SEATTLE – Maddi Vigil and Alexa Smythe recorded double-doubles for the Yellowjackets but the Montana State University Billings volleyball team lost to Seattle Pacific University 3-2 at Brougham Pavilion on Thursday night.  The Yellowjackets could not get around the blocking of a host of Falcons as SPU posted 27 total blocks and dominated the deciding set 15-3.
 
Gabi Stegemoller was the difference maker on defense in the match and had nine block assists for Seattle Pacific. She was helped by Hailey Gaines and Gabby Oddo who finished with five block assists each.
 
The Yellowjackets put up a strong fight to force a fifth set and came back from losing the first frame by taking the second in decisive fashion 25-15. Seattle Pacific held steady and outhit the Yellowjackets in the match .190 to .150 and added 63 total kills.
 
"We played a good match tonight," said Montana State Billings head coach Casey Williams. "SPU is a very sound defensive team and put up a solid block at the net that we struggled to work around. I am confident we will rebound Saturday at SMU."
 
Maddi Vigil was moderately effective on the front line for the Yellowjackets, finishing with 15 kills and a .163 hitting percentage while adding 15 digs. Vigil also earned her seventh double-double of 2018 by the midway point of the third set.
 
Alexa Smythe recorded her first career double-double as the MSUB setter recorded 42 assists along with 17 digs for MSUB. Taylor Sherman played the libero position for the first time in the regular season beginning in the second set. Sherman had 14 digs, three assists, and two service aces in her new position.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Montana State Billings dropped the first set 25-20. The Falcons outhit MSUB .279 to .163 and slammed 17 kills compared to the Yellowjackets' 13. MSUB held a brief lead twice in the set but SPU earned the separation they needed 18-17 and didn't look back.
 
The Yellowjackets came out swinging in the second set and snatched 12 of the first 14 points to lead 12-2. Sherman played well in her first set of the regular season at libero and the 'Jackets played with good energy throughout the set. Seattle Pacific eventually made a push to get within six points of a tie at 18-12 but Alexa Smythe and Eavan Taylor combined for a galvanizing block on the front line to stem the Falcons' 5-2 run, after which the 'Jackets capitalized on set point to win it 25-15.
 
The Yellowjackets second set win also stopped the Falcons' run of ten straight set wins stemming back to September 8 against Simon Fraser.
 
After two sets, the Yellowjackets led 28-26 in total kills and turned their hitting percentage around to .214 versus SPU at .169.
 
The third set served as a testament to how difficult winning on the road can be in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Seattle Pacific clamped down on unforced errors and began running up their kill count. The Falcons hit .333 in the third set and had 17 kills to take a 25-20 set and 2-1 lead in the match. Vigil led all players at the end of the third frame with 12 kills for MSUB.
 
The Yellowjackets clung to a two point advantage through a majority of the fourth set and despite a late tie 23-23, the Jackets' grabbed the last two points and benefitted from a Falcon attack error and a kill by Eavan Taylor.
 
Seattle Pacific made the most of every opportunity to score in the fifth set and seized an early 5-2 advantage thanks in large part to tremendous blocking. The offensive punch left the 'Jackets hitters and SPU continued their run to take a 12-2 lead, putting the match firmly out of reach.
 
Gabby Oddo made 15 kills to lead the Falcons and Jaedan Hooker, Hailey Gaines, and Shawn Crespi also made double digit kills for SPU. Amanda Ganete led all players with 23 digs while Wymone Tran led all participants with 54 assists.
 
Skylar Reed played well for MSUB, coming off a career best performance against Rocky Mountain College on Tuesday in Billings. Reed made 13 kills and had one dig and a .156 hitting percentage against SPU.
 
ALL TIME: The Yellowjackets are now 11-31 in school history against the Falcons. MSUB last defeated SPU in Seattle on November 1, 2014.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets (6-8, 0-5 GNAC) have lost eight straight matches and jump back into GNAC competition on Saturday when they play Saint Martins (0-5, 2-9 GNAC) in Lacey, Washington at 7 p.m. PT. The next home contest for the Yellowjackets is October 4 versus Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m. MT. Seattle Pacific improved to (7-6, 5-1 GNAC) and maintained their second place position in the conference standings.
 
THE BUZZ: Alexa Smythe was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game for the Yellowjackets. Smythe made 42 assists, five kills, 17 digs, and four block assists. With just a single attack error in 12 attempts, she maintained a .333 hitting percentage.