Volleyball
Katie Howells is in her second season as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs. She is no stranger to the program after playing in it for four years and then working as an assistant coach for the four seasons. She is a graduate of Great Falls High School of Great Falls, Mont. where she earned All-Conference and All-State honors. She received individual awards for front row defense; most kills, and was selected team MVP. Ryan also participated in basketball and softball, earning All Conference and All-State honors in both sports. From the classroom, she maintained a 3.7 GPA and was selected to the Honor Roll, National Honor Society, Who’s Who, and earned Academic All-State honors. As a Lady Bulldog, Ryan earned 1st team All-Conference, 1st Team Pacific Northwest Region, and NAIA Honorable mention All-American honors. Howells held school records for kills in a season and kills per game. Both records were broken this past year by Katherine Sunwall. She is the daughter of Bill and Elaine Ryan. Howells and her husband Craig are the parents of daughter Ryan, age 4 and son Benjamin, age two. She graduated from Montana Western with a degree in business/health and fitness management.
Assistant CoachJenny Finlay begins her first season as a volleyball assistant coach after a successful playing career. She is a 2003 graduate of Riverton High School of Riverton, Utah. She particpated in both volleyball and basketball. From the classroom, she maintained a 3.78 GPA. At Western, she was selected to the 2003 Frontier Conference All-Freshmen team. Her teammates selected her the Most Improved Player of the 2003 season. In 2005, Finlay earned second team All-Conference honors and Academic All-Conference honors. This past season she received honorable mention All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors. She is the daughter of Donald and Tammy Finlay and is majoring in business health and fitness management.
