FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu September 17, 2016 Yellowjackets falter against No. 19 Vikings MSUB Volleyball on Facebook | MSUB Volleyball Stack on ISSUU | Box Score
Kylee Cornelio finished the match against the Vikings with eight digs and four assists.
MSU Billings falters against a well-balanced Western Washington volleyball squad, falling in straight sets to the No. 19 Vikings. BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State University Billings volleyball fell in a match to No. 19 Western Washington University 25-15, 25-15, and 25-16 Saturday at Alterowitz. The Vikings used a well-balanced approach to take care of the ball in the second Great Northwest Athletic Conference match of the season for both teams. With the win, Western Washington improves to an even 5-5 on the season and 1-1 in league play. MSU Billings falls to 1-10, and 0-2 against conference competition. Led by Kayleigh Harper, the No. 19 Vikings finished with a .315 attack percentage. Harper cleared a match-high 14 kills on a .571 (14-2-21) attack percentage with four block assists. She was aided by nine kills from Michaela Hall and seven from Abby Phelps. Brette Boesel finished at 23 assists with Kristina Tribley adding in 16. The Vikings’ Mae Thungc contributed a match-high 12 digs. Joellee Buckner at 11 and Phelps with 10 also had double-digits.
The Vikings were nearly even with seven service aces and eight service errors. WWU did accumulate an even 48 kills and 48 digs. “Western Washington was a good team and finished ahead in nearly all of the categories on the court,” MSUB head coach Casey Williams said. “I thought that we lacked the aggressiveness it takes to compete against a top GNAC team and tonight we weren’t able to step-up against the Vikings. Next week we will work on our cohesiveness to get ready for our conference matches on the road.” MSUB senior Stormy Siemion finished with a team-high nine kills with 10 digs. Ashlynn Ward had seven kills. Angala Jensen led the team in assists with 15. Kylee Cornelio had eight digs and four assists. Casey Rich led the team in blocks with three. The Yellowjackets were held to season-lows of a .031 (22-19-96) attack percentage and 22 team kills on the night. The first set was tied at eight until a 11-2 run from the Vikings drew out some distance on the scoreboard. The Yellowjackets countered with a pair of kills from Siemion and Ward. A service error from WWU breathed some life into the set. Rich found an open spot in the middle off a feed from Jensen before kills from Kazlyn Roullier and Arielle Turner ended the opening set. A kill from Lexa de Jesus down the right side-line earned the Yellowjackets a 2-point, 7-5, early advantage in the second frame. Siemion sent a ball of the block into the stands for MSUB. Three straight points from WWU and a kill from Harper on an overpass pulled the Vikings back ahead 11-9. Engaging on a second short run, Western Washington’s front row kept-up the pressure as Harper and Turner found open spots on the court. Ward went up high and pounded the ball down the line on the right side to send the score into double-digits for MSUB. Closing the second frame strong, WWU used runs of 9-0 and 5-1 to finish the second set for the 2-0 lead. An early third set advantage from WWU was erased on a 4-1 MSUB drive that included a kill from de Jesus and one from Bre Rodrigues. A kill from Siemion and an error from the Vikings knotted the score at eight. At the net, Harper pounded down two points and put-up a solo block to draw out a WWU lead. The Yellowjackets continued to intersperse points, but the Vikings finished strong, using two kills from Buckner in the final four points for the match. THE BUZZ: Cornelio named the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Match for MSUB…Ward finished with the team’s highest attack percentage…MSUB did not produce either a service error or service ace for the first time this season. UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets travel to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Sept. 22 at for a match at 7:00 p.m. followed by a contest at Central Washington on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time. Both matches will have live video and stats available on the MSUB Stretch Internet portal here. --msubsports.com | #JacketNation--