BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team (6-14, 2-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) couldn't defend home court against the Simon Fraser Clan (9-11, 6-6) on Friday night as they lost 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-15). The GNAC rivals played a tight match as the young Yellowjackets continue to compete through the heart of their conference schedule.
Jordan Mix set a new season-high as she and
Maddi Vigil led the 'Jackets attack with 11 kills each. Vigil added 20 digs to record her team-leading eighth double-double of the season.
Izela Alvarez had three service aces to go along with 20 digs on the night.
Hali Ehresmann and
Miranda McConnell each tallied three block-assists while Mix and
Katie Campbell each assisted on two blocks in the match.
Alexa Smythe recorded her fifth match of the season with 30-or-more assists as she totaled 31 on the night.
Neither team could get into much of a groove on offense as the Clan recorded a .176 hitting percentage to out-hit the Yellowjacket's .085. Simon Fraser had 11 blocks in the match and tallied 95 digs compared to MSUB's 74.
In the first set of the night the 'Jackets held tight to a late lead, something the team struggled with early in the season. After taking a 14-13 lead off of a Simon Fraser error MSUB never gave it up and finished with a 25-23 victory. Ehresmann led the MSUB offense in the set with four kills followed by Campbell, Mix and Vigil who each recorded three kills in the frame.
Mina Duong had four of her nine digs in the match during the first set.
McConnell had two of her three block-assists in the second set but MSUB never held a lead after taking the first point of the game.
In the third set, the teams played through four lead changes and 10 ties. The 'Jackets led 12-11 before the Clan broke the set open with a 9-1 run to lead 20-13. MSUB rebounded and answered with an 8-1 run of their own punctuated by two big kills from McConnell to tie the game at 21-21 and 22-22. However the Clan rebounded and sealed the match with one of Tessa May's 15 kills on the night
Simon Fraser left little doubt in the final set of the night as the Clan started with a 5-1 run and never allowed the 'Jackets to get closer than three points behind. MSUB was held to a .022 hitting percentage in the fourth set while committing seven attack errors. SFU had their best hitting performance in the final frame hitting .286.
The match gave Simon Fraser their ninth consecutive win over the 'Jackets as they sweep the season series with a pair of 3-1 victories.
UP NEXT: MSUB will continue GNAC competition on Saturday night as they host No. 8 Western Washington University (16-3, 10-1 GNAC) at 7 p.m. The 'Jackets took a 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-16) loss to the Vikings earlier this season when they visited Bellingham, Wash.
