Women's Volleyball
Jen Houk
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- Jennifer.houk@msubobcats.com
- Phone:
- 612.590.7846
Associate head coach Jen Houk kicks off her fourth season with the Bobcats, looking to improve upon a 46-43 record through three seasons at Montana State.
Houk serves as MSU’s offensive coordinator. Last season, she coached the Bobcats to their eighth consecutive appearance in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
She helped senior Camryn Greenwald accumulate the eighth best hitting percentage in the Big Sky, going .344 with 217 kills on the season. Houk also led Bobcat returner Karli Heidemann to 323 kills on the year, a mark which she looks to improve upon in 2026.
In 2024, the Bobcats finished among the top five in the Big Sky Conference in kills, points, and assists under Houk’s guidance. MSU finished the season averaging 16.88 points per set, up from the previous campaign.
Individually, Houk helped Jordan Radick to all-conference honors. The Bozeman native finished seventh in the league in hitting with a .318 attack mark, while graduate student Jourdain Kamps finished eighth in points averaging 3.60 per contest.
In 2023, Houk oversaw the Bobcats’ offensive side of the net, leading the team to a .223 overall attack mark, the highest efficiency rating for MSU since the 2002 season. In addition, the Bobcats averaged 16.78 points per set, which ranked among the top three in the Big Sky Conference.
Houk also saw senior Kira Thomsen lead the Big Sky averaging 4.20 kills and 4.78 points per set. Thomsen culminated her final year being named VolleyballMag.com All-America Honorable mention. MSU’s 24 overall victories were a Bobcat school record.
Houk brought a wealth of volleyball experience to Bozeman as a head coach, an assistant coach, a recruiting coordinator and a former NCAA Division I student-athlete. Most recently, she spent five seasons as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the Golden Gophers and played a key role in guiding Minnesota to a 22-9 overall mark and a 15-5 Big Ten ledger in 2022.
During her tenure at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers made five Sweet 16’s, an Elite Eight and a Final Four appearance. Houk coached six All-Big Ten honorees in 2022, including Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair and fellow First Team All-Big Ten selections Melani Shaffmaster and Carter Booth. Graduate libero CC McGraw earned second team honors while Booth and outside Mckenna Wucherer were Big Ten All-Freshman Team selections.
Prior to her time at UM, she spent one season as head coach at South Dakota Mines. She made the move to Rapid City, S.D., after serving as Illinois’ director of volleyball operations in 2016. Houk joined the Fighting Illini after a three-year stint at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she was an assistant coach with the Redhawks volleyball team, followed by moving into an administrative assistant role with the business office.
While at Miami (OH), she earned the AVCA 30 Under 30 Award. In May of 2014, Houk moved to the Redhawks business office, where she worked as the primary point of contact for nine sports, sports medicine, and the marketing department. She also served on the Council of Diversity and Inclusion for the university senate and the Classified Personnel Advisory Committee.
Houk served as an assistant coach at Maryland Baltimore County in 2012. She also has experience with the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team, where she was a technical assistant in 2011 and served as an intern in the summer of 2010.
During her professional career, she has numerous years of experience working as a head and assistant coach for the Borderline Volleyball Club, T-Street Volleyball Club, Colorado North Starts, Grand Valley High School and Premier Volleyball Club.
Houk started her collegiate playing career at Northeastern Junior College (Colo.) in 2003, before transferring to Colorado State for her senior season in 2006. She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science from CSU. Following her playing career, Houk served as an interim assistant coach and technical coordinator for the Rams.
Houk serves as MSU’s offensive coordinator. Last season, she coached the Bobcats to their eighth consecutive appearance in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
She helped senior Camryn Greenwald accumulate the eighth best hitting percentage in the Big Sky, going .344 with 217 kills on the season. Houk also led Bobcat returner Karli Heidemann to 323 kills on the year, a mark which she looks to improve upon in 2026.
In 2024, the Bobcats finished among the top five in the Big Sky Conference in kills, points, and assists under Houk’s guidance. MSU finished the season averaging 16.88 points per set, up from the previous campaign.
Individually, Houk helped Jordan Radick to all-conference honors. The Bozeman native finished seventh in the league in hitting with a .318 attack mark, while graduate student Jourdain Kamps finished eighth in points averaging 3.60 per contest.
In 2023, Houk oversaw the Bobcats’ offensive side of the net, leading the team to a .223 overall attack mark, the highest efficiency rating for MSU since the 2002 season. In addition, the Bobcats averaged 16.78 points per set, which ranked among the top three in the Big Sky Conference.
Houk also saw senior Kira Thomsen lead the Big Sky averaging 4.20 kills and 4.78 points per set. Thomsen culminated her final year being named VolleyballMag.com All-America Honorable mention. MSU’s 24 overall victories were a Bobcat school record.
Houk brought a wealth of volleyball experience to Bozeman as a head coach, an assistant coach, a recruiting coordinator and a former NCAA Division I student-athlete. Most recently, she spent five seasons as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the Golden Gophers and played a key role in guiding Minnesota to a 22-9 overall mark and a 15-5 Big Ten ledger in 2022.
During her tenure at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers made five Sweet 16’s, an Elite Eight and a Final Four appearance. Houk coached six All-Big Ten honorees in 2022, including Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair and fellow First Team All-Big Ten selections Melani Shaffmaster and Carter Booth. Graduate libero CC McGraw earned second team honors while Booth and outside Mckenna Wucherer were Big Ten All-Freshman Team selections.
Prior to her time at UM, she spent one season as head coach at South Dakota Mines. She made the move to Rapid City, S.D., after serving as Illinois’ director of volleyball operations in 2016. Houk joined the Fighting Illini after a three-year stint at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she was an assistant coach with the Redhawks volleyball team, followed by moving into an administrative assistant role with the business office.
While at Miami (OH), she earned the AVCA 30 Under 30 Award. In May of 2014, Houk moved to the Redhawks business office, where she worked as the primary point of contact for nine sports, sports medicine, and the marketing department. She also served on the Council of Diversity and Inclusion for the university senate and the Classified Personnel Advisory Committee.
Houk served as an assistant coach at Maryland Baltimore County in 2012. She also has experience with the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team, where she was a technical assistant in 2011 and served as an intern in the summer of 2010.
During her professional career, she has numerous years of experience working as a head and assistant coach for the Borderline Volleyball Club, T-Street Volleyball Club, Colorado North Starts, Grand Valley High School and Premier Volleyball Club.
Houk started her collegiate playing career at Northeastern Junior College (Colo.) in 2003, before transferring to Colorado State for her senior season in 2006. She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science from CSU. Following her playing career, Houk served as an interim assistant coach and technical coordinator for the Rams.
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, January 18
Daniel Jones Weekly Press Conference
Monday, November 15
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Portland
Saturday, September 04
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Utah State
Friday, September 03
