BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team kept things close in each set, but the Seattle Pacific Falcons beat the 'Jackets in three sets in Alterowitz Gym on Saturday.
 
"We were very average tonight," MSUB head coach Casey Williams said. "We never really found our groove defensively. We had some bright moments, but we weren't very consistent throughout the day."
 
The Yellowjackets (7-9, 3-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) trailed by as many as eight points in the second set and forced the set to go into extras, then had a lead midway through the third set, but the Falcons (9-5, 5-2 GNAC) were able to win both to finish off the sweep.
 
QUICK HITS

• Skylar Reed led the way for MSUB with 14 kills and a block.
• Bayli Monck added 13 kills, seven digs and a block.
• Keeping pace as one of the GNAC's top servers, Jahsita Fa'ali'i led MSUB with two service aces.

 
MATCH STATS

• MSUB hitting: .220 overall (.129 first set, .265 second set, .257 third set)
• Seattle Pacific hitting: .381 overall (.406 first set, .379 second set, .361 third set)
• Service aces: MSUB 3, SPU 3
• Digs: MSUB 26, SPU 36
• Blocks: MSUB 5.0, SPU 9.0
• Seattle Pacific was led by Erin Gould's 15 kills and seven digs.

 
Foreshadowing the next two sets, the first set featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes between the two teams, plus neither team led by more than two points until the second half. MSUB took an early 4-3 lead with kills from Skylar Reed and three from Bayli Monck, then the 'Jackets got their largest lead on Jahsita Fa'ali'i's first service ace, which clipped the top of the net and died on SPU's side to make the score 9-7.
 
SPU threatened to break open the game with 4-1 and 4-0 runs to make the score 20-15, but the 'Jackets clawed back into the game. Reed answered the call with two kills, Fa'ali'i added another and SPU's kept serving into the net, setting up a 23-20 finish with MSUB serving. SPU would take a 24-20 lead, then Monck pulled MSUB closer on the next point, yet the Falcons took the first set 25-20.
 
In set two, a pair of Monck swings bookended a 5-0 Falcons run to open the next frame. The Falcons jumped out to lead by as many as nine at 11-4, yet this deficit didn't deter the 'Jackets from making a game out of it.
 
Needing an answer trailing 12-4, setter Hannah Hashbarger faked out the defense for a kill, sparking a 10-2 run. Joelle Mahowald chipped in two kills – including one on her third swing of the point during a long rally to pull the 'Jackets within four, 12-8. Mahowald and Reed's block on the next play, Fa'ali'i's second service ace and kills from Reed and Monck tied the game at 14-all, setting up a close finish to the second set.
 
Tied at 17, MSUB caught a break off a short Seattle Pacific serve. On the next play, Mahowald made the Falcons pay by slamming the ball up at the net and down for a kill, followed by a one-handed over ball from Fa'ali'i that hooked right and fell between SPU's rows. Mahowald continued her dominant second-set play with two more kills to give MSUB a 22-19 lead, but SPU answered with a 3-0 run. Reed's kills gave MSUB a 23-22 lead, then tied the game at 24, yet the Falcons won the next two points to win the set.
 
MSUB flipped the script of the first two sets by storming out to a 9-6 lead, thanks to a 5-0 run that featured Joelle Mahowald's seventh service ace of the year, two kills from Reed and Hannah Hayden's big swing off an assist from Hannah Hashbarger. The Yellowjackets would lead by as many as four points twice during the middle of the third set, but SPU hung around, then made a comeback of their own to take a 15-13 lead. Reed tied the game at 17-all with the second of her back-to-back kills, which came off a quick recovery at the net. Although MSUB clawed within one on three different occasions down the stretch, SPU won four-straight points to take the third set, 25-20.
 
THE BUZZ: Skylar Reed was the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game for leading the team with 14 kills…the rematch between the two teams takes place on Nov. 6.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB hits the road to play Simon Fraser on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. MT. Links to live stats and video can be found on msubsports.com.