POCATELLO, Idaho — The Montana State volleyball team ended a magical weekend for Bobcat Athletics, rebounding from a 2-0 deficit to a 26-28, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-7 win over Idaho State on Saturday night at Reed Gym.
After starting the weekend with a win over then-Big Sky Conference leader Weber State, Montana State (13-15, 9-7 Big Sky) sat back and watched two basketball wins, one NCAA cross-country appearance for the MSU men and a 121 Brawl of the Wild before going to court against the Bengals Saturday night.
Montana State held two set points in the opening frame before Idaho State (13-16, 5-11) ended the game with three straight points. MSU trailed by seven early in the second set before taking their first 16-15 lead on a 12-4 run. With a set tie of 20 to all, the Bengals scored back-to-back points and held on to victory by going into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
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“Idaho State played aggressively and fought for placement in the Big Sky tournament,” said MSU head coach Cole Aiazzi. “We played well in the first two sets but we lost some momentum. We were able to push through and find a way to win. I really enjoyed our weekend. Anytime you can get two Big Sky road wins, you’re doing something right.”
Montana State defeated Idaho State .247 to .090 in the last three sets, including .375 to minus .095 in the fifth. In the final frame, MSU pulled away 2-1 on a 5-1 run and never looked back. The Bobcats capped off the weekend with a block from Kira Thomsen and Jordan Radick.
“Like Thursday night, we had a lot of people who contributed,” Aiazzi said. “Different kids do different things. We have a lot of options and that’s what you want in the postseason.”
Thomsen advanced MSU with 21 kills, while Radick and Courtney Weatherby were also in double figures with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Thomsen also finished with 10 digs, the season’s best four aces and two blocks. Radick hit .571 and added five blocks while Weatherby threw up 11 digs, two aces and two blocks.
Setters Nellie Reese and Delaney Shearan dished out 23 and 19 assists, respectively, and Shearan psted added 12 digs.
Defensively, Lauren Lindseth beat MSU with 20 digs and a season-high four aces. At net, MSU was led by Jourdain Klein and Emma Pence with seven and five blocks, respectively.
The Bobcats will be No. 6 in next week’s Big Sky tournament and meet host and No. 3 Weber State on Wednesday in Ogden, Utah. Season times have not been set.