Box Score

LISA AXEL POST MATCH INTERVIEW              CHELSEY WALTER POST MATCH INTERVIEW

BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 15 Western Washington University volleyball team ended Montana State University Billings' season with a four-set road win Saturday.

The Vikings (22-3, 15-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) were led by three players in double-digit kills led by Kelsey Moore's 16. Marlayna Geary added 12 kills and Kayla Erickson had 10 kills. Laurie Yearout matched a match-high 42 assists. Samantha Hutchinson had a team-high 26 digs, and Geary completed the double-double with 20 digs. Yearout also had a double-double with 10 digs. Emily Cotter and Jennica McPherson added 12 and 11 digs. McPherson had four service aces. Erickson totaled seven blocks.

Western Washington finished with a .139 hitting percentage, while MSUB finished at .123. The Yellowjackets outhit WWU, 49-48, but committed 28 errors to WWU's 25. The Vikings had seven service aces, while MSU Billings had seven service errors.

The Yellowjackets battled and played with the 15th-ranked team in NCAA Div. II for the majority of the night. The match featured 10 ties and three lead changes.

“I thought we battled really hard tonight,” MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. “I give a lot of credit to our two seniors. They battled all year long and have given everything to this program. I thought the whole team came out and played aggressively. We had nothing to lose. We took some big swings and came close, but just couldn't come away with it in the end.”

The first set had five ties, all early in the frame, but the Vikings changed a 7-7 score to an 18-9 advantage after an 11-2 run anchored by solid serving from Cotter. The run proved to be decisive as MSUB pulled within five points, but no closer. Western Washington scored the final four points of the set to win the frame, 25-16.

Just as in the first frame, the second set began back-and-forth. With the scored tied at eight, the Vikings used another well-timed run, creating a five-point margin at 14-9. MSU Billings pulled within two, 19-17, but WWU did not surrender the lead again in the set. Western took the frame, 25-20.

Montana State Billings controlled the third set, hitting .244 in the frame. The Yellowjackets led throughout the set after jumping out to a 5-0 lead. MSUB led by as many as seven, before winning the set, 25-20.

The Vikings got out to an early 9-3 lead in the fourth set. WWU stretched its lead to seven points, 13-6, before leading by as many as eight. Western Washington won the final frame, 25-20.

MSU Billings' (11-14, 8-9 GNAC) Monica Grimsrud had a match-high 19 kills and added 13 digs. Chelsey Walter finished with 10 kills. Kyndal Williams finished her freshman season with 42 assists. Erin Compton ended her junior season with a match-high 32 digs. Andrea Molen chipped in 15 digs, while Morgan Moss and Williams had 12 and 10 digs respectively. Jody Lutz was in on three blocks. Before the match, the Yellowjackets honored Moss and Lutz who played in their final collegiate matches.

The Vikings clinched the GNAC title with their win Thursday at Seattle Pacific. WWU also clinched the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Tournament. The site and pairings for the regional, which takes place on Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 1, will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m.