Bobcats Best Bengals in Third Straight Conference Win - Montana State University Athletics

Saturday, October 24

Bozeman, MT

7:00 p.m. MT

Montana State University

14-7,7-3Big Sky

Idaho State

15-7,6-3Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Idaho St.	16	22	25	14	1
Montana St.	25	25	19	25	3

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/24/2026 9:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

Bozeman, Mont. – The Montana State volleyball team won their third consecutive conference match, handing Idaho State it's third Big Sky loss of the season in a four-set battle on Saturday night.

"To go get a weekend sweep is huge for us," head coach Matt Houk said. "Idaho State is a talented team, coming in with only two losses and standing alone in second place. They have a couple of weapons, but we did a good job of weathering what they brought to the court. I'm really proud of our team's response after set three, which obviously wasn't a great set, but the sign of maturity is having that moment and coming back in set four and taking care of business."

The Bobcats (14-7, 7-3) improved their position to the postseason, outmatching the Bengals (15-7, 6-3) in nearly every category in front of another Bozeman crowd over 1,000 strong. Ending the night with 59 kills to ISU's 37 and six aces to the visitors' one, Montana State contributed to their case as one of the top teams in the conference this year.

"I can't say enough about the home crowd this season," Houk said. "Split weeks are interesting, so after getting the win on the road on Thursday, it was great to get back in Shroyer. The energy in the building was phenomena, and it feels like it gets better all the time. It was a great compliment to football's win earlier today, and it was so important to have those fans stick around."

MSU opened the match with the energy they left the floor with after Thursday night's win over Weber State, working their way up to a six-point scoring run. The first set was all Bobcats, as the team jumped ahead to 20-12, and allowed the Bengals to score just four points before closing out the set at 25-16.

The Bobcats led throughout the second set as well, with Idaho State getting within a point just three times in the 25-22 MSU victory. With the home crowd working in their favor, Montana State held the Bengals to just 16 kills and a .069 hitting percentage through the first two sets, while racking up 31 kills with a .194 efficiency.

After winning a challenge to open the third set, Idaho State stole the momentum from the Bobcats, leading by as much as 21-14. The Cats caught up to 19-23, but were unable to string together a run and ISU claimed their first and only set of the day two points later.

Despite the setback, the Bobcats battled right back and opened set four with another 4-0 run. Even though Idaho State took an early timeout, Montana State kept the run going, extending the lead to 11-3. The 17th kill of the night from Joelie Spelts put the Bobcats up 20-10. Karli Heidemann put the punctuation point on the win, sealing the match at 25-14.

"Our team is in a really good spot, and they're not letting the previous moment define their next moment," Houk said. "I love the way we are performing at the service line right now. It's tough to see those misses, but we're putting all kinds of pressure on people and we had six aces to Idaho State's one tonight. That's two in a row where we've only given up one ace in a match."

Spelts ended the night as the leader in kills, racking up 17 while continuing her trend of consistency hitting .667 and added three blocks. Heidemann was right behind with 14 kills and four digs and Lauren Greeny reached double-figures with 10 kills, 11 digs, three assists, two blocks, and a pair of service aces.

"Joelie is just doing such a nice job and she is nearly impossible to stop offensively," Houk said. "She continues to get better as a blocker every weekend, and she is such a steady leader on this team. She is a consistent voice. She's not going to waver. She is going to keep doing and saying the things we need her to do and drive this team's success."

Elli Esko and Elli Tufto split the outside position, Esko with five kills and Tufto with three. Alice Steman had one of her most productive nights with six kills on 14 attempts, three blocks, two digs and an assist.

Teagan Jaynes continued to be a key contributor in the offensive success of the Bobcats, finishing with 43 assists to average 10.56 per set on the weekend and added four kills on Saturday night. Holding down the court in the defensive rotations, Nicolette Noble finished with a team-high 14 digs with one ace, and Afton Thomsen contributed two aces and nine digs.

The Bobcats continue the season on the road at Southern Utah on Thursday, Oct. 29, before facing still undefeated Utah Tech on Friday, Oct. 30. MSU will return to Bozeman for its penultimate homestand of the season on Nov. 5 and Nov. 7 to host Portland State and Northern Arizona.

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