BILLINGS, Mont. – With a three-set sweep against Black Hills State University on Saturday night in Alterowitz Gym, Montana State Billings won its fourth-straight match to open the 2014 season.
 
The Yellowjackets took care of all four of their opponents in the 2014 Jackets' Volleyball Classic, winning three of their four matches by way of the three-set sweep.
 
The Yellowjackets' Kyndal Williams was voted tournament Most Valuable Player, and senior Chelsey Walter joined her on the all-tournament team. Also earning all-tournament honors were Mallory Sall and Emily Byrne from Minot State, Holly Hamlin and Danielle Torpey from Black Hills State, and Allison Adams from the University of Mary.
 
Match 10 – MSUB 3, Black Hills State 0 (25-17; 25-19; 25-21) - Boxscore
 
Williams topped all players with 41 assists as the Yellowjackets won the first two sets commandingly and finished the third strong to complete the victory.
 
Monica Grimsrud and Walter tied for the team high with 13 kills apiece, and Haley Wells led all MSUB players with 15 digs. On the match, MSUB out-hit BHSU .212 to .103. Stormy Siemion (13) and Mataia Roderick (11) also had double-figure kills for MSUB.
 
For BHSU (2-2), Chloe Zimmer had a team-best 27 assists while Sydney Ederhoff tallied 19 digs.
 
MSUB (4-0) jumped to an early lead, as a nifty kill by Grimsrud sparked a 3-0 run to make the score 5-3.
 
Julia Anderson finished a long rally with a touch-kill on an assist by Williams to push MSUB ahead 14-11.
 
BHSU hung tough, winning four of five points to pull within one at 17-16. A thunderous kill by Walter kicked-off a three-point rally, making the score 20-16 and burning a BHSU timeout.
 
The 'Jackets finished the set strong out of the timeout to take a 1-0 advantage.
 
BHSU rallied to a 4-1 lead to open Set 2, but another big kill by Walter followed by an ace from the senior and a BHSU error pulled the score even at 4-4.
 
Another feed from Williams to Anderson gave MSUB momentum and a 7-5 lead. BHSU grabbed the next three points, but a dual block from Anderson and Grimsrud put a stop to the run.
 
The teams traded points into the middle of the second set, battling to a 14-14 deadlock.
 
MSUB pulled slightly ahead, picking up a 20-17 advantage towards the end of the second set. Siemion logged a kill out of a timeout after a great dig by Wells, and Walter finished a kill two points later to make the score 22-18.
 
The Yellowjackets moved within one set of victory a few points later, as a kill by Walter off of a Williams set sealed Set 2, 25-19.
 
BHSU kicked off the third set with two straight points, and after MSUB pulled even Zimmer finished a well-placed kill down the line to put BHSU back in front.
 
Following the trend from Set 2, the teams exchanged points to a score of 7-7. BHSU refused to let MSUB pull away, using a kill by Torpey to narrow their deficit to 12-11.
 
Grimsrud helped the Yellowjackets pull away, finishing a kill before a BHSU attack error made the score 17-12.
 
BHSU got within one point at 22-21, but the Yellowjackets finished strong to complete the three-set win.

Match 9: University of Mary 3, Minot State 2 (25-19; 25-21; 21-25; 19-25; 15-12) - Boxscore

Lauren Randall led the University of Mary with 15 kills and teammate Lauren Boldt was close behind as the Marauders defeated Minot State in a dramatic, five-set affair in Game 9 of the Jackets' Volleyball Classic Saturday evening.

Janell Finkbeiner had 29 assists for Mary (1-3), while Alex Brown led all players with 28 digs.

Minot State (2-2) was led by Tarah Dabovich's match-high 16 kills, and Emily Byrne had 47 assists for the Beavers. Cindy Pelo turned in 14 digs, and Jen Dixon and Mallory Sall had 13 apiece.

After taking a commanding two-set lead, Minot State battled back to win the third and fourth sets to force the decisive Set 5. The Marauders dug deep however, holding on for a narrow 15-12 win to give the team its first win of 2014.

Match 8: Black Hills State 3, Chadron State 1 (25-20; 24-26; 25-20; 28-26) - Boxscore

Black Hills State evaded a fifth set by coming back to beat Chadron state 28-26 in Set 4 to capture a 3-1 victory in Game 8 of the Jackets' Volleyball Classic.

Meghan Sipe had 14 kills for the Yellow Jackets (2-1), and Chloe Zimmer topped her squad with 37 assists. A trio of Yellow Jackets finished with double-digits in the digs category, with Lacy Stevens (26), Sydney Ederhoff (18) and Sipe (11) being the team's top contributors.

For the Eagles (1-3) Erika Roybal had a team-best 18 kills, while Mariah Conyers led all players with 49 assists. Lelalelei Nomura and Brittany Oddo each had 15 digs for the Eagles, who had six total players reach double-digits in digs on the match.

Match 7: MSU Billings 3, Minot State 2 (22-25; 22-25; 25-21; 25-15; 15-8) - Boxscore

Montana State Billings completed a dramatic comeback, defeating Minot State in five sets in Game 7 of the Jackets' Volleyball Classic Saturday afternoon.
 
After losing the first two sets, the Yellowjackets responded with 25-21, 25-15 and 15-8 victories to improve to 3-0 on the season. Monica Grimsrud took command with a team-best 17 kills, and Kyndal Williams recorded a match-high 50 assists. Haley Wells came up with 21 digs and Stormy Siemion was close behind with 20.
 
Minot State (2-1) was led by Mallory Sall's 14 kills, and Jen Dixon (13) and Taylor Butters (12) also had double-digit kills. Emily Byrne had a team-high 41 assists, and Cindy Pelo contributed 19 digs to the Beavers' effort.
 
Williams and Chelsey Walter started off the first set with a bang, as a big block assist put the 'Jackets ahead 1-0 right away.
 
Minot State took advantage of several MSUB errors early on, jumping to an 8-4 lead and prompting Yellowjacket head coach Lisa Axel to take a timeout.
 
Siemion landed a big kill out of the timeout, sparking a 7-1 run to give MSUB an 11-9 advantage. Mataia Roderick kept a rally alive twice with big digs on consecutive points, and a Grimsrud kill put MSUB up 15-12.
 
Sall and Jessica Thompson teamed up for a big block for the Beavers, giving Minot State a narrow 20-19 lead late in the first set. Kills by Taylor Butters and Tarah Dabovich pushed the score to 23-21 in favor of the Beavers. A kill by Jen Dixon set up game point for Minot State, and the Beavers took Set 1 25-22 over the 'Jackets.
 
The teams traded points into the middle of the second set, and a block by Grimsrud followed by a kill by Anderson pushed the 'Jackets to a narrow 16-15 lead.
 
Walter finished a kill on a set by Williams, and the 'Jackets separated themselves by two points at 21-19. The Beavers closed the second set strongly however, finishing the job for a 25-23 victory.
 
Coming out of the break strong, Grimsrud got the Yellowjackets on the board in Set 3 with an emphatic kill on the first point. The teams traded points early on, and back-to-back kills by Siemion and Walter led to a 3-0 run to push the 'Jackets ahead 8-5.
 
MSUB held the three-point lead, and Grimsrud and Anderson combined for a block to make the score 11-8. The 'Jackets held their composure through the middle of the set, and a kill by Walter put MSUB up 20-17 and prompted a Minot State timeout.
 
MSUB kept the rally going as a kill by Anderson set up game-point at 24-19. Ashlynn Ward followed with the game-winning kill, keeping the 'Jackets alive after the first three sets.
 
Playing with newfound inspiration, MSUB cruised to a lengthy 16-9 advantage to open the fourth set. Ward followed with another strong kill, and the 'Jackets took command 19-10. Minot State made a push towards a comeback, but the Yellowjackets cushioned their lead thanks to a Beaver service error that made the score 23-15. Siemion finished the next two points with kills to bring the teams even at two sets apiece.
 
The Yellowjackets took the first two points of the fifth set, on a big block by Walter and Williams and a kill by Grimsrud. A pair of attack errors and another block by the same duo made the score 5-0 MSUB to start the decisive set.
 
Keeping their foot on the gas, the 'Jackets extended the lead to 8-1 before a three-point rally by the Beavers.
 
Closing with a 7-4 run, Walter slammed home the game-winner to give the 'Jackets the come-from-behind 3-2 victory.

Match 6: Chadron State 3, University of Mary 0 (25-21; 25-23; 28-26) - Boxscore

Lelalelei Nomura recorded 13 kills, six digs and a pair of service aces as Chadron State (1-2) defeated the University of Mary (0-3) in three-straight sets Saturday morning to kick off Day 2 of the Jackets' Volleyball Classic.

Mariah Conyers turned in a match-high 23 assists, and the Eagles posted an attack percentage of .153 on the match.

Allison Adams tied Nomura's mark with 13 kills for the Marauders, and Lauren Randall (17) and Alex Brown (16) combined for 33 of Mary's 57 digs. Janell Finkbeiner had a team-best 20 assists for Mary, and Brown helped her team out with a pair of service aces.