MSUB SPORTS – Some of the top defensive players the Yellowjacket volleyball program has ever seen competed during the 2010s, with this list featuring a pair of two-year standouts and a four-year player.
 
These players combine to appear in the record book for digs – both career and single season – five times total to represent the top ball-handlers of the decade.
 

Day	Release
Monday, September 28, 2020	The Middles
Tuesday, September 29, 2020	The Hitters
Wednesday, September 30, 2020	The Liberos
Thursday, October 1, 2020	The Setters
Friday, October 2, 2020	Full Team

 

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Erin Compton
Position: Defensive Specialist/Libero
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Playing Years: 2011-2012 (2 seasons)
 
Feature Story: College Extra: Erin Compton (Billings Gazette - October 8, 2011)

Compton transferred to MSUB from Grand Canyon University, and made an immediate impact leading the team with 381 digs in her first year on the court in 2011. Coming back even stronger in 2012, Compton ranked second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with 577 total digs and an average of 6.01 digs per set.
 
She earned first-team all-conference recognition after setting the school's single-season record for digs. Compton also earned a GNAC Player of the Week honor, and was tabbed as the MSUB Volleyball Player of the Year at the Buzzies.
 
Compton reached double figures in digs in all 26 matches of the 2012 season, reached 20 or more in 18 matches, and hit her career high of 36 on Oct. 25 against Central Washington. That mark remains tied for ninth-most digs in single match history.


 

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Izela Alvarez
Position: Libero
Hometown: Dumas, Texas
Playing Years: 2017-2018 (2 seasons)
 
New Faces: MSUB Volleyball Freshman Izela Alvarez

Alvarez promptly broke Compton's single-season digs record during her freshman year, with 622 total for a GNAC-leading 5.76 digs per set. That was good enough to earn her honorable mention all-GNAC recognition, and she had five matches during the 2017 season with 30 or more digs.
 
Alvarez then produced the third-highest single-season digs mark as a sophomore in 2018, with 540 total and an average of 4.54 digs per set.
 
Alvarez was named both the MSUB Freshman of the Year and the MSUB Volleyball Player of the Year at the Buzzies after the 2017-18 academic year.


 

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Taylor Sherman
Position: Outside Hitter/Defensive Specialist
Hometown: Parker, Colorado
Playing Years: 2015-2018 (4 seasons)
 
Feature Story: Patience Pays Off For Taylor Sherman

A devastating knee injury cost Sherman her entire sophomore season in 2016, but she rallied to return to the court for two more years and complete a four-year career as a Yellowjacket. After seeing time early in her career as an outside hitter, Sherman was used primarily as a defensive specialist over the final two seasons of her college career.
 
Sherman showed good promise as a freshman in 2015 before her injury, racking up 129 kills and 314 digs. She finished her career with 800 digs, averaging 2.48 per set in the three seasons she spent on the court. Sherman was also a two-time academic all-GNAC selection.
 
Casey Williams (Sherman's Head Coach 2016-2018): "Taylor Sherman was one of those athletes who was always 'on.' She never had a bad game. She played with such joy and was the best teammate. She had the greatest attitude of anyone that I ever coached. Taylor read the ball really well and had amazing pursuit of the ball. She was unbelievably consistent in the back row and was versatile as a utility player."


 

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About the MSUB All-Decade Team Project
The top student-athletes from each of Montana State University Billings' current varsity athletic teams from 2010-2019 have been selected, and 14 all-decade teams will be revealed throughout the course of the fall of 2020. Each sport's all-decade team is comprised of the top-performing student-athletes, with weight given to individual athletic achievement and accolades, team achievement, academic achievement, as well as community service. For more information on MSUB's all-decade project, and to view each sport's all-decade teams, view the all-decade project webpage online here.