Volleyball Heads to Weber State Before Hosting Idaho State

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Marking the midpoint of the conference season, the Montana State volleyball team travels to Utah to face Weber State on Thursday before returning to Shroyer Gym to host Idaho State on Saturday.

The Bobcats (12-7, 5-3) and Wildcats (12-6, 5-3) are 42-45 all time, with each team earning a win on their home court last season. MSU and ISU (14-6, 7-9) are tied at 43 wins each in the series, including home wins for the programs last season. Montana State defeated both the Wildcats and the Bengals in Bozeman to start 2025, but fell on the road during the second half of conference play. MSU is coming off a five-set fight with Utah Tech and a win over Southern Utah last Saturday. The weekend's results will play a role in the Big Sky standings, as Montana State, Weber State and Northern Colorado share 5-3 records in conference play.

Thursday's match at Weber State will begin at 6:00 p.m., while the first serve in Bozeman will be at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available via StatBroadcast. Discounted tickets will be available on Saturday for fans coming from MSU's football game.

SPELTS STANDING OUT
Senior Joelie Spelts has been Montana State's most consistent star this season. Coming in at No. 30 in the NCAA's best hitting percentages, Spelts leads MSU with 222 kills and averages 2.85 per set while hitting .399. In the Bobcats' win over Idaho, Spelts established a new school record, hitting .846 with 11 kills on 13 attempts. The previous single-match hitting record was held by Cori Carper, who hit .824 against VCU in 1996, and requires a minimum of 12 attack attempts. Spelt's .846 marks the 15th best single-match percentage on 10-14 attempts in the NCAA this year.

KARLI'S KILLING IT
Senior outside hitter Karli Heidemann leads the Bobcats with 3.22 kills per set this season, the sixth-best average in the conference. After missing sets early in the season due to injury, Heidemann has returned to her regular role on MSU's offense, leading the team's kills in eight of the last 10 matches. Heidemann's 216 kills are second best amongst MSU, just six behind Joelie Spelts. With 16 service aces and 30 blocks, the senior has accounted for 249 Bobcat points.

TEE IT UP
Outside hitter and former MSU golfer, Lauren Greeny is high on the stat sheet in several categories after making her return to collegiate volleyball this season. After a knee injury sidelined her career as a freshman in high school, the 5th year's return to the court has exceeded expectations as she has totaled 197 digs, 161 kills, 30 assists, 17 aces, and 39 blocks across 77 sets this season.

NOBLE EFFORTS
After a standout season-opening performance in Easton, sophomore libero Nicolette Noble was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Starting all three matches in the first week of the season, Noble made a career-high 24 digs against Marist. Noble then bested her career mark at the Mercer Invitational, logging 28 digs in the preseason finale with Georgia State, en route to her second Big Sky weekly recognition. After surpassing 500 career digs against Southern Utah, she continues to lead the Bobcat defense with 314 digs and 19 starts at libero this season.

SETTING UP SUCCESS
At the core of the Bobcat offense, sophomore Teagan Jaynes was named Big Sky Co-Offensive Player of the Week after an outstanding performance at NAU and PSU. Averaging 9.47 assists per set this season, Jaynes has already surpassed 1,500 career assists and is just 100 away from earning a spot at No. 10 on Montana State's career assists list. She is second in the Big Sky with 710 sets this season, adding to 154 digs, 63 kills and 25 service aces.

OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Five Bobcats have surpassed triple digits on offense this season. Joelie Spelts leads the team with 222 kills, while Karli Heidemann sits just behind at 216. Lauren Greeny is up to 161, while Elli Tufto has 122 so far. Playing in just 44 sets this season, freshman Elli Esko is latest to make the mark, reaching 108 kills last weekend. Setter Teagan Jaynes continues to distribute opportunities throughout the offense, targeting a variety of hitters and adding a challenge of her own as she has totaled 63 kills while hitting .232.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Led by Nicolette Noble's 314 digs, three more Bobcats have surpassed the 100 mark this season. Lauren Greeny has racked up 197, Teagan Jaynes is up to 154, and Karli Heidemann was latest to the triple-digit club with 126. Settling into her role as defensive specialist, sophomore Afton Thomsen has recorded 81 digs with an increased presence on the court in conference play.

UNDER THE BIG SKY
Several Bobcats have found their way into the top of the Big Sky standings so far. Joelie Spelts holds the second-best hitting percentage at .399. Teagan Jaynes ranks second amongst setters, averaging 9.47 assists per set with 710 total. Jaynes also boasts the seventh-best aces per set average at 0.33, with a team-leading 25 aces so far. Karli Heidemann sits at sixth with a 3.22 kills per set average, as well as averaging 3.72 points per set. Alice Steman is averaging 0.92 blocks per set, with 45 total, coming in at No. 10 in the conference standings. Nicolette Noble ranks sixth with her 4.03 digs per set average. As a team, the Bobcats are third in the league with 13.03 kills per set, second with a .233 hitting percentage, and second with 12.01 assists per set.

SPLIT THE ROAD TRIP
After losing by a narrow margin at Northern Arizona last Thursday, Montana State bounced back with a sweep over Portland State. The Bobcats outkilled the Vikings 49-23 in the first win over the Oregon team since 2023. Four MSU players were in double-digit kills between both matches, with Karli Heidemann and Joelie Spelts leading the way at NAU totaling 17 a piece. Freshman Elli Esko clocked a career-best 13 and Lauren Greeny added to MSU's 66 kills with 10 of her own. At PSU, Heidemann led the way with 14 kills, while Esko had 11 and Spelts had 10.

TOOK THE MAIN LINE BACK TO BOZEMAN
In the 2026 Big Sky opener, the Bobcats downed the Montana Grizzlies in a four-set win. A trio of double-digit hitters paced the offense for the Bobcats, as Karli Heidemann led the team with 13 kills and added 11 digs. Senior Joelie Spelts was just behind with 12, hitting .409 on the night, in addition to eight blocks. As a team, the Bobcats led in nearly every category with 49 kills, 78 digs and 14 blocks to the Grizzlies' 44 kills, 73 digs and five blocks.

FIVE SET FIGHTING
Since the season opener against Delaware, seven of Montana State's games this season have finished after five sets, with five resulting in wins for the Bobcats. The Cats are 8-2 when winning the first set, and 5-1 when winning the first two.

PRESEASON PROGRESS
After concluding the non-conference season with a pair of wins at the Mercer Invitational, the Bobcats finished preseason play with a 7-4 record. Seven wins equal the most wins under Matt Houk since his inaugural season in 2023, when the Cats went 7-3 before Big Sky action began.

CAN'T BLOCK THE CATS
Montana State has allowed the second fewest blocks per set amongst Big Sky teams, averaging 1.67 per set. Through 78 sets, the Bobcats have been blocked just 130 times, making way for offensive opportunities.

BESTED THE BISON
In the first game of the Bobcat Invitational, Montana State downed North Dakota State 3-2 in a five-set fight. MSU and NDSU posted even stat lines throughout the match, with momentum alternating between the sets. MSU fell behind early in the decider as NDSU crept ahead to a 6-1 lead, but the Cats showed no quit and battled back to a tie at ten before a 5-0 run to secure the victory.

STARTED WITH A SWEEP
Montana State opened the season with a weekend sweep at the Maroon and White Classic. With three wins in two days, the Bobcats are off to their best start since Houk's inaugural season in 2023. The MSU trio of Elli Esko, Nicolette Noble and Joelie Spelts earned all-tournament honors in Easton. Esko made her collegiate debut, powering the offense with 33 kills and a .329 pct. Noble, also named tournament MVP, was a key component in the defense and passing game, while Spelts racked up 29 kills and 11 blocks.

KEEP AN EYE OUT
Sophomore setter Teagan Jaynes and senior blocker Joelie Spelts were named to the All-Big Sky Conference Preseason Volleyball team. The pair of Bobcats join nine athletes expected to play a significant role in Big Sky action this season. Montana State was selected to finish sixth as a team.

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Players Mentioned

Elli Esko

Lauren Greeny

Karli Heidemann

Teagan Jaynes

Nicolette Noble

Joelie Spelts

Alice Steman

Afton Thomsen

Elli Tufto

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