BOZEMAN — Fresh off its fifth consecutive victory over its in-state rival, the Montana State volleyball program reaped the rewards of its effort as senior outside hitter Madilyn Siebler and senior libero Lauren Lindseth were named Big Sky Conference offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
Siebler, a native of Omaha, Neb., recorded a career-high 21 kills as the Bobcats dispatched Montana 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-10 on Saturday night in front of a UM record crowd of 3,001 in Dahlberg Arena.
Lindseth, a graduate of CMR High School in Great Falls, registered a team-high 27 digs, while dishing out seven assists and adding one service ace in the victory.
“Madilyn and Lauren came and established early who we were going to be in the rivalry match,” said MSU head coach Matt Houk. “They set the tone for our group and stayed steady throughout the match. It was a great way to finish their last opportunity to play in Missoula.”
Siebler opened the match with six kills in the first set. Over the course of the first three sets, she totaled 15 kills, while hitting .378 from the field. For the match, Siebler averaged 4.2 kills per set. In addition, she recorded a season-high 15 digs and added a block assist.
Lindseth, who captured the league’s defensive honor for the third time and for the second straight week, averaged 5.40 digs per set. She opened the contest with eight saves in the opening set. Lindseth also got the job done in serve-receive, being targeted by the Grizzlies thirty-five times (the most on either team) without committing an error.
Montana State has won three consecutive matches and five of its last six outings to move atop the Big Sky Conference standings at 4-1 along with Weber State.
The Bobcats play at Portland State, Thursday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. (MT) in Viking Pavilion. PSU defeated MSU 3-0 in Bozeman on Sept. 27, the lone blemish on its Big Sky slate.
