BOZEMAN — The last time a Montana State volleyball team defeated a school from the current Pac-12 Conference, gas was $1.22 a gallon, and Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love topped the charts.
Behind 14 kills from Kira Thomsen, along with 13 from Madilyn Siebler and 12 from Jourdain Kamps, the Bobcats rallied for a 14-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-21, 15-13 season-opening victory over Oregon State on Friday afternoon at the Bobcat/Blackridge Invite in Shroyer Gym.
It’s the Bobcats’ first triumph over a Pac-12 program since 1990.
“The crazy thing about sports is that there are so many unpredictable things,” said MSU coach Matt Houk, who won in his debut as MSU’s head coach. “The cool thing about volleyball, and the thing that drives volleyball coaches nuts, is one set doesn’t win or lose a match. We didn’t play well in the two sets we lost, yet those didn’t define us.
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“This team is inching itself towards learning that they can be something different than their past. There’s a learning curve with that. The best thing we did out there was stay together and have lots of people contribute.”
Montana State got off to a slow start as Oregon State outhit the Bobcats .357 to .000 in the opening set. Siebler, a sophomore outside hitter from Omaha, Nebraska, got on track in the second stanza with back-to-back aces giving MSU a 14-9 advantage. MSU held off a late Beaver charge winning the set on a kill by Jordan Radick.
MSU mirrored itself in set three as OSU jumped to an 8-1 lead and cruised to the win behind a .370 attack.
The Beavers held the momentum in set four taking a 14-9 advantage, before Kamps ended the run with a pair of kills and two blocks. Kamp’s service ace gave MSU its first lead at 18-17 — a lead it wouldn’t relinquish to set up a fifth and deciding game.
“What a great run in set four, when it could’ve been really easy to lay down after set three,” Houk said. “This team showed some will to fight.”
MSU opened the final set taking the first three points and pushed the margin to 8-2 on an Avery Turnage winner. The Cats held a 10-4 lead following an OSU hitting miscue, but the Beavers rallied with a 9-4 run to close to within 14-13. Oregon State’s 21st hitting error gave the Bobcats the two-point win.
OSU outhit MSU .257 to .113 and held advantages in assists, digs and blocks. Montana State won the service game with 11 aces, including four from libero Lauren Lindseth. The sophomore from Great Falls paced MSU with a match-high 20 digs.
“Lauren was our rock,” Houk said. “She had 20 digs, handled the serve-receive load and kept us in system a ton.”
OSU is coming off its fifth straight losing season and went 12-48 combined in 2021 and 2022.
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