SAN DIEGO – Concordia Irvine University fired 43 kills and seized a three-set victory over Montana State University Billings 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 in volleyball Friday afternoon at RIMAC Arena in the West Region Showcase tournament, hosted by UC San Diego. The Eagles committed just eight attack errors and hit .340 against a 'Jacket squad which has surrendered four straight defeats in non-conference play.
Jaclyn Brown posted 10 kills and 10 digs to lead Concordia Irvine and Case Kailyn set up 17 assists. In the back row, Julia DenBoer had 14 digs to lead all players.
Despite the loss,
Skylar Reed made 10 kills and hit .292 for the Yellowjackets. The sophomore outside hitter also managed three digs.
Eavan Taylor made six kills and had one block assist.
Marissa Logozzo and
Makayla Baca each made 10 digs.
"CUI was a great team," said head coach
Casey Williams. "They pushed us from the service line and we struggled with our serve receive again. I thought the effort that we put forth was better but needs to improve before our last match."
The Yellowjackets made 32 total kills and hit .146 in the match with 44 digs, four blocks, and three service errors. The Eagles managed 46 digs and 18 blocks while serving seven aces.
MSU Billings (1-6) is still looking for its first win in the West Region Showcase with one match left to play against Academy of Art Saturday, September 14 at 12 p.m. Pacific. The team will be home for the first time when they open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play against Concordia University (Oregon) September 19 at 7 p.m. Mountain.
In 2018, MSUB had two losing streaks of four or more matches.
Concordia Irvine (4-1) plays UC San Diego Friday at 7:30 p.m. followed by Saint Martin's University and Chico State University on Saturday.
THE BUZZ: Skylar Reed was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the match for MSUB.
