Bobcats Down Thunderbirds in Fifth Conference Win

Saturday, October 17

Bozeman, MT

7:00 pm MT

Montana State University

12-7,5-3Big Sky

Southern Utah

1-17,0-7Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Southern Utah	16	28	16	31	1
Montana St.	25	26	25	33	3

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/17/2026 11:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

BOZEMAN, Mont. – In front of the largest crowd in Shroyer Gym this season, the Montana State volleyball team downed Southern Utah in a four set fight. The Bobcats (12-7, 5-3) collected their fourth win on the home court with 1,334 MSU faithful present, while the Thunderbirds (1-17, 0-7) remain winless in conference play.

"That one was a bit of an emotional roller coaster," head coach Matt Houk said. "It was just one of those nights where I don't think we played particularly close to where we've been playing. We hit really well in set one, but our hitting efficiency dropped and there were a lot of little plays we weren't making. I'm proud of our kids for sticking with it. It didn't necessarily feel good all the time, and maybe it's not supposed to, but we got it done."

Trading out the usual Blue and Gold for pink for the annual Pack the Place in Pink match, the Bobcats found their rhythm early on Saturday night, with a nine-point victory in the opening set.

Southern Utah was able to reverse the momentum in the second set, forcing the Bobcats to trade nine lead changes back and forth. The Thunderbirds led by two at 23-21, but Montana State scored the next two after a timeout by Houk. Southern Utah interrupted the run and the teams tied at 25 and then again at 26 before the visitors took the set at 28-26.

MSU responded with a dominant third set, leading for the entirety of the 25-16 win. Blocks played a big part in the match for the Bobcats, who improved to10-2 when out-blocking their opponents this season. Karli Heidemann was at the top of the stat sheet in the category, with a career-high five by the close of the third set and seven at the end of the night.

"We have been putting a lot of emphasis on improving our blocking this season," Houk said. "I think we have the physicality to be a really good blocking team, but we need to keep working in that area. It was nice to be able to perform a little bit, and hopefully by the time we get to the final stretch of the season, that is the kind of blocking team we can become."

Although Montana State led 19-14 in the fourth set, Southern Utah did not go down without a fight. Pushing through six match-point opportunities in favor of the Bobcats, MSU finally closed the set at 33-31 on Lauren Greeny's 12^th kill of the night.

Joelie Spelts led offensive efforts for the Bobcats hitting .483 and landing six of 16 kills in the fourth and final set. Teagan Janyes distributed her 51 assists widely across Montana State's hitters, with Greeny, Heidemann and freshman Elli Esko all ending the night with 12 kills.

"Esko is providing some really nice offense for us right now," Houk said. "She definitely has her freshman moments, but you can't be bummed about a freshman outside that's killing the ball about 40% of the time that she swings, and she's going to keep learning. She had a couple big block moments for us as well, so that was really nice to see. We have a lot of pins that can do work any given night, and they're all doing a really good job of playing team volleyball in that way."

After earning a spot in the starting lineup, Alice Steman was a force amongst Bobcat blockers contributing a career-best eight blocks and five kills to the team's 15 total blocks. Joining Steman's defensive efforts, Nicolette Noble covered the floor with 17 digs. Greeny was close behind with 14, and Afton Thomsen paired 10 digs with a pair of service aces.

"I think Pack the Place in Pink is such an important cause, and to see the community come out and support it in this way is incredible," Houk said. "Bozeman did not disappoint. Fans just keep coming and they are seeing what good volleyball looks like, and we are very excited to continue to be a part of that."