Nebraska natives on Montana State volleyball team up for ‘fun’ in Saturday match vs. Huskers

Heidemann turned back toward her teammates with a weary smile on her face, a moment of levity in what had been a hard-fought match. Seconds later, she slapped hands with teammate Madilyn Siebler.

Both grew up in Nebraska, Siebler in Omaha and Heidemann in Diller. Returning home brought a combination of nerves and excitement, reflection and anticipation of playing in front of friends and family against the team they grew up watching. The Bobcats lost to Denver in five sets Thursday, the Citadel in four sets on Friday and will play Nebraska on Saturday.

Against DU, Heidemann and Siebler led MSU with 16 and 15 kills respectively. Siebler chipped in 13 digs as well. Siebler had 13 kills and 16 digs in the loss to The Citadel.

“With any bigger crowd or something that has a lot of hype leading up to it, I think inevitably that comes with a little more weight and a little more excitement and tension leading up to it,” Siebler said before the Denver match. “I’m mostly excited, but there’s some nerves, too, playing in front of thousands of people and in front of all my family who doesn’t get to usually watch me play.”

They got a taste playing in front of the bigger crowd and atmosphere late Thursday. Devaney filled in as Denver-MSU stretched into the evening and the first serve between Nebraska and The Citadel drew nearer. What began as a smattering of fans swelled to close to a full arena as the match entered its final set. A small but vocal group of MSU fans still managed to get out a “Let’s go Bobcats” chant midway through the fifth set.

Siebler and Heidemann have both spent plenty of time in Lincoln. Siebler remembers family doubleheader days, going to a Husker football game, then finishing the night with a volleyball game.

Heidemann played club volleyball in Lincoln, commuting from Diller. There were winter nights in high school that she had high school basketball practice until 6:30 p.m., then an hour-long drive for practice with her volleyball team. That ended around 9:30, then it was time to turn around and head back to Diller. She got homework done in the car.

“There was definitely some long nights,” she said.

Heidemann, a redshirt freshman, ended up at Montana State through a connection with an assistant coach on the previous staff.

Siebler’s mom, Erin Siebler, had visited MSU when she was a high school volleyball player. While Erin chose to play at UNO, she suggested her daughter reach out to Montana State.

Siebler is now in her third year at MSU, having contributed as a freshman and sophomore. Heidemann spent her freshman year with tunnel vision, focused only on her own development, gaining an understanding of the process and using that as her standard, not just the results of a given day.

Montana State’s collective goals are similarly mental and intangible. A point of emphasis in the young season has been for players to stay within themselves, keep their composure and prevent matches from becoming anything more than what they are.

Therein lies the opportunity of playing Nebraska. MSU can see situations they are unaccustomed to, contend with middle blockers who stand 6-foot-4 and taller and be tested by one of the best teams in the country.

“It does a lot for our mental state during games later on in the season,” Siebler said. “We talk a lot about, like, hey, we’re not gonna be our November selves in August but we have to get there, and I think facing some tougher teams, even if things don’t always go our way will gift us with a lot of mental toughness and just facing adversity.”

Siebler estimates she’ll have around 30 friends and family members at various matches across the weekend. The Nebraska match was the toughest to get tickets for, but her family was “pretty ruthless in finding a way” into the arena. Heidemann will have friends, family and past teachers in attendance.

They will see an MSU team that’s the heavy underdog against Nebraska, which topped The Citadel on Thursday after being upset by SMU earlier in the week. It allows the Bobcats to play freely, and for Siebler and Heidemann to appreciate the moment years in the making.

“We don’t have much pressure on us,” Heidemann said. “We’re just going in there. We know if we have standards that we play to, and I feel like we can still hold those no matter who’s on the other side of the net. So I think that’s something very special with this program. I think we’re all just super excited to just let it fly and have fun.”