Cats Keep Streak Alive at St. Thomas

Thursday, August 31

St. Paul, MN

6 p.m. (MT)

Montana State University

4-0,0-0Big Sky

St. Thomas

0-4,0-0Summit League

Montana St.

St. Thomas (MN)

Nellie Stevenson (23) and Camryn Greenwald attack on offense, Thursday night against St. Thomas.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

8/31/2023 10:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Montana State’s 4-0 start to the season is the program’s best since a Dave Gantt-led squad went 12-0 to begin the 2001 campaign.

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State fought off three set points in the fourth game and Kira Thomsen's 28^th kill of the match gave the Bobcats a 25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 29-27 victory over St. Thomas in the opening match of the Tommie Invitational on Thursday night in Schoenecker Arena.

Montana State's 4-0 start to the season is the program's best since a Dave Gantt-led squad went 12-0 to begin the 2001 campaign.

The Bobcats opened the contest taking an early 7-4 advantage on a Madilyn Siebler kill. Siebler, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., struck again to give MSU an 18-12 lead at the midway mark and Montana State closed out the frame on a 6-0 run capped by a Lauren Lindseth service ace.

"It was a pretty clean game from the start," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "We had good numbers hitting and we were in control. At the end, we had some good serves and knocked them out of system."

St. Thomas (0-4) got out to a 10-3 cushion in the second stanza and held a 19-14 advantage, before MSU answered with an 11-2 run highlighted by six kills from Thomsen. MSU captured the set on a Tommie hitting error.

"St. Thomas made some nice adjustments, but we were able to grind out set two," Houk said.

The Tommies got off to another quick start in set three taking a 12-9 advantage and building the margin to 22-17 forcing a MSU time out. The Cats came out of the huddle with a 6-1 run to even the contest at 23-all following a kill via setter Nellie Stevenson. UST closed out the frame with two consecutive points.

"We challenged our kids a bunch," Houk commented. "Our standards are high, and we held them to performing at a level of who we want to be. They're doing a nice job trying to figure it out."

St. Thomas held the momentum in the fourth set owning a 15-9 advantage, but the Bobcats answered with a 9-3 run to even the contest at 18-all. The set was tied nine times down the stretch with UST fighting off two match points and MSU three set points. At 27-all, the Bobcats closed out the contest following a Tommie hitting miscue and a Thomsen kill.

"We learned a lot about our resiliency," Houk said. "We did a great job hanging in there and fighting to the end."

Thomsen, a senior outside hitter from Parker, Colo., finished four kills away from matching her career-best, while posting a .264 attack mark. She also chipped in 14 digs and a block.

"Kira really carried a load and was very hot at times," Houk said. "She took some big-time swings down the stretch."

Also in double-figure kills were Siebler 13 and Jourdain Kamps 11. Siebler recorded a career-high 25 digs and notched three aces, while Kamps hit .314, and added seven digs and two blocks.

"I really love how Madilyn responds to situations," Houk commented. "She came out when we upgraded our serve-receive, then regrouped, and came back stronger than before. Jourdain has really bought in to getting better bit-by-bit."

Junior transfer Nellie Stevenson dished out 40 assists to go with five kills, a .571 attack mark and four digs. Avery Turnage paced the Cats at the net with a team-high five blocks. Libero Lauren Lindseth once again anchored the back row with a career-high 34 digs- just four shy of MSU's match record. The sophomore from Great Falls averaged 8.5 digs per set.

"Lauren continues to be our rock," Houk said. "She is so steady and just a very nice presence at the libero position."

MSU faces Milwaukee on Friday at 3 p.m. (MT).