BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Battling hard in the sets and using a defense that produced four players in double-digits, MSUB kept the games close before falling 25-15, 25-19, and 25-19 to Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent No. 18 Western Washington on the road at Whatcom Community College Thursday.
 
The win improves No. 18 Western Washington to 21-7 overall and 17-3 in the GNAC. MSUB falls to 7-22 and 5-14 in the conference.
 
Senior Ashlynn Ward led MSUB's offense putting away 12 kills and adding 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. The 15 digs matches a career-high for the outside hitter from Rexburg, Idaho. She had previously completed that number twice, last in a match at Central Washington earlier in the 2016 season.
 
Fellow senior Stormy Siemion was just short of completing her own double-double with nine kills and 12 digs.
 
"It was a tough loss tonight," MSUB head coach Casey Williams said. "Western Washington is a tough team that doesn't make very many errors. We had a hard time matching their consistency. We had a couple of great hustle plays that helped keep us in the match and our defense stepped-up and played well. We are looking forward to playing in our final match of the season on Saturday."
 
The MSUB defense was on display as the Yellowjackets recorded 69 total digs. Four players finished with double-digits led by a team-high 16 from senior Kylee Cornelio. Freshman Faith Taylor finished between Ward and Siemion with 13 total digs.
 
MSUB had 5.0 blocks to 7.0 from WWU. Casey Rich finished with three as Ward, Siemion, and Angala Jensen added two each. Jensen led the team in assists with 27. Rich and Jensen both recorded a service ace.
 
The 'Jackets were held to a .099 attack percentage at the net. Miranda McConnell hit a team-high .625 with five kills on eight attempts and no errors.
 
Western Washington hit .250 led by 11 kills from Kayleigh Harper and 10 from Joellee Buckner. Aubrey Buckner recorded a match-high 23 digs. Brette Boesel finished with 40 assists. Michaela Hall had five blocks.
 
Down 6-2 in the opening set, MSUB went on a 5-2 scoring spree that included a kill from Jensen and capped by an attack from Siemion to draw the score within one point, 8-7. From there, the Vikings jumped ahead 23-13 on a 7-0 run aided by a kill from Buckner and two from Arielle Turner. McConnell drove home the final MSUB point of the set on a swing kill to the back side. Turner finished the opening frame with her third straight point for the Vikings.
 
In the middle set, the Vikings embarked on an early 5-0 scoring run, but MSUB was able to bring it back to a 1-point difference on a kill from Ward and a WWU error for 8-7. A double-block from Jensen and Rich kept the score close. Ward and MSUB freshman Bre Rodrigues pounded kills as the teams traded points. Jensen snuck a kill over the top of the net and Siemion used a shot crosscourt to pull MSUB to two points back at 17-15. A block from Buckner and Hall sparked an 8-4 run to close out the set for WWU.
 
The third set was the most competitive game of the night. The Yellowjackets held a 12-11 advantage after back-to-back kills from Ward and Jensen. The Vikings rattled off four straight points to take the lead back. A kill from Siemion stopped the run, and Ward closed the deficit to two points. The Yellowjackets made another push late in the set. McConnell kicked if off earning a point on a kill in the middle off the block. Jensen followed that with a service ace and a block from McConnell and Rodrigues capped a run of three points to pull the 'Jackets to within three, 21-18. The Vikings were able to close out the match on a 4-1 final spurt, finished on a block by Hall and Abby Phelps.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB will play its final match of the 2016 season in Canada. The Yellowjackets travel to Burnaby, B.C., for a contest against GNAC opponent Simon Fraser on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. Mountain time.
 
THE BUZZ: Ward named the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Match…this was Ward's fifth double-double of the season in kills and digs and the first match since Rocky at home on Oct. 25^th that Ward finished with double-digit digs...69 digs is the highest total for MSUB in a three set match this season.