<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ahjlc_0vjPNDOs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ahjlc_0vjPNDOs00" width="1884" height="1060" ><figcaption>Mark Kuhlmann</figcaption></figure><h2>Story Links</h2>NEXT UP: Montana State opens its 2024 Big Sky Conference schedule on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Sacramento State. The match with the Hornets is slated for 8 p.m. (MT) in The Nest. MSU will make the quick trek back to Bozeman for its league home opener against Northern Arizona, Saturday, Sept. 28 in Shroyer Gym. The match with the Lumberjacks starts at 7 p.m.BIG SKY OPENERS: Since the inception of the Big Sky Conference for women in the fall of 1988, Montana State is 16-20 in league openers, including a 3-0 victory over Idaho last September in Moscow. The Bobcats have won six consecutive Big Sky Conference openers.TWTWTW: The Bobcats went 1-2 last weekend at the Webb-Burbridge Classic hosted by Arizona State in Tempe. Montana State dropped its first match of the tournament to Memphis 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 28-26 as Karli Heidemann and Jordan Radick paced the Bobcats with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Radick, a senior from Bozeman, finished with a .429 attack mark and a team high four blocks. Defensively, junior libero Lauren Lindseth notched 20 digs. The match featured 42 ties and 19 lead changes. MSU snapped its seven-match losing skid with a 25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22 victory over Prairie View A&amp;M on Friday evening. The Bobcats had four players reach double figure kills led by Madilyn Siebler 14, Jourdain Kamps and Erika Gustafson 13, and Joelie Spelts 11. Gustafson, a redshirt freshman from Denton, Texas, finished with a career-high .611 (13-2-18) attack mark. Her 13 kills were also a career best. Defensively, Lindseth had a match-high 17 digs, while Kamps added a team-high five blocks. Montana State concluded play dropping a 25-13, 25-23, 25-12 decision to #14 Arizona State. Siebler recorded seven kills, while Lindseth added eight saves and Gustafson five blocks.SCOUTING REPORT: Sacramento State is 7-6 overall after concluding its non-conference schedule going 1-2 at the Central Cal Challenge at Fresno State, last weekend. The Hornets defeated CSU Bakersfield 3-0, before dropping two decisions - Fresno State 3-1, and Pacific 3-1. On the season, Sacramento State has been led by reigning Big Sky Conference MVP Bridgette Smith. The 5-10 senior outside hitter from Salem, Ore., is averaging 3.85 kills and 2.73 digs per set. The Hornets are also getting production out of Caitlin Volkman, a 6-0 senior outside hitter from Longmont, Colo., who averages 3.40 kills and 2.48 digs per contest. Northern Arizona is 7-4 on the season after notching a win at Southern Utah on Tuesday, before sweeping a home-and-home series with Utah Tech. The Lumberjacks are enjoying the return of Taylor Jacobsen, who sat out 19 matches last fall due to injury. The 6-1 graduate outside hitter from Chandler, Ariz., leads the Big Sky averaging 3.89 kills per set. Defensively, NAU is led by Millie O'Ketter, a two-time Big Sky Defensive POW, who is averaging 4.95 digs per set. AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE: As a team Montana State ranks 50th in the nation with 108.5 total blocks and 53rd in blocks per set at 2.52. Last weekend, the Cats outblocked its opponents 2.09 to 1.91 per set, including a 10-5 advantage over #14 Arizona State. The nation's top blocking program to date is Idaho State at 3.43 bps. Individually, Jordan Radick leads MSU averaging 1.13 bps, while Jourdain Kamps 1.12, Erika Gustafson .85, and Camryn Greenwald .83 also rank among the top blockers in the Big Sky. Radick and Kamps rank 137th and 140th in the nation, respectively.ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE: According to the NCAA rankings, Montana State's 2024 non-conference schedule is the 36th toughest slate in the nation and tops in the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats have faced #2 Nebraska, #14 Arizona State, and Washington, who received 94 votes in this week's AVCA poll, just one spot out of the Top 25. PACKING THE PLACE: Montana State opened its 2024 season averaging 993 fans in two matches. On Aug. 30 against Big Ten newcomer Washington, 1,232 fans watched the Cats open their season in Shroyer Gym. Last fall, MSU finished 65th in the nation averaging 1,115 fans per game. On Sept. 30, 2022, Montana State set a Big Sky and State of Montana record when 6,457 fans jammed Worthington Arena.HORSESHOES &amp; HAND GRENADES: Seven of Montana State's 43 sets played have gone to extra points. The Bobcats are 3-4 in those matches. MSU's last extra point set (26-28) came in the second frame against Memphis at the Webb-Burbridge/Arizona State Classic in Tempe, last week.THE MENACE FROM ENNIS: Jourdain Kamps, who enjoyed a stellar 2023 campaign which culminated being named First-Team All-Big Sky Conference, is averaging 2.29 kills per set with a .223 attack mark. In addition, she is chipping in 1.12 blocks and 0.95 digs per contest. Kamps had her best match of the season against South Dakota on Sept. 13, posting 17 kills, a .261 attack mark, eight digs and five blocks. Last season, Kamps averaged 2.57 kills, while hitting .263. In addition, she averaged 1.90 digs and .91 blocks per contest and chipped in 24 aces. The product of Ennis, Mont., was in double-figure kills in 20 of 33 matches, including a season-best 18 kills on two occasions, the last coming at Weber State on Nov. 11, 2023. Kamps, who has been part of the Bobcat program since redshirting in 2019, moved into sixth on MSU's all-time block assists chart with 393, while her 415 total blocks rank sixth all-time. Kamps was a Second Team All-Big Sky pick in the spring of 2021 after averaging 1.49 kills and .97 blocks per set in the shortened 15-match season. In 2022, Kamps had a career-high 23 kills at Eastern Washington.GOTTA DIG IT: Lauren Lindseth has opened the 2024 campaign totaling 181 digs in 43 sets. Last weekend, she averaged 4.09 digs per set. She had her best outing of the Webb-Burbridge Arizona State Classic against Memphis with 20 saves. Lindseth became the 11th member of MSU's 1,000 Dig Club against Denver on Sept. 5. Her current total of 1,150 career digs is ninth all-time at MSU. Last fall, Lindseth ranked seventh in Big Sky play averaging 3.77 saves per game. On Aug. 31, 2023, she recorded a career-high 34 digs against St. Thomas (MN). For the season, Lindseth recorded 28 matches in double-digit digs. Lindseth's 494 digs last were the fifth best single season mark in MSU history, while her freshman total of 475 digs ranks sixth. As a sophomore, she was in double-digit digs in 22 matches, including a streak of 13 consecutive matches. Lindseth has earned All-Big Sky Tournament honors the last two seasons, and she is a four-time Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honoree.LINDSETH LEGACY: Lauren Lindseth is part of Bobcat history as one-half of the first mother/daughter duo to play at MSU. Lindseth's mother - Kelly Modrow (MOD-row) - played at MSU from 1992-1996. The native of Minnetonka, Minn., (Hopkins HS) played in 110 matches and 359 sets. In all, Modrow's recorded 889 kills, 733 digs, 128 blocks and 87 aces wearing the No. 2 jersey, as well.A LENDING HAND: Senior Nellie Stevenson has played all eleven matches as MSU's setter. The 5-11 senior from San Leandro, Calif., dished out 5.45 assists per set last weekend at Arizona State. Her current 7.02 assists per set average ranks sixth in Big Sky play. Stevenson, who comes to MSU via Feather River Junior College, dished out 1,049 assists last fall, averaging 8.53 per set. That mark ranked fifth in Big Sky action.CAMMER TIME: Montana State junior middle blocker Camryn Greenwald is off to a strong start this season. The product of Woodbury, Minn., averaged 1.60 kills and added four blocks at Arizona State. Greenwald had her best match against Memphis with eight kills, a .200 attack mark and two blocks. Earlier this season, she had a career-high nine blocks against Middle Tennessee. Last fall, she averaged 1.62 kills and .96 blocks per set, while hitting a team-high .268 from the floor. Greenwald recorded five matches in double-figure kills, including a career-high 13 against Idaho on Oct. 14.JO KNOWS: Bozeman product and senior middle blocker Jordan Radick averaged 1.64 kills and 1.09 blocks per set, last weekend at the Webb-Burbridge Arizona State Classic. She also recorded a .282 attack mark. Radick had her best match of the weekend against Memphis with 12 kills, a .429 attack mark and four blocks. On the season, Radick is averaging 1.35 kills and 1.13 blocks per game, while hitting .296. She is 9th in the BSC in hitting and 6th in blocks.JUST A BLUR: Over the course of the non-conference season Madilyn Siebler has averaged 2.40 kills and 2.42 digs per set. The junior outside hitter from Omaha, Neb., had a season-high 15 kills against Denver on Sept. 5. Last weekend at the Webb-Burbridge Arizona State Classic, she averaged 2.36 kills and 1.73 saves per game. Siebler had her best match of the weekend against Prairie View A&amp;M with 14 kills and six digs.HIDE AND SEEK: Redshirt freshman Karli Heidemann had a season-high 16 kills in MSU's match against Denver at the Husker Invite on Sept. 5. For the season the product of Diller, Neb., is averaging 2.23 kills and 2.48 points per set. Heidemann's best match last weekend came against Memphis with 13 kills, digs and a block assist.AUDREY'S ASSISTS: Senior setter Audrey Hofer played in all 11 sets for MSU last weekend at the ASU Classic. She averaged 4.82 assists and 1.36 digs per set in the Bobcats' 6-2 offense.CASTING A SPELTS: Sophomore Joelie Spelts has played in 11 matches, including the last four as a starter. The native of Gillette, Wyo., is averaging 1.21 kills and .58 blocks per set. Spelts had a career-best 11 kills vs. Prairie View A&amp;M, last Friday night.MAKING A DENT: Freshman-redshirt Erika Gustafson, a product of Denton, Texas, has played in 11 matches, including starts in the last five outings. She's currently averaging 1.25 kills and .85 blocks per game. Gustafson had a season-high 13 kills vs. Prairie View A&amp;M, last Friday.LOOK FAMILIAR: Freshman Afton Thomsen may look familiar. She is the sister of former Bobcat standout Kira Thomsen. On the season, Afton has played in 11 sets and has recorded six total digs. Kira finished her tenure as MSU's all-time career leader in kills (1,688) and attacks (4,827). Kira is currently playing professionally in Germany.HARD BLOCK CAFE`: The Bobcats average 2.52 blocks per set, which ranks third in the Big Sky. Jordan Radick is listed sixth in the league averaging 1.13 blocks per contest, while Jourdain Kamps is eighth at 1.12 per set. </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Cats Open Big Sky Play at Sacramento State

NEXT UP: Montana State opens its 2024 Big Sky Conference schedule on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Sacramento State. The match with the Hornets is slated for 8 p.m. (MT) in The Nest. MSU will make the quick trek back to Bozeman for its league home opener against Northern Arizona, Saturday, Sept. 28 in Shroyer Gym. The match with the Lumberjacks starts at 7 p.m.