on a Scott kill. Following three consecutive blocks by Klein and Emma Pence, the Bobcats held a 15-6 advantage cruising to the win on a Pence kill.

"Pre-match we talked about not being so rigid," Jones said. "Obviously, we had a system and structure we wanted to execute but we also wanted to be able play freely, and defensively, led by Libby Christensen, I thought we really did a nice job."

Scott, an outside hitter from Hawthorne, Calif., garnered all-tournament accolades posting a team-high 15 kills, while adding a .267 attack mark and nine digs. Christensen also earned all-tournament honors with a match-high 19 digs.

Radick, a Bozeman High product, finished with nine kills, a .353 attack mark and three blocks, while Avery Turnage added eight kills and seven blocks. Klein added seven kills and four blocks, while Pence ended with five kills and a matched a career-best nine blocks.

Bobcat setters Hofer and Allie Lynch dished out 26 and 21 assists, respectively. Lynch also reached double-digit digs with ten saves.

"We started figuring things out over the course of the weekend," Jones said. "We focused on our side and our communication with each other. Against Boise State, we started making the easy plays and our trust in each other allowed us to steal some hard points."

Montana State will host its own tournament next week, beginning with SEC power Arkansas on Thursday night in Shroyer Gym. The Bobcats will face Portland on Friday night, and Utah State on Saturday afternoon.