BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Yellowjackets struggled to find answers against No. 7 Western Washington University Saturday night and the Vikings cruised to 3-0 win over Montana State University Billings in women's volleyball at Sam Carver Gymnasium. The Vikings closed out the contest with 47 kills and a .321 hitting percentage to go along with 57 total digs and seven total blocks. The win for the Vikings represented their 26^th straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory, including 19 in a row at home in Bellingham.
 
"We struggled against a really good team tonight," said MSUB third year head coach Casey Williams following the match. "We had some great moments but we couldn't string enough points together to win a set."
 
Western Washington (13-3, 8-0 GNAC) showed they were worthy of their No. 7 NCAA Division II ranking and led Montana State University Billings (7-10, 1-7 GNAC) in every important statistical category to prevent the Yellowjackets from seeing a lead throughout the entire match. The Vikings outhit MSUB .321 to .092 and had 47 kills versus 23 for MSUB. WWU also posted seven service aces including three by Mae Thungc and two by Taylor Lyall.
 
Abby Phelps and Alison Davenport posted double-doubles for the Vikings while Michaela Hall and Kayleigh Harper combined for 22 kills (11 each) on the attack. Aubrey Stephens was one of three WWU players with double-digit digs and she became one of just a handful of players in team history to surpass 10,000 career digs on Saturday night.
 
In addition, Phelps set Western Washington's new all-time school record for career kills (1,380) and recorded six in the first frame for WWU. The Vikings jumped out to a 12-2 lead and hit .423 with four service aces to take the first set 25-10 in just under 22 minutes.
 
Izela Alvarez made several strong digs at libero for the 'Jackets in the second set, but the Vikings again steadied the ship and never allowed MSUB to play from in front, winning set two 25-21. Montana State Billings gained some momentum in the second with a 4-0 run to narrow the score to 21-17, but a WWU timeout stopped the shift in energy and the Vikings closed out the set for a 2-0 match lead.
 
Vigil and Monck helped the Yellowjackets in the early part of the third set but the Vikings organized and found their stride in a 6-2 run, which effectively put the set out of reach 23-14. Phelps made a kill to grab match point at 24-14 and the Yellowjackets were unable to return Lyall's serve on the final point of the night.
 
Despite the loss, Alvarez had a strong night for MSUB with 16 digs, which led all players. Maddi Vigil also had 12 digs to go along with two kills for MSUB. Alexa Smythe had 21 assists and Taylor Sherman recorded the 'Jackets only service ace. Middle blocker Eavan Taylor also had two blocks.
 
ALL TIME: Montana State Billings is now 1-25 all-time against Western Washington. The Vikings have been ranked in meetings against the Yellowjackets 11 times. MSUB's lone victory against the Vikings came in 2014, when the Yellowjackets won in five sets at Alterowitz Gymnasium. Western Washington was ranked No. 11 at the time.
 
UP NEXT: Having completed their four match road swing, the Yellowjackets will return home on October 4 to play Northwest Nazarene at Alterowitz Gymnasium at 7 p.m. MT.
 
THE BUZZ: Bayli Monck was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game for Montana State University Billings Saturday night. Monck posted five kills and one service error and was instrumental in the Yellowjackets' push for the second set. Monck also recorded one block in the effort against WWU…Montana State Billings went 1-3 on the recent road trip but picked up an important GNAC win over Saint Martin's in five sets on September 22…The Yellowjackets are 1-9 in their last ten games and are hoping to resuscitate their winning ways from a 6-0 start to the season in non-conference play.