Wednesday, December 6
Laramie, WY
6:30 p.m.
Montana State University
24-8,12-4Big Sky
3
at
2
Wyoming
22-10,9-9Mountain West
1
2
3
4
5
F
Montana St.
22
25
21
25
15
3
Wyoming
25
22
25
23
8
2
Kira Thomsen led MSU with 24 kills in its 3-2 win at Wyoming on Wednesday to help the Bobcats advance to the NIVC Fab Four.
Photo by: courtesy of Wyoming Athletics
We Ain’t Done Yet: Bobcat Volleyball Team Advances to NIVC Fab Four
12/6/2023 11:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
“At each time out, we reminded our kids to be present and play one point at a time, that’s all we can control,” Houk said. “Getting an ace to finish out the match was pretty cool. It was a total team effort in a hostile environment. I just loved the energy our bench gave to the team.”
Montana State withstood an early Wyoming onslaught with a collective team effort rallying for a 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8 victory over the Cowgirls on Wednesday night in the UniWyo Sports Complex to advance to the Women's Invitational Volleyball Championship Fab Four.
The Bobcats face Wichita State on Saturday in Kansas. Match time has not been determined.
The Montana State victory marks the first time a Big Sky Conference school has advanced to the semifinals of the NIVC. The Bobcats improved to a school record 24-8 overall.
"After getting a nice (water bottle) soaking by the team in the locker room, I told them to enjoy the moment," said MSU first-year head coach Matt Houk. "The thing I'm most proud of is the way they weathered the storm in the first set. Wyoming was on a roll and firing on all cylinders and I thought the match could go sideways really easily.
"At 21-13 we had a good timeout," Houk commented. "We told them to stay with it and Wyoming will come back down."
The Bobcats went on a 7-1 run out of the timeout to close to 22-20. "That was an important part of the match," Houk said. "Putting points together showed them they could compete."
Wyoming (22-10) took the opening set on a kill by Paige Lauterwasser. MSU was paced by Kira Thomsen with nine kills.
The five-set match featured 37 ties and 12 lead changes. The second set alone saw 14 ties, the last coming at 21-all. Sophomore middle blocker Camryn Greenwald connected on back-to-back kills to push the MSU lead to 23-21. Junior rightside hitter Jourdain Kamps followed with a kill at 24-21 and closed out the frame with her sixth kill of the set.
"I thought we passed well the entire match," Houk said. "That allowed us to find some nice spaces and spread the offense. It was important to get Cam (Greenwald) and Jourdain involved."
Tied for the 11th time in the third set, the Cowgirls rattled off two points to take a 21-19 cushion in the late going and held the lead down the stretch winning on back-to-back kills by Corin Carruth.
"I felt we got our service game going in the third set," Houk said. "We made a change from serving too soft. We needed to be more aggressive, and we greenlit them. We took some risks, for some rewards.
"I also felt good about how were playing and both teams were siding out well," he added.
Set four saw ten ties and five lead changes. The set was even at 23-all in the late going with Wyoming just points away from taking the match. However, a Thomsen kill gave MSU a one-point lead which dissipated quickly on a kill by Wyoming's Evelyn Udezue. Thomsen recorded her fourth kill of the game for set point and Courtney Weatherby, who came off the bench for MSU, closed out the scoring on a kill off the block.
Weatherby, a junior from Kuna, Idaho, had three kills in the fourth set. "Courtney really played her role well, and hit some big shots," Houk said. "That's what this team has done all season, our bench has been amazing."
MSU bottled the momentum from the fourth set and opened it early in the final frame taking a 7-3 lead following a Jordan Radick solo block. Following Wyoming's first time out, the Bobcats continued playing side-out ball, never letting the Cowgirls get closer than three points. UW took its final time out at 12-8, but MSU responded closing out the match on a Thomsen kill followed by a Nellie Stevenson service ace.
"At each time out, we reminded our kids to be present and play one point at a time, that's all we can control," Houk said. "Getting an ace to finish out the match was pretty cool. It was a total team effort in a hostile environment. I just loved the energy our bench gave to the team."
Thomsen finished with 24 kills, a .383 attack mark, three aces, 10 digs and three blocks, while Kamps added 12 kills, six digs and three blocks. Greenwald led MSU with six blocks, while adding seven kills. Stevenson finished with 32 assists, three kills and ten digs.
Defensively, Lauren Lindseth paced the back row with 18 digs, while adding eight assists.
As a team, the Bobcats outhit the Cowgirls .294 to .288, including .538 to .190 in the fifth and deciding set. MSU also held advantages in aces and blocks.
The Bobcats have gone 5-1 in postseason play, all on the road. MSU has also won ten of its last 11 matches.
The Bobcats face Wichita State on Saturday in Kansas. Match time has not been determined.
The Montana State victory marks the first time a Big Sky Conference school has advanced to the semifinals of the NIVC. The Bobcats improved to a school record 24-8 overall.
"After getting a nice (water bottle) soaking by the team in the locker room, I told them to enjoy the moment," said MSU first-year head coach Matt Houk. "The thing I'm most proud of is the way they weathered the storm in the first set. Wyoming was on a roll and firing on all cylinders and I thought the match could go sideways really easily.
"At 21-13 we had a good timeout," Houk commented. "We told them to stay with it and Wyoming will come back down."
The Bobcats went on a 7-1 run out of the timeout to close to 22-20. "That was an important part of the match," Houk said. "Putting points together showed them they could compete."
Wyoming (22-10) took the opening set on a kill by Paige Lauterwasser. MSU was paced by Kira Thomsen with nine kills.
The five-set match featured 37 ties and 12 lead changes. The second set alone saw 14 ties, the last coming at 21-all. Sophomore middle blocker Camryn Greenwald connected on back-to-back kills to push the MSU lead to 23-21. Junior rightside hitter Jourdain Kamps followed with a kill at 24-21 and closed out the frame with her sixth kill of the set.
"I thought we passed well the entire match," Houk said. "That allowed us to find some nice spaces and spread the offense. It was important to get Cam (Greenwald) and Jourdain involved."
Tied for the 11th time in the third set, the Cowgirls rattled off two points to take a 21-19 cushion in the late going and held the lead down the stretch winning on back-to-back kills by Corin Carruth.
"I felt we got our service game going in the third set," Houk said. "We made a change from serving too soft. We needed to be more aggressive, and we greenlit them. We took some risks, for some rewards.
"I also felt good about how were playing and both teams were siding out well," he added.
Set four saw ten ties and five lead changes. The set was even at 23-all in the late going with Wyoming just points away from taking the match. However, a Thomsen kill gave MSU a one-point lead which dissipated quickly on a kill by Wyoming's Evelyn Udezue. Thomsen recorded her fourth kill of the game for set point and Courtney Weatherby, who came off the bench for MSU, closed out the scoring on a kill off the block.
Weatherby, a junior from Kuna, Idaho, had three kills in the fourth set. "Courtney really played her role well, and hit some big shots," Houk said. "That's what this team has done all season, our bench has been amazing."
MSU bottled the momentum from the fourth set and opened it early in the final frame taking a 7-3 lead following a Jordan Radick solo block. Following Wyoming's first time out, the Bobcats continued playing side-out ball, never letting the Cowgirls get closer than three points. UW took its final time out at 12-8, but MSU responded closing out the match on a Thomsen kill followed by a Nellie Stevenson service ace.
"At each time out, we reminded our kids to be present and play one point at a time, that's all we can control," Houk said. "Getting an ace to finish out the match was pretty cool. It was a total team effort in a hostile environment. I just loved the energy our bench gave to the team."
Thomsen finished with 24 kills, a .383 attack mark, three aces, 10 digs and three blocks, while Kamps added 12 kills, six digs and three blocks. Greenwald led MSU with six blocks, while adding seven kills. Stevenson finished with 32 assists, three kills and ten digs.
Defensively, Lauren Lindseth paced the back row with 18 digs, while adding eight assists.
As a team, the Bobcats outhit the Cowgirls .294 to .288, including .538 to .190 in the fifth and deciding set. MSU also held advantages in aces and blocks.
The Bobcats have gone 5-1 in postseason play, all on the road. MSU has also won ten of its last 11 matches.
Team Stats
MSU
UW
Kills
64
74
Errors
17
25
Attempts
160
170
Hitting %
.294
.288
Points
82.0
86.0
Assists
59
69
Aces
7
4
Blocks
11
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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