Cats Tame Tigers, Advance to Round of 16

Thursday, November 30

Sacramento, CA

5 p.m.(MT)

Montana State University

22-8,12-4Big Sky

Pacific

18-11,10-6WCC

Montana St.

Pacific

VB_23_TURNAGE_KILL_MATCH_CELEBRATION_SAC

The Bobcats celebrate Avery Turnage's match-winning kill.

Photo by: Courtesy Sacramento State Sports Information

11/30/2023 10:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“It was a really important piece of the match to establish good energy early,” said MSU head coach Matt Houk.

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State used a balanced attack with three players reaching double-figure kills en route to a 25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23 win over Pacific in first round action of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on Thursday night in The Nest on the campus of Sacramento State.

With the win, Montana State (22-8) captured the program's first ever win in a national postseason tournament. The Bobcats also registered its 22^nd victory of the season- a school record in the modern era of the program (1982-present).

The Bobcats set the tone early jumping out to a 9-3 lead following a block by Jourdain Kamps and Jordan Radick. MSU held its advantage behind an efficient offense and staked a 20-11 lead on a Radick kill. The Bobcats closed out the set on a kill by Kira Thomsen.

MSU outhit Pacific (18-11) .538 to .148 led by Thomsen with five kills. As a team, the Bobcats had no errors on 26 swings.

"It was a really important piece of the match to establish good energy early," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "We played very clean volleyball. We hit a good serve which resulted in some nice opportunities. We were able to be in control and transition, well.

"We didn't really pass that well in the set, but we took some high-quality swings," he added. "Our pin hitters really understood the rhythm and flow of our offense."

Pacific turned the table in set two, outhitting the Bobcats .316 to .182. The Tigers held a 15-6 lead at the midway mark, but the Bobcats were able to close to within four points on three occasions, the last coming at 23-19 following a Lauren Lindseth service ace. Pacific closed out the frame on back-to-back kills.

"I thought we played okay in the second set," Houk said. "Not great, but not bad volleyball. We just couldn't get over that 3–4-point hump. We closed out the set playing better, and we turned the momentum heading into set three."

MSU held a 17-12 advantage at the midway point of the third stanza following a Tiger hitting error. Pacific closed to within 17-15, but following a Bobcat timeout, Montana State rattled off a 6-1 run sparked by two Radick kills. MSU finished the set on a Camryn Greenwald kill.

"A crucial part of our play was getting production out of our middles," Houk said. "Radick hit an untraditional shot that made them have to think and allowed us to spread things out."

MSU's middle blocking tandem of Radick and Greenwald combined for a .714 (10-0-14) attack mark after the first three sets.

The fourth set featured 15 ties. Tied at 20-all the Tigers used a kill by Biamba Kabengele and a Bobcat hitting error to take a two-point advantage. Following a MSU timeout, senior Avery Turnage posted her second kill of the match and a Tiger hitting miscue evened the contest at 22-all.

After a Pacific timeout, Montana State used a kill by Thomsen and Lindseth's third ace of the night to take a 24-22 lead. The Tigers closed to 24-23 on Kabengele's 19^th kill, but Turnage put the match away with a kill off the block."

"Avery continues to be our person in the Red Zone," Houk said. "She is clutch every time she comes in and she does the job we need done on a consistent basis."

MSU, who hit .303 for the match, was led by Thomsen and Madilyn Siebler with 12 kills each, while Kamps finished with 10. Radick, Kamps and Greenwald all hit .400 or better with Radick leading the way with a team-high .545 attack mark.

Junior setter Nellie Stevenson dished out 35 assists, while Lindseth paced MSU in the back row with ten digs. At the net, the Bobcats outblocked the Tigers 10-6 as Radick posted five blocks and Greenwald and Kamps, four.

The Bobcats face Big Sky Conference rival Sacramento State on Friday at 8 p.m. (MT) in the second round. The Hornets defeated UNLV 3-0 in Thursday's late match. MSU and Sacramento State split its season series, each winning on its home court.