ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The MSU Billings volleyball team fell to Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Central Washington on the road 25-18, 25-19, and 27-25, Saturday at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The win improves Central Washington to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in the GNAC. MSU Billings falls to 1-12 on the year and 0-4 in the GNAC.
 
The Yellowjackets battled back from a deficit in the second frame to take the lead 13-10, before a late push from the Wildcats bought Central Washington a 2-0 lead. In the third set, the Yellowjackets ground their way ahead early, surrendering the advantage late, only to fight back to recapture the lead, 23-21, before losing control in the final points.
 
"I thought we were evenly matched with Central Washington tonight," MSB head coach Casey Williams said. "They were a good team and very consistent. We had more attempts, kills, and digs than them. The determining factor was how many errors we had on the net. I thought there were some positives that came out of tonight, and I am looking forward to our series next weekend."
 
MSUB's Ashlynn Ward came away with her second double-double of the season, leading the match with 14 kills and 15 digs. Stormy Siemion found herself in familiar territory, adding-in her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs.
 
Angala Jensen and Mataia Robinson split the setting duties for the 'Jackets. Earning her first career double-double as a Yellowjacket, Robinson posted 12 assists and 13 digs. Jensen recorded 18 total assists.
 
At the net, Casey Rich led the team with four block assists and Bre Rodrigues added in two.
 
Central Washington played 14 different players on its roster during the match. Madison Weg led a balanced offense, clearing a team-high eight kills. Sara Joffs and Kiah Jones had three block assists each. Nikole Cook finished with 15 assists and Gaby Aihara added 12. Kyla Morgan had 15 digs.
 
The Yellowjackets completed the match with more kills (37-35), digs (65-57), and assists (35-28), but fell behind with team errors. The Wildcats claimed a .127 attack percentage, while MSUB closed the night at .081, finishing with 26 hitting errors to 19 from CWU.
 
In the opening set, Ward disrupted an initial 6-2 run from CWU with a kill. MSUB's Miranda McConnell went straight up the middle to drop the deficit down to three, 9-6. The Yellowjackets began to pick-up speed. Siemion directed a hit off the block. A double block from Rodrigues and McConnell on the outside picked up another point. Siemion closed the set to one point, 11-10, with a hard hit down the line deep. Two errors from MSUB and a kill from Weg pumped CWU up by three.
 
Ward countered after connecting on a long set from Robinson. A deep serve from the Wildcats gave some trouble to the Yellowjackets, and Jensen was unable to handle the pass. Behind by four, 17-14, Ward collected a service ace, and a back set from Jensen to Rich cleared a shot into the middle of the court. CWU's Shelby Mauritson careened a ball of the block and a long ball that missed the back line from MSUB drove the Wildcats up by five, 20-15. After two points from CWU, Siemion found a pair of points on a hard shot and a shuffled pop over the net. The Yellowjackets earned another point before a kill from Jones closed out the set for a 1-0 lead from Central Washington.
 
The second frame moved back and forth between the teams. Siemion dove on the line and Ward smashed the ball over the net to open the second frame scoring for the 'Jackets. Jones earned a point for the Wildcats on a shot to the crosscourt. A double block from Rich and Ward tied the early score at four. The Yellowjackets kept the run alive, drawing out the lead to 9-6 with a kill from Siemion.
 
The Wildcats climbed back to within 12-10 on a service ace from Mauritson. On a Wildcat overpass, McConnell was there to put the ball back for 13-11. Joss and Weg evened the second frame with a double block for 13-all. Jones and Ross went up for a block, giving CWU their first lead in the back half of the frame. Erin Little capped off a 6-0 rally for Central Washington. The 'Jackets used a service error from CWU to gain one back, and forcing an error from the Wildcats, drew the score back down to two, 21-19. A 4 -point run was again finished by Little to send CWU up, 2-0.
 
In the third frame, the Yellowjacket took the early lead with a kill from Ward off a bump set from Rodrigues. Jones rallied the Wildcats with a tough service run, pulling ahead 8-4. Four straight points from MSUB evened the set with two kills from Ward, a block in the middle from McConnell and Ward, and a nice defensive play from Kylee Cornelio keeping the ball alive as a bump over tied the set at 8-8.
 
The wildest rally of the match went to Central Washington. MSUB's Faith Taylor followed a ball that was stuck in the air conditioner unit at the top of the building to keep the play alive. Two attacks from Ward out of the back row were dug-up by the CWU defense. Siemion tried for a back corner push before a kill by Joffs capped an incredible effort by both teams.
 
Central Washington began to gain momentum, pushing through four straight on errors from MSUB. Not done yet, McConnell came up at the middle to tap the ball over the top of the tape for the 'Jackets. Bridgette Webb earned a match point for CWU with a kill on the outside. Down by two, an error from the Wildcats and a block from McConnell and Jensen tied the set at 24. The Yellowjackets forced an error on the Central Washington to give themselves a set point at 25-24. Kills from Weg, Little, and Jones closed-out the match for CWU.
 
THE BUZZ: Robinson named the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Match for her first career double-double at MSUB.
 
UP NEXT: MSU Billings returns home for a pair of conference matches. The Yellowjackets host Alaska on Friday, Sept. 30, followed by a contest against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Oct. 1. Both matches are set to being at 7 p.m., with live coverage on the MSUB Stretch Internet portal here.