BOZEMAN — Lauren Greeny starred as a women's golfer for her first four years at Montana State, but has transitioned to volleyball for her fifth year with the Bobcats.
MSU volleyball coach Matt Houk said it all began with a text message.
"She shot me a text one day and I asked if she could meet with me," Houk said. "She popped in the office and just said, 'I'm going to be here at school for another year, I'm wondering if there's any opportunity to be on the team.'"
Greeny recounted the same memory.
"He told me to come in after the season because that was during the summer," Greeny said. "So he said to come in after the fall, sit down and talk about it and see if there's a slot open."
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Once the fall was over and there was a spot available, Houk told Greeny he wasn't sure what was available scholarship-wise.
"I talked with my parents and they were like, yeah, go for it," Greeny said. "I mean, you only get this opportunity once."
Greeny's mother Jen is the head volleyball coach at West Virginia. her father Burdette is on Jen's staff.
Houk and the team were familiar with Lauren Greeny from her time volunteering with volleyball summer camps over the years, as well as the accolades she earned throughout her golf career.
"I didn't know what she was going to be, whether she was going to be good enough to get into the mix or not," Houk said. "But I thought no matter what, she was a good enough collegiate competitor that she would bring value to our team."
Playing college volleyball was Greeny's original goal until an injury early in her career changed that decision.
"I kind of blew my knee out my freshman year of high school," Greeny said. "The doctor was like, you've got to figure out if you want to play a sport in college, you've got to try and find something else."
Greeny pivoted to a sport that was easier on her knee.
"I taught myself golf," Greeny said. "And Montana State was the only school that offered me out of high school."
Despite her late start to the sport, Greeny found enough success to place herself at and toward the top of multiple MSU golf records.
In 2024-25, Greeny broke the record for the best scoring average in a season (minimum 10 rounds) at 72.64.
Now she's finding success on the volleyball court too, which doesn't come as a surprise to her former coach Brittany Basye.
"I remember talking to her last year about her thinking about getting on the volleyball team," Basye said. "I didn't ever doubt her and I was like, 'Are you going to work hard or do you want to sit on the bench? What do you want to do? You want to play? You know you can play, but what are you going to do?'"
"Look at the work she's put in," Basye continued. "She's transformed her body. She's a gifted, athlete she knows the court, she's smart. And she wants to win, she's a competitor. And so add all that stuff up and she's going to make a difference."
Greeny says the decision to live out her volleyball dreams in her fifth year has exceeded her expectations.
"I'm having a lot of fun," Greeny said. "I like the competitive atmosphere of it. I'm excited to see how conference is going to continue to go."
