Cats Squash Roadrunners

Friday, September 5

Spokane, WA

3:30 pm MT

Montana State University

3-2,0-0Big Sky

CSU Bakersfield

0-5,0-0Big West

Montana St.

CSU Bakersfield

Freshman Elli Tufto

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

9/5/2025 6:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“In between sets two and three we talked a little bit about being frustrated, but we knew we were playing well, and that if we kept doing the same things and taking away some of the errors, we would be okay.”

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State pulled off its first reverse sweep of the season rallying for a 22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 15-8 win over Cal State Bakersfield, Friday afternoon at the Gonzaga Invite. The win was MSU's second straight five-set victory.

Montana State (3-2) held leads in the opening two sets but were unable to hold on to the advantage down the stretch as Cal State Bakersfield (0-5) outhit the Bobcats .237 to .080.

"I thought we played reasonably well in the first two sets," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "We were a little high error, but we were playing in rhythm and making plays.

"In between sets two and three we talked a little bit about being frustrated, but we knew we were playing well, and that if we kept doing the same things and taking away some of the errors, we would be okay."

The Bobcats trailed 20-16 in the third set before going on a 5-0 run highlighted by an Afton Thomsen service ace. The two teams were tied three times down the stretch before the Bobcats pulled away at 23-all behind a Karli Heidemann kill and a block via Makenzie Jackson and Camryn Greenwald. The Bobcats outhit the Roadrunners .308 to .119 in the frame.

MSU kept its momentum in set four jumping out to an 11-4 lead. Cal State Bakersfield closed to within two-points, twice, but the Bobcats secured the win following a Roadrunner hitting error to force a fifth and deciding set.

Leading 8-5 at the cross over in set five, MSU rattled off a 3-1 run to take an 11-6 margin on a kill from freshman Elli Tufto. The Bobcats closed out the match on a 4-2 run capped by a Heidemann kill.

"The last three sets were pretty good," Houk said. "We were pretty efficient, stayed in control, and took advantage of the space that was there.

Tufto, an outside hitter from Prior Lake, Minn., finished with a season-best 15 kills, while Heidemann and Jackson added 14 and 10, respectively.

"Tuffy (Tufto) took a bunch of swings and did a nice job of mixing them up," Houk said. "We continue to lean on Karli (Heidemann). She took some big swings and carried a big load. I also thought Kenzie (Jackson) did a nice job finding the open space."

Freshman setter Teagan Jaynes dished out 45 assists and added six kills, eight digs, four blocks and an ace. "Teagan worked through some stuff throughout the match but did an excellent job setting the pins. I also thought it was her best blocking performance of the season."

Lauren Lindseth guided MSU in the backrow with a match-high 22 digs. Thomsen added seven saves and notched a career-high three aces.

"Afton (Thomsen) got her first start and played well, serving and digging," Houk said. "Overall, it was a pretty good performance start to finish."

MSU plays Gonzaga at 3 p.m. (MT) on Saturday to close out the tournament.