Volleyball Downs Vikings in Three Set Win

Saturday, October 10

Portland, OR

8:00 pm MT

Montana State University

11-6,4-2Big Sky

Portland State

6-11,2-4Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Montana St.	25	25	25	3
Portland St.	23	19	22	0

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/10/2026 11:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Montana State volleyball team earned its first win over Portland State since 2023 with a Saturday night sweep. The Bobcats (11-6, 4-2) downed the Vikings in three sets, marking the first win in Oregon for head coach Matt Houk.

"Anytime we can get a win on the road, it's a good night," Houk said. "This is a really competitive, balanced conference and road wins are at a premium. I think it was a really nice response to coming up a little short on Thursday. We felt like we played well at NAU and obviously didn't get the result we wanted. It was a fast turnaround from Flagstaff up to Portland, and I thought we came out and performed quite well with three hitters in double digits once again."

Montana State opened the match with a kill from Joelie Spelts, and led for the entirety of the first set, with just two tie scores. Freshman Elli Esko topped the Bobcats offensive efforts, with five kills on 10 attempts.

The second set was the most productive for MSU's offense, landing 17 kills while hitting .324. Spelts and Lauren Greeny each had five kills as the Bobcats led for the majority.

The Vikings opened the third set with a five-point scoring run, jumping ahead to 10-5. After trading points back and forth, Montana State fought back to a tie at 16, then a tie at 17 before regaining the lead at 18-17 with Esko's 10^th kill of the night. The Bobcats closed out the match at 25-22, securing their second conference win on the road.

As MSU outkilled PSU 49-23, three Bobcats ended the night in double-digit kills, led by Heidemann's 14. Esko had 11 kills and Spelts had an even 10, while Greeny paired 9 kills with 10 digs.

"Karli and Joelie are showing that they've been very consistent from night to night," Houk said. "We can really rely on their performance, and to add Esko coming off her first two conference appearances, they have all played exceptionally."

Nicolette Noble led the Bobcat defenders with 12 digs, while Karli Heidemann added nine. Teagan Jaynes rounded out the night with 41 assists, averaging 13.86 per set after recording a career-best 56 on Thursday.

"Teagan has been spreading the offense out really nicely," Houk said. "It makes it really hard to defend when you have no idea where the ball is going at any time. She is setting the ball really well, making quality decisions and playing some other pieces of the game well. She had six digs and a kill tonight, and has also been serving the ball really well."

Montana State returns to Bozeman on Oct. 15 and 17 to host Utah Tech and Southern Utah in their first meetings as Big Sky opponents. Individual match tickets are on sale now.

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For the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Montana State women's volleyball team, follow the Bobcats @MSUBobcatsVB on X, Instagram, and Facebook. Information on the Montana State athletic program can be found online at msubobcats.com or by following @MSUBobcats on X, @MontanaStateBobcats on Instagram, and @Montana State Bobcats on Facebook.