MOORHEAD, Minn. – Montana State University Billings came from two sets down to defeat both South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and University of Mary in the first two matches of the Minnesota Moorhead Classic Friday at Nemzek Fieldhouse. The Yellowjackets were led offensively by Maddi Vigil against SDSMT and Eavan Taylor versus Mary. The team was backstopped on defense by Izela Alvarez.
 
"I'm proud of the way we fought as a team today," said head coach Casey Williams. "We had some inconsistencies but worked hard to overcome two tough teams. Our middles really stepped up in that last match and led us to the win."
 

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BILLINGS VS. SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY
 
Montana State University Billings rallied from two sets down to defeat the Hardrockers 3-2 in women's volleyball Friday morning. Maddi Vigil had 20 kills and 11 digs to record her 13^th career double-double for MSUB.

Izela Alvarez led the team with 25 digs including a dig on a crucial point midway through the fifth set. Alvarez's dig from the center of the court set up Kylee Clarke for a kill and gave the 'Jackets an 8-7 lead. The team held the lead to win the deciding frame. Taylor Sherman and Bayli Monck also reached double digit digs for MSUB with 11 and 10 respectively.
 
"Izela was solid for us today," said Williams of Alvarez. "She picks up everything and pulls us out of a lot of sticky situations. She runs our back row and is a great leader on the court."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set began with an Alvarez service ace but soon the Yellowjackets found themselves behind 16-9. A five-point rally was sparked by a series of Vigil kills which assisted MSUB to a 19-18 lead. SDSMT swung the momentum back in their favor at that juncture and went on to win 25-22, including five straight points to end the set.
 
In the second set, MSUB got off to a strong start and took six of the first seven points. Alexa Smythe recorded a pair of service aces in this early stage but the Hardrockers fought back to retake the lead 11-10. Dana Thomson had 12 kills and one error through two sets of play and South Dakota Mines took a commanding 2-0 lead with a 25-17 second set score.
 
The Yellowjackets kept the score close in the third set long enough to benefit from two late attack errors by the Hardrockers front line. Leading 23-22, MSUB took the final two points to get on the scoreboard trailing in the match 2-1 with a 25-22 set score.
 
In set four, the 'Jackets held a narrow lead early, then stretched it to 23-13 on the serve of Bayli Monck. Miranda McConnell, Monck and Taylor added to the offense provided earlier in the match by Vigil and they went on to tie the score at two, winning 25-16.  
 
The two teams traded points early in the fifth set but a turning point may have occurred at the 7-7 point for the Yellowjackets. Alvarez dug out a difficult ball in the middle of the court, which immediately set up Kylee Clarke for the kill. After the change of ends, MSUB extended their lead to 10-7 when McConnell and Clarke combined for a block near the sideline. Montana State University Billings ended the fifth set 15-11 after another Vigil kill on match point.
 
The Yellowjackets improved to 2-0 all-time against the Hardrockers after winning against SDSMT in the same tournament 3-0 last fall.
 

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BILLINGS VS. UNIVERSITY OF MARY
 
Montana State Billlings channeled more late match heroics Friday afternoon as they rallied to defeat University of Mary 3-2. University of Mary had also won their morning match against Western State Colorado.
 
Again, things did not start out well for MSUB. The Yellowjackets forced extra time in the first frame but lost and never led in the second to trail 2-0. With their backs against the wall, they rallied to take sets three and four in decisively. The final set was tightly contest and ended 15-13 in favor of MSUB.
 
Taylor finished with 12 kills and three errors for a .429 hitting percentage. Miranda McConnell was nearly as impressive, slamming 10 kills and two errors for a hitting percentage of .348. Alvarez, Sherman, and Vigil all reached double digits in digs on defense.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Yellowjackets started the first set with a series of good blocks by Taylor and Sherman to build a 14-6 lead. Then the Marauders put together an 8-1 run to make it 15-14 and the gap stayed within three points for the remainder of the set. University of Mary grabbed their first lead at 18-17 and served for the set at 24-22 but could not close it out until a third set point, 27-25.
 
Montana State Billings made a number of early errors causing them to have to chase the lead for most of the second set. Williams took a timeout with MSUB trailing 12-8 but the Yellowjackets never made up the difference and fell 25-20.
 
MSUB began the third set with a 5-1 advantage, but the Marauders slowly chipped away to tie it 15-15. The 'Jackets dug in and won six straight points helped by a pair of Alvarez service aces and a solo block by Taylor. They closed the set 25-19.
 
A run of four straight points on Katie Campbell's serve put MSUB in position to win the fourth set at 21-13. Natalia Cruz's serve landed long to give the Yellowjackets a set point and a block by McConnell was enough to close out the fourth set and force a decider.
 
The teams remained within two points of one another all the way through the final set. Vigil dropped a service ace at 13-13 to give the Yellowjackets match point. Then, in an extended last point, Monck hit a kill which tipped off a Marauder blocker the turnaround was complete for MSUB. The final set score was 15-13.
 
Montana State Billings improved to 5-3 all-time against the Marauders.

UP NEXT FOR MSUB
 
The Yellowjackets (2-0, 0-0 GNAC) have a pair of matches scheduled for Saturday to close out the Minnesota State Moorhead Classic. First, MSUB plays Minot State at 9:30 a.m. Then they end the afternoon with a match against Western State Colorado University at 2:30 p.m. CT.
 
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE