Thomsen Moves into Second on MSU’s All-Time Kills Charts as Cats Down Vandals

Saturday, October 14

BOZEMAN

12 p.m.

Montana State University

13-4,6-1Big Sky

Idaho

1-19,0-8Big Sky

Idaho

Montana St.

Jourdain Kamps celebrates a point against Idaho on Saturday afternoon.

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

Thomsen Moves into Second on MSU’s All-Time Kills Charts as Cats Down Vandals

10/14/2023 4:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“It feels a little like we’re a boxer that needs to get punched in the face a few times before we decide it’s time to go,” said MSU head coach Matt Houk. “But we respond to that moment right now. We’ve started slow, a lot lately and luckily, we keep responding, which beats the alternative.”

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State outside hitter Kira Thomsen and middle blocker Camryn Greenwald each recorded 13 kills to lift the Bobcats past Idaho 17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-12, Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,527 in Shroyer Gym.

With her 13 kills, Thomsen, a senior from Parker, Colo., moved into second on MSU's all-time career kills chart with 1,393 surpassing Bobcat Hall of Famer Brandy Anderson. Thomsen is 59 kills away from breaking Diane Terrall's (1978-81) all-time mark of 1,451 kills.

Montana State (13-4, 6-1) got off to a slow start in the opening set as Idaho (1-19, 0-8) broke away from a 12-11 deficit with six consecutive points and held its lead for the rest of the stanza, outhitting the Bobcats .207 to .029.

"It feels a little like we're a boxer that needs to get punched in the face a few times before we decide it's time to go," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "But we respond to that moment right now. We've started slow, a lot lately and luckily, we keep responding, which beats the alternative."

MSU turned the table in the second frame taking an early 5-1 advantage and built the margin to five points following a Thomsen kill. The Bobcats closed out the set on a Greenwald kill.

"Camryn continues to be someone we can lean on," Houk stated. "After getting stuffed on her very first swing, she made a nice adjustment and then she never hit into the block after that. We're trying to increase the areas of the court that she can hit from and that helps our ability to utilize her even more."

The third set featured 17 ties and three lead changes. Even at 23-all, the Bobcats received a kill from Thomsen, before Madilyn Siebler's shot gave MSU a 2-1 lead in the match.

Montana State owned the final set outhitting the Vandals .455 to .000. The Bobcats also held a 5-0 advantage in blocking. Greenwald's 13^th kill of the contest gave the Bobcats its eighth straight win in Shroyer Gym.

Also reaching double-figure kills for MSU was Jourdain Kamps 11. Setter Nellie Stevenson dished out 37 assists and added six digs and a service ace. Defensively, the Bobcats were led by Lauren Lindseth with nine digs. Greenwald paced MSU at the net with six blocks.

Montana State plays at Portland State on Thursday night.