Cats Solid in Opener, Fall to Huskies in Four

Friday, August 30

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

0-1,0-0Big Sky

(RV) Washington

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Washington

Montana St.

Jourdain Kamps had seven kills against Washington on Friday night.

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

8/30/2024 10:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“I thought there was way more good than bad,” said second-hear head coach Matt Houk.

By: Tom Schulz

Prior to its match against Washington on Friday night in Shroyer Gym, Montana State unfurled the first banner in the history of the program. The Bobcats paid homage to its Fab Four finish last fall in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

Moments later, last year's success was in the rearview mirror as MSU hosted the Huskies, who entered the season opener receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll. The Big Ten newcomer overcame a gritty Bobcat squad posting a 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 25-20 win in front of 1,232 fans.

"I thought there was way more good than bad," said second-hear head coach Matt Houk. "We did a lot of good things and obviously we had few runs of moments that hurt us, got stuck in some rotations and couldn't find a way out of them, and we tried to be creative and try some different things. You take away some of those rotations, who knows, you give yourself a chance."

Washington (1-0) jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the opening set, but Montana State (0-1) battled back to within two points on a Jourdain Kamps kill. The Huskies used a 5-1 run at the midway mark of the stanza and captured the opening set on a Kiune Fletcher kill.

MSU grabbed the momentum in the second set owing a 12-10 advantage following a Nellie Stevenson kill. The set featured five ties in the middle of the game before Washington opened a 21-18 lead on a Fletcher kill. The Bobcats responded with a 5-2 run to even the contest following a block by Kamps and Jordan Radick. UW fought off two set points before the Bobcats took the frame following a Madi Endsley hitting error.

"We came out of the gates well," Houk said. "Our kids did well in their preparation, and they felt a sense of confidence going into the match. They felt liked the belonged and there was never a moment when they felt we shouldn't be on the court."

MSU faltered in the final two sets hitting just .000 and .071 from the floor, respectively. Still, the Bobcats never bent and took a 19-17 lead in the fourth set following a kill via Madilyn Siebler. Washington closed out the match on an 8-1 run.

"I liked the way we battled," Houk said. "We chased down a lot of balls, we were scrappy, and we started blocking in the second half of the match. The next evolution of a program that's building is learning how to play at the level you're capable of for long periods of time against good teams."

Camryn Greenwald paced the Bobcats with a team-high 11 kills, while registering a .400 attack mark and four blocks. Radick, a senior from Bozeman, ended with seven kills, a .400 attack mark and two blocks, while Kamps also added seven kills and two blocks.

Karli Heidemann, a redshirt freshman from Diller, Nebraska completed her first collegiate outing with nine kills, while fellow Nebraskan Siebler posted six kills and a team-high 14 digs.

Washington had three players in double-figure kills led by Endsley and Fletcher with 16 apiece.

Montana State hosts Middle Tennessee on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.