Cats Close Weekend with Victory over Eagles

Saturday, October 3

Bozeman, MT

2:00 pm MT

Montana State University

10-5,3-1Big Sky

Eastern Washington

8-8,2-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Eastern Wash.	25	26	20	21	1
Montana St.	22	28	25	25	3

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/3/2026 6:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State volleyball earned its third win of Big Sky play on Saturday afternoon, downing Eastern Washington in four sets. The Bobcats (10-5, 3-1) and the Eagles (8-8, 2-2) both entered the match with two conference wins and traded points in an evenly matched tilt, giving Montana State its second straight victory.

"That was two really good volleyball teams that were making life hard on each other," head coach Matt Houk said. "It was hard to score for both teams. It was hard to find points because the other team was serving tough and blocking and defending well. Even though the hitting numbers from both teams are not super high, I think that's due to how well the opponent was playing on both phases. I thought that was really good volleyball between two teams that have a chance to be competitive in every game."

A trio of upperclassmen powered the MSU offense with Lauren Greeny, Karli Heidemann, and Joelie Spelts all surpassing the 10-kill mark. Meanwhile, the defensive duo of sophomores Nicolette Noble and Afton Thomsen covered the floor, joining Greeny in double-digit digs.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead in the first set, but Eastern Washington strung together a late run to claim a 25-22 win. MSU's offense started slowly, with Greeny and Spelts only able to land three kills apiece on nine attempts.

Montana State then rallied through extra points to a 28-26 second set, thanks to a match-high 19 kills from the team. The Bobcats then took the third 25-20. Heidemann and Spelts each reached the double-digit kill mark before the end of the third set.

With seven kills in the first three sets, Teagan Jaynes had one of her most balanced efforts of the season. Jaynes neared a triple-double with 43 assists, nine digs and eight kills at the end of the match.

"Teagan's ability to be offensive is going to be important for us down the stretch," Houk said. "When you have a setter that teams have to worry about, that adds an additional attacker in the front row; people have to jump with her. She held a lot of blocks for Joelie down the stretch, which has been a point of emphasis for her. When you're getting eight kills and a .434 average out of your setter, as well as over 10 assists per set, that's a good day."

Despite the consecutive wins from Montana State, Eastern Washington found momentum early in the fourth set, jumping ahead to a 14-10 lead. Three straight errors by the Eagles gave MSU the opportunity they needed to score 13 of the last 20 points to close the match with a 25-21 score.

Heidemann finished at the top of the stat sheet for the Bobcats with 16 kills, hitting .222. Spelts was just behind with 14 kills while hitting .333, paired with three blocks, and Greeny totaled 13 kills with a career-best 22 digs.

"I think Joelie's night ends up being the one to talk about," Houk said. "Coming off her record-setting performance on Thursday night, she had that hanging over her head and started set one really slowly. For her to bounce back and end up hitting over .300 was a real sign of maturity.

Noble had a perfect 1.00 reception percentage while handling 20 balls and ended the day with a team-leading 24 digs alongside six assists. Thomsen posted a season-best 11 digs, contributing to the team's total of 79.

"Afton is starting to feel comfortable in the defensive specialist role, and she's adding a really nice layer to our serve-receive," Houk said. "Nicolette was seeing the hitters really well tonight. She was simple with her movements and kept us in a bunch of rallies. She has been proving why she's been Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and is a libero that people should take notice of."

Only nine Bobcats saw the court on Saturday, with Lauren Schloe and Elli Tufto adding three digs to the team's total of 61. Schloe led the Bobcats in blocks, with two solo and two assists. Freshman Elli Esko contributed four kills while playing three sets.

Montana State continues conference play on Oct. 8 at Northern Arizona, before traveling to Portland State on Oct. 10. The Bobcats return to Shroyer Gym on Oct. 15 and 17 to host Utah Tech and Southern Utah, respectively, in their first matches as Big Sky foes. Tickets for all home volleyball games are on sale now.