Box Score
MONMOUTH, Ore. – After the five set emotional first victory of the season at Saint Martin's on Thursday, the Montana State Billings volleyball team couldn't keep the momentum going, falling at Western Oregon Saturday evening, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 16-25, 17-25). With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 1-11 on the year and 1-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WOU improved to 6-5 on the year and 4-2 in conference play.
“I liked our effort on defense tonight, but it was the quality of the first contact that didn't allow us to do what we wanted to do,” MSUB head coach Steve Smith said. “It was a little bit of a step back for us, we did see some good things especially in game two and we need to keep plugging away and keep our heads up as we have a big one Monday night.”
The Wolves came out in the opening set and hit .342 with 18 kills and five errors as they posted a 25-19 victory. MSUB hit .107 for the opening set and was led by four kills from Geneva Blunt. Setter, Brooke Tolman, led the way in the opening set with seven assists.
The second set was a different start as MSUB scored five of the first six points as Tolman rattled off three consecutive points courtesy of an ace and two WOU miscues. MSUB then swelled the lead to 8-3 helped out by two more Wolves' errors and a WOU timeout.
MSUB dominated a majority of the second set and held a 23-14 lead. However, the Wolves tried to make things interesting going on a 5-2 run to close the set for a 25-19 Yellowjacket win to level the match at one heading into intermission.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair early on as the set was tied at 10. The Wolves pulled away in the set with a 10-2 run followed by a timeout by MSUB. From there, the Jackets tried to make a dent in the deficit as the staved off set point twice, but a kill from Stephanie Beeler ended the set, 25-16 in favor of WOU.
WOU opened the fourth set scoring eight of the first 12 points for an 8-4 lead as the Yellowjackets needed a timeout. The Wolves then built the lead to 17-12 and extended it to 20-14 and went on for the 25-17 victory and a 3-1 win.
MSUB was led by eight kills from senior Jennifer Boe and junior Melissa Porter had seven. Tolman led the way for the Jackets with 22 assists and Boe led the team with 21 digs.
As a team, the Jackets struggled hitting after their best outing hitting in the emotional first victory Thursday at Saint Martin's. MSUB hit .079 for the match with 20 costly errors and only four blocks.
WOU was led by 10 kills each from Krissi Kemper, Beeler and Samantha Ward. The Wolves hit .254 for the match after starting well over .300 and dipping down to under .200 in the second set. Jorden Burrows led with a game-high 34 assists.
The Yellowjackets head to nationally ranked Seattle Pacific Monday at 7 p.m. Pacific time before returning home to host Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage next Thursday and Saturday, respectively, in Alterowitz Gymnasium. Both of those matches begin at 7 p.m.
