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Bobcat Volleyball Holds Annual Spring Match Saturday

Story Links Montana State volleyball and head coach Matt Houk will put a stamp on its off-season practices when its hosts Providence in its annual spring scrimmage on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. in Shroyer Gym. The two Montana schools will participate in controlled drills during its morning session (10 a.m.-noon) before playing […]

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Montana State volleyball and head coach Matt Houk will put a stamp on its off-season practices when its hosts Providence in its annual spring scrimmage on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.

The two Montana schools will participate in controlled drills during its morning session (10 a.m.-noon) before playing its afternoon match which is free and open to the public.

MSU’s match against the Argos marks the fourth scrimmage of the spring season for the Bobcats. Montana State also had scrimmages against Gonzaga, Montana, and Utah State.

“It was really important to play those scrimmages,” Houk said. “You can do some things in your own gym and feel like things are going a certain way, but until you put it out there against somebody else, and they’re doing things you don’t see every day, or they’re taking advantage of things that maybe we don’t take advantage of against each other, you don’t really get a good sense of where you’re at.”

Led by seniors Camryn Greenwald, Lauren Lindseth, and Madilyn Siebler the Bobcats will look to improve upon its sixth place Big Sky Conference finish from last fall.

“We’re going to rely on our seniors to do their jobs well,” Houk said. “This is year three for us with this group which means we’re going to be more demanding of them to take control of the court. We need them to lead by words and action.”

Houk will also look for returners Karli Heidemann and Joelie Spelts to make big contributions.

“We saw Karli and Joelie take some really big steps in the right direction this spring,” Houk said.

For the first time in program history, the Bobcats have a pair of freshmen who graduated high school in the fall and enrolled at MSU for spring semester. Teagan Jaynes, a 6-foot setter from Dundas, Minn., and Elli Tufto, a 6-foot outside hitter from Prior Lake, Minn., jumpstarted their collegiate careers in early January.

“Anytime an incoming freshman decides that’s something they want to do, and it’s their choice, it accelerates development,” Houk said. “Volleyball is a really hard sport in that they come in August, and you’ve got twenty-ish days to try to train before you play your first matches.

“As a freshman, you’re not only stepping out there to play matches right away, but you’re also trying to go to school for the first time, you’re living away from home for the first time, you’re sharing a room with someone brand new and you’re going through all these ‘firsts’ all while trying to win volleyball matches.”

Houk believes the young duo has adapted well to being away from home and connecting with the Bobcat returners.

“We’ve had good, bad and everything in between,” Houk said of spring drills. “That’s what you hope for. You get a good look at all the things, so you hopefully walk away from the spring training block with a good sense of what your strengths are, but also a good sense of your weaknesses.”

Houk wants his team to leave everything they have on the court during Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I told them I wanted nothing left in the tank,” he said. “That will be a good check if this has been a good spring.”

 

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