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BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings volleyball team earned its second sweep of the season as it downed visiting Saint Martin's University 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) Saturday evening in Alterowitz Gymnasium. With the win, the Yellowjackets improved to 4-18 on the year and 4-9 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
“Our performance tonight was steady, as was our defense and servicing,” MSUB head coach Steve Smith said. “We did a very good job with blocking and our two middles were very good. Jody (Lutz) had seven kills with no errors in 14 swings, which was great.”
The Yellowjackets were led by 11 kills from senior Jennifer Boe. Junior Melissa Porter and sophomore Hannah Johnson each tallied eight kills, while sophomore Jody Lutz tallied seven kills and no errors. MSUB hit .204 for the match with 37 kills, 17 errors and 36 assists.
Defensively, the Jackets recorded 41 digs and tallied season-high 18 total blocks on four solo blocks and 28 assisted blocks. Lutz led the way with seven total blocks, while Porter and Johnson added six each. Freshman Adrienne Kelso led the way with 12 digs.
SMU (1-17, 1-12 GNAC) was led by eight kills from Malia Ibarra as she hit a team-high .286. Hailey Hema tallied 12 assists, while Erica Edwards and Brianna Bautista had 10 digs each. The Saints hit just .040 for the match with 27 kills and 23 errors. 12 of the 23 errors were on serving and receiving.
The first set was back-and-forth early on as both teams traded points. MSUB tied the set at 10 on a kill from Johnson. MSUB went on a mini 6-1 run to take a 15-11 lead courtesy of back-to-back miscues from the Saints. The Jackets swelled the lead to 20-16 on another miscue and settled for a 25-21 win.
SMU hit negative numbers in the opening set with nine kills and 10 errors at a -.032 clip. Conversely, the Jackets opened with 12 kills and six miscues for a .188 average.
The second set was much like the first early on. The Yellowjackets built on a 9-8 lead with a 9-4 run for an 18-13 advantage and a timeout by the Saints. Lutz then had back-to-back aces for a 21-15 advantage. MSUB won the set 25-19 for a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
The third set saw the Yellowjackets basically lead wire-to-wire. MSUB built a 15-9 lead, only to see the Saints pull within 17-16 as Ibarra had four serves in a row with a pair of aces and two kills. Johnson ended the run with a big kill for an 18-16 lead.
From there, MSUB pushed the lead to 21-17 and went on for the 25-19 win and the sweep. The Yellowjackets hit a team-high .267 with 13 kills and five errors in the third set.
It was the second sweep in three matches for the Yellowjackets as they won 3-0 at Northwest Nazarene last Saturday.
“It's coming along, as we have been up and down all year, but it was a good win heading into our final conference road trip of the season,” Smith added.
MSUB returns to the road at Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks Thursday and next Saturday, respectively. The Yellowjackets then return home for their final four games in Billings. MSUB hosts Simon Fraser and Western Washington Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, respectively, then a cross-town trip to Rocky Mountain College (Nov. 9). The Jackets then return home for Senior Night Nov. 13 versus Seattle Pacific.
