Bobcat volleyball digs out series of wins

The Bobcat volleyball team opened its season this past week facing off against TCU in a preseason exhibition match in Shroyer Gym, followed by a three-match trip to Boise, Idaho. MSU volleyball head coach Daniel Jones and his squad posted two impressive wins on the road trip, vanquishing Dixie State (3-0) and the host, Boise State (3-1). The Cats fell in the tournament opener, 2-3, to Long Beach State.

The opening match against Long Beach State proved to be a heartbreaker as the Cats led 2-0 only to lose three consecutive sets, costing the team the match (25-23, 28-26, 22-25, 18-25, 13-15).

“We have to learn to sustain and maintain our effort,” Jones said. “This was too much of a roller-coaster. We need to be able to take care of the easy balls and steal the hard ones. It was a heartbreaking loss, but we’ll learn and move forward.”

Following the disappointing loss, the Cats went on to win an impressive match against Dixie State, beating the Bison in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-17). The squad dominated the net with 43 kills and four blocks. The team also posted an impressive 13 aces over the course of the three sets. Senior outside hitter Hannah Scott led the way with four aces, followed by senior setter Allie Lynch with three aces and sophomore outside hitter Kira Thomsen, who notched two aces. Thomsen and Scott were also active at the net, recording 13 and 12 kills, respectively.

“We took care of business against a tough Dixie State team that was playing short-handed,” Jones said. “We spun the line-up from our match against Long Beach State getting some of our newcomers playing time. I’ll say this a lot this season, but if we want to win a championship it’s going to take all 17 athletes.”

In the finale, the Cats faced tournament host Boise State, defeating the Broncos three sets to one, (25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14). Again, the Cats were led by a familiar deadly duo of outside hitters Thomsen and Scott. The two outside hitters led the team in kills yet again, with Scott registering an impressive 15 kills and Thomsen racking up 13 kills of her own. This dynamic duo is sure to be an important cog to the team’s success as well as the Cats’ hope of claiming their first-ever Big Sky Conference Championship.

In his post-match comments, Jones commended his team for their efforts and praised his entire roster of 17 players for contributing to the win. “Everyone turned up,” Jones said. “Across the board, we had great contributions from the entire line-up. We talked prior to the match that we needed to play Bobcat volleyball and not worry who’s on the other side of the net. We served tough, put up a big block and really did a nice job digging around it. We executed what was presented to us.”

Thomsen was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In addition to her 13 kills against the Broncos, she recorded 13 digs, four aces and an attack mark of .357.

After a successful weekend in Boise, the Cats turn their attention to a tournament of their own. The Bobcats will host the Bobcat Classic, featuring the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Portland Pilots and the Utah State Aggies. The Cats’ tournament will kick off with a match against the Razorbacks, who are predicted to finish ninth in the SEC according to a pre-season coaches poll. This match will serve as a test against a team from one of the Power Five conferences, further preparing the Cats for Big Sky Conference play.

All Bobcat Classic matches are free for students with CatCard or can be viewed live on ESPN+. The match against Arkansas is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2. For other match times and results follow the team on social media @MSUBobcatsVB or visit msubobcats.com.