Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. – Balanced attacking and strong blocking lifted Western Oregon University over Montana State University Billings 3-0 in women's volleyball Thursday night at New P.E. Building in the Yellowjackets' first Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup this season.
 
Six players contributed significantly to the Wolves 36 total kills and the Yellowjackets came up short in their attempted comeback run in the third set.
 
"We struggled to find our rhythm tonight," said head coach Casey Williams. "Western Oregon came to play and we couldn't respond. We'll have another chance on Saturday against Concordia."
 
The Yellowjackets fell to 6-3 with the loss (0-1 GNAC) and it was their third consecutive defeat after starting the season 6-0. Izela Alvarez made 18 digs for MSUB but it wasn't enough to help the team overcome Western Oregon on the road for the first time since 2014.
 
The Yellowjackets and Wolves played a multitude of closely contested points in the early stages of the first set. Then the Wolves began finding their way around the MSUB front line blockers, snagging three straight points to take the lead 18-15, their largest of the set. After a timeout, the Yellowjackets went back to work on offense and closed to within a point of tying the match at 19.
 
Momentum shifted back to Western Oregon and the Wolves rallied to take five of the next seven points. A service error by Maddi Vigil gave the Wolves set point and WOU capitalized to take the first frame 25-21.
 
The Yellowjackets refused to be pushed around in the second set and grabbed an early 3-1 lead off the serve of Kylee Clarke. It did not last however as Western Oregon continued to put pressure on the 'Jackets defense by spreading out its' attack. Five hitters had at least three kills for the Wolves by the middle of the second set, helping WOU make a 4-0 run to lead again 13-9. Errors and a low hitting percentage continued to set the Yellowjackets back and WOU pulled away 25-18 for a two set lead.
 
Western Oregon never trailed in the third set and slowly expanded to a 19-11 advantage, their largest lead of the match. The Yellowjackets struggled to find open areas of the court to get kills but eventually clawed their way back to within one point at 20-19, helped again in the back row by Alvarez.
 
The Wolves attack was also less effective against the 'Jackets in the third set and WOU's hitting percentage dropped from .275 to .087. MSUB tied the score at 21, 22, and 23 but they  succumbed to a commanding kill by Sianna DeCarli, followed by a Juliana Cameron service ace which sealed the match for the Wolves 25-23.
 
STAT LEADERS: Izela Alvarez led all players with 18 digs. Sierra Stultz (WOU) was second with 12… Leila Holt (WOU) made 16 assists while MSUB setter Kylee Clarke had 12...Sianna DeCarli (WOU) led the way with nine kills… Three players made seven kills including Bayli Monck (MSUB), Marlie Norman (WOU), and Mariella Vandenkooy.
 
THE BUZZ: Keira Larson was named St. Vincent Heathcare player of the game for Montana State Billings…Larson made two kills and zero errors and had a .154 hitting percentage…Kylee Clarke has posted double-digit assists in every match this season (9) for MSUB, including 12 against Western Oregon Friday night…MSUB and WOU split a pair of matches in 2017. They will square off again on in the final contest of the regular season, November 10 in Billings.
 
UP NEXT: Montana State Billings (6-3, 0-1 GNAC) will finish a run of ten straight road matches on Saturday, September 8 at 2 pm. PT against Concordia (4-4, 1-0 GNAC). The Yellowjackets have never beaten the Cavaliers in six previous matches stemming back to 2015. Concordia is coming off a five-set loss to Western Oregon in their last GNAC match. Live video and live statistics will be available for Saturday's match through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.