BELLINGHAM, Wash. – MSU Billings battled hard in the first two sets, but No. 16 Western Washington pushed back in the third set completing a 3-0 win (25-18, 25-20, 25-15) over the Yellowjackets in conference action Saturday.
With the win, the Vikings (18-4 12-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) complete a season sweep over MSU Billings as the Yellowjackets fall to 4-19 overall and 3-11 in the GNAC.
Finishing the match with 11 kills, junior
Ashlynn Ward led the MSUB offensive effort as the lone player to reach the double figures in terminations. Setter
Kyndal Williams connected on 27 assists. A trio of Yellowjackets in
Stormy Siemion (15),
Mataia Roderick (11), and
Taylor Sherman (11) all recorded more than 10 digs.
"We battled better than we have in a long time tonight in the first two sets," MSUB head coach
Lisa Axel said. "I thought our offense did a pretty good job terminating the ball. We broke down in serve receive and had way too many overpasses which Western Washington was able to capitalize on all night.
Miranda McConnell had a great night tonight offensively and was able to find the open court."
McConnell finished the match with seven kills on a .400 (7-1-15) attack percentage.
The nationally-ranked Vikings were led by their own trio of attackers in Kayleigh Harper (15), Abby Phelps (11), and Joelle Buckner (11) who combined for 37 of WWU's 52 kills. Harper hit an astounding .882 (15-0-17) for the match.
On the night, Western Washington hit .376, while limiting the Yellowjackets to a .179 attack percentage.
WWU's Brette Boesel tied Williams for the match in assists with 27. Phelps completed a double-double with 13 assists added to her 11 kills. Jenica McPherson contributed 13 digs and Kistina Tribley 15 assists.
Abbie Mikelson put MSUB up early 4-1 in the first set. Marrs won a dual at the net for 8-7. Western Washington pushed ahead with a 7-1 run that included a service ace from libero Arielle Turner. The Vikings' McPherson with a hard shot down the line made it a 12-8 lead, but MSUB climbed back in with five straight points picking up two kills from Ward and one from McConnell for 14-13.
The Vikings countered back with three of their own points, eventually opening up a 6-point 20-14 lead. The Yellowjacket made a final push at the send of the set exchanging rallies, but on a MSUB error, the Vikings claimed the first set 25-18.
Western Washington opened the second frame with a 7-1 scoring run. Siemion connected on a strong swing for a point. The Yellowjackets battled back into the set. Williams hit a good set dump to pull MSUB to within one at 12-11. Western Washington came right back. Good rallies by both teams, but the Vikings end a strong showing with a kill from Harper.
Two straight service errors by the Vikings leant some life into the second set for MSUB. The Yellowjackets capitalized on the second error with an ace from Sherman. Late in the frame, Marrs provided a kill off a swing set, and Ward hit a hard shot into the back court, but WW found a way to finish the set 25-20.
After trailing early 8-3, MSUB reeled off five points to take the lead 9-8 on a kill from Ward. McPherson put together a good service run for the Vikings, pushing the team ahead 13-10 on a service ace. Six straight points from WWU was halted by a kill from McConnell, but deep into the game the Vikings took care of the match, holding MSUB to five points while adding 10 for a 25-15 win in the final set.
THE BUZZ: McConnell receives the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Match honor…MSUB had three service aces in the match with Williams, Sherman, and Siemion each recording one… Marrs led the team in blocks with three.
UP NEXT: MSU Billings returns home next week for the last two home matches of the 2015 season. On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Yellowjackets host Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 7, MSUB hosts Saint Martin's where before the match MSUB will recognize
Kyndal Williams and
Audri Marrs during this season's Senior Night.
