NAMPA, Idaho. - The MSU Billings volleyball team ran into a tight wall against Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets dropped a straights sets match (25-18, 25-11, 25-16) to the Crusaders Thursday.
After dealing Central Washington a straight sets loss on Tuesday, the defending GNAC Champion Crusaders came out with a vengeance. After a close first set, the Crusaders jumped out early in the next two frames leading MSUB 16-4 in the second set and 12-5 in the third frame on their way to the straight sets victory.
Northwest Nazarene (19-9, 16-4 GNAC) finished with a .266 attack percentage and 11.0 team blocks while holding MSU Billings (6-22, 5-14) to -.057.
"Northwest Nazarene played a great match tonight and did a great job at the net blocking," MSUB head coach
Lisa Axel said. "
Kimmy Kirk had a very good night on defense and made some monster digs for us but we just could not put the ball away."
Kirk finished with a match-high 16 digs for the Yellowjackets.
Stormy Siemion had seven kills. Setter
Kyndal Williams had 21 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist
Mataia Roderick serviced up two aces.
In the first set, MSUB scored three straight points, including an ace from Roderick and kills from Siemion and
Audri Marrs to close to within four at 18-14. Still in command, NNU closed the door scoring the last 5-8 points for the 1-0 lead.
The Crusaders jumped out to a hot start in the second frame with a 7-1 opening before a tip from Siemion gave the Yellowjackets the ball. On a roll, Northwest Nazarene pushed points hard on the scoreboard building a16-4 lead. MSUB fought for four points, including a kill from
Ashlynn Ward and a service ace from
Miranda McConnell that bounced off the back line, but the Crusaders cruised down the stretch for the second set win.
NNU built another big lead in the final frame taking a 12-5 advantage and climbing to a 20-9 point spread. The 'Jackets managed a short 5-1 run in the middle of the set, ending with MSUB's fourth serving ace of the match coming from the hands of Williams. The Crusaders closed the match with a double block at the net for the final point of the night.
Kendra Bodine led NNU with 11 kills. Jenna Caywood had six blocks. Hailey Cook finished with 27 assists while Elayna Rice led the team in digs with 14.
UP NEXT: MSU Billings will play its last match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 21. The Yellowjackets will face Central Washington on the road at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time.
