BOZEMAN — Jourdain Kamps had 10 kills and the Montana State volleyball team swept Montana 25-17, 25-21, 25-23 in a Brawl of the Wild rivalry matchup Friday night in front of 3,567 fans at Worthington Arena.
With the win, Montana State (9-18, 7-9 Big Sky) clinched a berth in the postseason while retaining possession of the Main Line Trophy. Montana (10-17, 5-11) saw its season come to an end with the loss.
The victory also clinched a season sweep for the Bobcats over the Grizzlies; MSU beat Montana in three sets on Oct. 25 in Missoula.
“It was nice to go out and win the first point,” Bobcats coach Matt Houk stated in a press release. “We wanted to apply some early pressure. We wanted to set the tone. I thought we did a great job from the service line and were able to knock them out of system.”
Kamps finished the match with a .435 hitting percentage to lead the Bobcats. Jordan Radick added eight kills and Courtney Weatherby finished with six for MSU, which out hit Montana .198 to .126.
Audrey Hofer had 18 assists and Nellie Stevenson had 14 for the Bobcats. Madilyn Siebler led all players with 15 digs. Weatherby had 12 digs and Lauren Lindseth 10 for the Cats.
Montana’s Paige Clark led all players with 11 kills, but the Grizzlies finished with 23 attack errors and were at times stifled by MSU at the net, as the Bobcats finished with 11 team blocks.
Delaney Russell added nine kills for the Grizzlies. Cassie Newman had 17 assists and Gracie Cagle finished with 14. Alexis Batezel led Montana with 13 digs, and Clark added 11 digs.
It was the 126th volleyball meeting between the programs, and the Bobcats have now won four in a row.
Next for Montana State is the Big Sky Conference postseason volleyball tournament, which will be held Nov. 27-30 in Sacramento, Calif. The Bobcats will play in the first round against an opponent to be determined.
“It feels good to get the win in front of a great crowd,” Houk stated. “The atmosphere was outstanding. What we've got to do now is try to catch that wave and keep with it. We’re not going to have 3,500 people in Sacramento cheering for us so we’re going to have to create our own energy.”
