BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off of probably its best performance of the season, the Montana State Billings volleyball team returns home to host Western Oregon and Saint Martin's this weekend at Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Jackets and the Wolves serve at 7 p.m. Thursday, while the Saint Martin's match is schedule for Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Yellowjackets (3-17, 3-8 GNAC) return home after splitting two matches this past week at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. The Jackets lost 3-1 at Central Washington, but rebounded with their first sweep of the season in a 3-0 demolishing of NNU.
“It was a very solid performance tonight,” MSUB head coach Steve Smith said after the match. “I was really happy with how we played defense. Our servicing was really good as we only had one reception error all night.”
MSUB senior Jennifer Boe led the way with 17 kills and 13 digs as she hit .222. Junior Brooke Tolman tallied 26 assists as the Yellowjackets hit .160 with 37 kills and 20 errors in 106 attempts. Defensively, the Jackets had four solo blocks and 10 block assists on the evening. Sophomore Kayla Neumiller also had 13 digs.
The match had a little of everything, big leads, big deficits and a lot of runs by both teams. MSUB got up early in the first set, only to see NNU rally back. NNU then got up early in the second set, to see the Jackets rally for the win. MSUB dominated the third set 25-14. The Jackets hit a match-high .393 for the set with 14 kills and just three miscues.
The win was the first for MSUB in Nampa as NNU had won all four previous meetings. It also snapped a streak of six-straight wins for the Crusaders in the series.
For the season the Jackets have been led by Boe who has a team-high 219 kills. She also leads the team with 235 digs and 19 service aces. Earlier this year, Boe became just the fourth Yellowjacket in school history to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Boe ranks eighth in the league in kills, ninth in points (3.29) and ninth in digs.
Second on the team in kills is sophomore Hannah Johnson with 125. She is third on the team in attack percentage at a .132 clip. She also is tied for third on the team in service aces with 14. Junior Melissa Porter is third on the team kills with 123, and leads the team with 60 total blocks and 18 solo blocks.
Junior transfer, Brooke Tolman, leads the team in assists with 556, while ranking seventh in the league in assists per game at a 7.41 average. No other Yellowjacket has more than 21 assists (Boe). Freshman Adrienne Kelso is second on the team in digs with 171 and a 2.28 average.
As a team, the Yellowjackets are hitting .100 on the year. They have 694 kills, 448 errors and 638 assists. MSUB has 100 service aces and a .923 serving percentage. Defensively, the Jackets have 1009 digs and 128.5 total blocks.
Western Oregon enters with a 9-7 record overall and a 7-4 mark in conference play. The Wolves have won four of six, including a 3-1 win at MSUB Sept. 25. Leading the way for the Wolves this season is Danielle Reese who leads the team with 167 kills and a 2.98 kills per set average. She is second on the team in digs with 170.
Second on the team in kills is Samantha Ward with 120, while Krissi Kemper is third with 115. Kemper leads the team with a .257 attack percentage and 41 total blocks. Jorden Burrows leads the team with 505 assists at an 8.86 average. Megan Triggs leads the team with 204 digs at a 4.16 clip, while Burrows is third with 119.
The Wolves are hitting .173 on the year with 655 kills, 314 errors and 611 assists. WOU has 875 digs and 96 total blocks.
WOU leads the all-time series, 8-3. The Wolves own a 4-1 record in Monmouth, while MSUB leads 2-1 in Billings. WOU also has won all three neutral site matches. Prior to the 3-1 loss earlier this season, the Jackets won the previous two meetings by sweeps.
Saint Martin's enters the week with a 1-15 record overall and a 1-10 mark in the GNAC. The Saints have lost seven straight since a 3-0 sweep of GNAC newcomer Simon Fraser Sept. 18. SMU will host nationally ranked Seattle Pacific Thursday before heading to Billings for Saturday's match. The seven game skid began with a 3-2 home loss to MSUB Sept. 23. It was the Yellowjackets' first win of the season.
Leading the way for the Saints this season is Katy Ferguson who leads the team with 109 kills. No other Saint is in triple figures in kills. Ferguson also leads the team with a .145 attack percentage. Kristeen Juarez leads the team with 361 assists, while Malia Ibarra has a team-high 15 service aces. Defensively, Ibarra leads the team with 174 digs, while Ferguson leads with 46 total blocks and 13 solo blocks.
As a team, the Saints are hitting .105 on the year with 514 kills, 316 errors and 849 digs.
MSUB leads the all-time series 7-2, including a perfect 4-0 in Billings. The teams now are tied 2-2 in Lacey, while the Jackets hold a 1-0 advantage in neutral site matches. The Jackets have won four straight in the series, three by sweeps. SMU only has won two sets in four trips to Billings.
The Yellowjackets then hit the road for the final two away conference matches of the season at Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, respectively. The Jackets then return home to host Simon Fraser and Western Washington Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, respectively, followed by a trip to Rocky (Nov. 9), and will close the regular season at home versus Seattle Pacific Nov. 13.
