Volleyball Falls in Flagstaff

Thursday, October 8

Flagstaff, AZ

7:00 pm MT

Montana State University

10-6,3-2Big Sky

Northern Arizona

10-7,3-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Montana St.	23	22	27	19	1
Northern Ariz.	25	25	25	25	3

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/8/2026 10:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Kate Cooney

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Montana State volleyball team fought through four sets before falling 3-1 to Northern Arizona on Thursday night. Although the Bobcats (10-6, 3-2) kept the Lumberjacks (10-7, 3-2) within reach, untimely errors prevented MSU from earning a conference win on the road.

"This was another really good volleyball match between two teams that have a lot of talent that went toe-to-toe for most of the match," head coach Matt Houk said. "Three of the four sets were decided by three points or less."

Montana State opened the match with an early lead, remaining in close contention with NAU through a tie at 21, before the hosts took the first set 25-23. The second fell in a similar fashion, with the two teams trading the lead through 12 tie scores before NAU secured a 25-22 win.

The third set was the most productive for the Bobcats, who hit .231 with 20 kills as a team while holding NAU to a .128 hitting percentage. Swapping scores to 25-25, MSU won the next two to claim their only set victory of the evening.

The Bobcats outkilled the Lumberjacks in each of the first three sets, with MSU's four leading killers all reaching double digits. Karli Heidemann and Joelie Spelts each notched 17 with Spelts hitting .438. Freshman Elli Esko had her best performance of the season with 13, while Lauren Greeny had a complete effort with 10 kills, seven digs and a service ace.

"I was happy with our offensive production tonight, with four hitters in double digit kills again," Houk said. "We outkilled them by nine kills, but they were just a bit more efficient than us offensively."

Three more Bobcats also ended with double figure digs, led by Nicolette Noble's 17. Heidemann paired her offensive effort with 15 kills and Teagan Jaynes added 13 digs to her career-best 56 assists.

"Our defensive performance was also something to be proud of from a digs standpoint," Houk said. "I thought we scrambled really well behind the block and were able to stay in a lot of rallies because of that."

Montana State won the first point of the fourth set, but were unable to fend off the Lumberjacks as they found a rhythm and closed the match with a 25-19 win, the largest score differential over the four sets.

"There are a couple of solid lessons for us to learn after this," Houk said. "One thing we're going to have to do down the stretch is win a couple matches on the road. This is a really tough travel league, so we need to continue to be aggressive on the road and come away with a couple wins."

The Bobcats continue their road trip at Portland State on Saturday, as they seek their first Big Sky win on the road. MSU will return to Bozeman on Oct. 15 and 17 to host Utah Tech and Southern Utah in their first meetings as Big Sky opponents.

Follow the Bobcats
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.