MSUB volleyball falls to WWU at home 3-0

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu October 1, 2015 ‘Jackets push WWU, fall in straight sets to No. 15 Vikings

Taylor Albertson finished with six kills against the Vikings.

MSUB Volleyball on Facebook Interactive Box Score MSUB Volleyball Stack on ISSUU Coming out on their home court after a road win in Alaska, the Yellowjackets push No. 15 Western Washington to extra points, eventually falling 3-0.

BILLINGS, Mont. – After a win in Alaska last week, MSUB came back to its home court pushing No. 15 Western Washington to extra points, but it was the Vikings that held on late in the sets for the 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-17) win in Alterowitz.

MSU Billings (2-11, 1-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) didn’t look like a team with a 1-3 conference record coming into the match Thursday night. The Yellowjackets pushed the nationally-ranked Vikings all the way through the night, exchanging rallies point-for-point, forcing WWU to dig deep.

There were 25 ties in the match and seven lead changes during the conference contest. The Vikings held a .277-.189 advantage in hitting, but MSUB out-dug WWU 63-59. The two teams tied in total blocks at six.

“I am so proud of our team effort tonight,” MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. “Western Washington is a great program, but I think this was the best team effort I have seen from the players this season. It was a complete team effort from everybody on the court and we really competed well through every point.”

Ashlynn Ward set the tone for the match leading all players with 19 kills on a .333 attack percentage (19-5-42). The junior outside hitter came up clutch for the team several times with her swing and at the net with the block.

“Ashlynn had another great night,” Axel continued. “Also, our defense really stepped up and tonight we were giving ourselves second and third chances at the ball. Our players were making tremendous gets, giving the ball to Kyndal, allowing her to spread the sets out evenly. People were taking some big swings off the shots they had and putting the ball away.

Taylor Sherman and Kimmy Kirk did a great job on defense leading the team with 15 digs each.”

Sherman and Taylor Albertson both struck six kills. Ward and Audri Marrs tied with four blocks.

Williams ended with a match-high 33 assists and in her fourth double-double of the season added 13 digs.

Five Yellowjackets finished with six or more digs in the match. Mataia Roderick added seven and Stormy Siemion six for MSUB. Siemion also served up two aces in the contest.

Ward set the tone straight out of the gate, powering through for an unchallenged kill on the outside for the first point of the match.

Sherman took a huge swing at the ball to take the score to 4-2 for MSUB, but a short tip over from WWU’s Kayleigh Harper put the ball back over on Kyndal Williams sets up a ball for Miranda McConnell the other side. Two errors from the MSUB team tied the score back at four. Keeping it close, both sides took big cuts at the ball. Ward won the serve back on a tremendous ball to the far right corner.

Harper finished the match will eight kills for No. 15 Western Washington. Rachel Roeder ended the match with 13 kills for the Vikings. Brette Boesel led her team in assists at 27 while Abby Phelps contributed 18 digs. The win for Western Washington rolls the team’s win streak to 12, as the Vikings are now 12-2 overall, and an unbeaten 6-0 in the GNAC.

The first set was the most back-and-forth of the match. A booming kill, this time from Albertson on the right side put MSUB one back of the Vikings, 12-11. WWU’s Jenica McPherson countered with a ball through the block on the opposite side. The Yellowjackets won the longest rally of the set with a Ward kill, followed by a stuff block from Marrs and Ward in the middle to tie the score at 15. Another double block from the pair sent Western Washington to the bench for the first time out of the match.

Williams pounced on an opportunity on the next point with a timely set dump to put the Yellowjackets up 17-15. A serving error set the ‘Jackets back one, but another point from Ward put the ball back on the MSUB side.

In the back court for MSUB tonight, Siemion hit a ball that barely cleared the net but was an ace for the Yellowjackets. A short ball from the Vikings and a service ace from McPherson tied the score at 21. After the timeout from MSU Billings, Ward countered with a kill and Albertson struck another clean winner from the right side putting the Yellowjackets up 23-22 and a chance to take the first set with two more points.

A point from Roeder and a block on Albertson gave Western Washington its set point. Abby Phelps ended the first frame on a kill, giving WWU the first set 25-23.

Western Washington jumped out to an 8-3 lead to start the second frame. A slide kill from Marrs won the point back for MSUB. A solo block from Williams thundered through the gym and an up-and-down swing from Ward punched two points for the ‘Jackets. An off-speed attack from Ward mixed in a point for MSUB, but the Vikings used a 5-1 run to draw out the point spread 12-8.

A nice attack through the block from Sherman put MSUB one back 14-13, but a counter through the right side made it 15-13 for WWU. The Vikings pushed back using an off speed kill and a short attack. Ward came through with a solo block on the outside. A service error from the ‘Jackets had the team down 20-18, but an error from WWU made the mistake moot.

Western Washington climbed the scoreboard with back-to-back points, but a block from MSUB and a slide kill from Miranda McConnell gave MSUB a chance down 22-21. Siemion came through, the junior hit a serve smack on the right side corner to knot the score at 22. McPherson struck a ball into the net that came down on the MSUB court, and followed that up with a kill on the crosscourt line, but another service error from WWU, gave MSUB the ball back within one 24-23. An error from the Vikings tied the score at 24.

A kill from Harper gave the Vikings their second set point, but Albertson drilled a ball down on the right to retie the score at 25. WWU gained another set point on a Harper kill, and Roeder finished the set 27-25 when she hit a ball off the block.

Set 3 started with a solo block from Albertson. MSUB won two more points to go out with a 3-0 lead. The Vikings countered on kills from Roeder and Phelps. The set remained even through seven, but Western Washington kicked in with two, and MSUB’s Sherman won the ball on a deep shot to the back center. Ward executed a perfect kill down the line to match. On a great save from the Vikings over the top of the score table, WWU gained a point with a follow-up double block.

MSUB kept pace. Marrs served an ace for 14-12 and on another tough serve, Ward gained a point for 14-13. McConnell evened the score with a put-back after an overpass from the Vikings. Western Washington pushed three points, with Ward ending the Viking run on an outside dump. The outside hitter earned consecutive points with a long kill to the corner. A sneaky kill from Albertson in the middle added another for MSUB, but the Vikings gained ground back up on

four straight, causing MSUB to call a timeout. Gathering steam, WWU put its foot down, driving the ball deep and using the block to end the set on seven straight, ending the match on a kill from Joelle Buckner.

THE BUZZ: Ward named St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Match for leading with 19 kills on a .333 attack percentage‌MSUB finished the first set on a .282 attack percentage (16-5-39)‌five Yellowjackets finished with six or more digs.

UP NEXT: The MSUB team is hosting Simon Fraser on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:00 p.m. during Super Hero Night. All fans are encouraged to dress-up in their favorite Super Hero costume and attire. Prizes will be given out during the match and the winner of the costume contest will receive a Grand Prize sponsored by the MSUB volleyball team.

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