2023-11-19 06:46:47
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Montana State closed out its regular season Big Sky Conference schedule with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20 win over Portland State on Saturday night in Shroyer Gym. With the win, MSU finishes with 12 league victories, the most in schedule history, and its second-place finish in the standings is the highest for the Bobcats in the 36-year history of the conference.
“What a nice season for this team,” said MSU head coach Matt Houk. “But they know we aren’t done yet. When you take a breath and look at it through a very rational lens what a nice accomplishment by this group.
“To have the most wins in Big Sky play in school history and to have the most wins in a season since 2004, and to have a shot at the title going into the last match, we did what we could do,” he added. “We have a lot to be proud of, but we’ve also got some work to do.”
On Senior Night, Montana State (19-7, 12-4) jumped out to a 16-12 midway through the opening set and closed out the frame on back-to-back service aces via senior Shayla Webber.
“Shayla’s really been playing her role quite well,” Houk said. “The Sac State match on the road was when she got inserted into the starting line-up and she hasn’t come off the court since.”
Portland State (16-11, 9-7) turned the table in the second set, out-hitting MSU .318 to .162. The Vikings held a late 23-19 advantage before the Bobcats closed to within 23-22 on a Nellie Stevenson kill. PSU closed out the stanza on a kill by Sophia Meyers.
“We weren’t as clean as we were in set one, but we did have a nice finish to the set,” Houk stated. “We gave ourselves a chance down the stretch and got a nice little momentum boost going into set three.”
Montana State rode a 13-4 run midway through the third set to a seven-point win as Jordan Radick put the exclamation point on the game with her only kill of the set. Senior Avery Turnage also sparked MSU with three blocks.
“Avery Turnage was really good off the bench,” Houk said. “I’ve been saying it all year, but one of the unique things about our team is our depth. Every time we’ve inserted someone off the bench, they’ve been ready to go.”
The Bobcats held a 12-5 cushion in the final frame following a block by Radick and Stevenson. Portland State answered with seven consecutive points and the set was tied three times at the midway mark before MSU went on a 4-1 run sparked by the play Turnage. MSU held the margin down the stretch, and in typical Hollywood fashion, senior Kira Thomsen, MSU’s all-time career kills leader, hammered down the final shot.
“Senior Night is always a difficult night,” Houk said. “It’s an important one and it comes with additional emotions attached. It’s nice we performed in a controlled way to send them out with a victory in their last home match.”
Montana State finished 12-1 in Shroyer Gym this season, the best record in school history on the home hardwood, surpassing the 11-1 mark held by the 1998 and 1999 Bobcats.
Thomsen paced MSU with a match-high 22 kills, while adding 11 digs, three aces and two blocks. Also in double-digit kills was Madilyn Siebler with 13.
Defensively, MSU was led by Lauren Lindseth with a match-best 20 digs. Stevenson closed out the contest with 39 assists, six kills, and seven digs. Radick and Camryn Greenwald ended with a team-best four blocks apiece.
The Bobcats enter the Big Sky Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, in Greeley, Colo., and face No. 6 Montana at 4 p.m. in Bank of Colorado Arena. The Bobcats and Griz split their matches this fall, each winning on its home floor.
2023 Big Sky Volleyball Championship
Nov. 22-24 | Greeley, Colorado
Wednesday, Nov. 22
Match 1: #4 Weber State vs. #5 Portland State // Live Stats (10:00 a.m.)
Match 2: #1 Sacramento State vs. #8 Idaho State // Live Stats (1:00 p.m.)
Match 3: #3 Montana State vs. #6 Montana // Live Stats (4:00 p.m.)
Match 4: #2 Northern Colorado vs. #7 Eastern Washington // Live Stats (7:00 p.m.)
Thursday, Nov. 23
Match 5: Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2 // Live Stats (4:00 p.m )
Match 6: Winner of Match #3 vs. Winner of Match #4 // Live Stats (7:00 p.m.)
Friday, Nov. 24
Championship: Winner of Match #5 vs Winner of Match #6 // Live Stats (7:00 p.m.)
All matches streamed on ESPN+
All times in MT
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