BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team has an eventful week ahead of it, as it hosts No. 16 Western Washington University this Thursday, then honors seniors Joelle Mahowald, Bayli Monck and Marissa Logozzo before the Simon Fraser game on Saturday at noon. The senior day festivities will be livestreamed 10 minutes before Saturday's match.
 
The Yellowjackets (10-14, 5-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are coming off of one GNAC match last week – a 3-1 defeat at Seattle Pacific on Nov. 6. Both games this week are against the league's top two teams. In particular, the 16^th-ranked Western Washington Vikings are one win away from clinching the GNAC title; the Vikings are 14-1 in conference play with a three-game cushion over Simon Fraser.
 
Coincidentally, MSUB gets the top two teams in the conference during a week full of festivities honoring its two seniors – Bayli Monck and Joelle Mahowald – plus Marissa Logozzo, who is on track to graduate early this spring and pursue grad school.
 
All three seniors – Logozzo, Mahowald and Monck – have seen times starting for the 'Jackets throughout their careers. Not only that, this trio is one of the first classes MSUB head coach Casey Williams has recruited and developed during her Division II coaching career.
 
"This is the first class I've brought up," Williams said. "I recruited them, they were here in the program for four or five years. I think that means a lot that Bayli was able to stick it out for five years and for Joelle and Marissa to be here for three years. They've helped sculpt MSUB volleyball into a better place than when they found it."
 
Logozzo, a defensive specialist/libero out of Pasco, Wash., was primarily a basketball player until high school. She quickly became a starter on Chiawana High School's volleyball team and, thanks to guidance from her coaches, joined a highly competitive Central Region United Volleyball Club team that featured several future collegiate athletes – including several that currently play for fellow GNAC school Central Washington.
 
"Marissa makes people's day brighter," Williams said. "She brings that goofy element to practice that I think we're really going to miss next year. She's had a good physical career too. She did some good things for us as a freshman and she's put in some really good work for us this year. As a person, as a player and all around, she's put in a lot of work – especially in the classroom – and done some great things."
 
Another member of Logozzo's recruiting class, senior middle blocker Joelle Mahowald came into MSUB after spending two years at Spokane Falls Community College – coincidentally, the same junior college Williams attended during her playing career. Both Williams and Mahowald were coached by Jenny Hull, who recommended Mahowald early in her junior college career. Ever since then, Mahowald has delivered. In her first Division II volleyball season, Mahowald set the single-season program record by hitting .321 in 2019-20; right now, Mahowald ranks sixth in the GNAC with a .296 hitting percentage, which is also a team-high.
 
"Joelle came in to MSUB highly recommended by her," Williams said. "I trusted Jenny's opinion and it definitely paid off. Joelle has been a light in our program for three years. Not only has she been physically dominating but her personality, heart, and willingness to do the little things right all the time has been huge. I wasn't sure if she was able to stay for an extra year, but I couldn't have asked for a better person to stay."
 
"She's super humble," Williams added. "She's always coming into practice, expecting to learn – she's always been super coachable. She's been adaptable to everything we ask of her. Coming in with the mentality of being humble and her work ethic has turned her into a really solid player. She's gotten better every year I've watched her play – and that includes throughout her junior college career too. Statistically, the way she's finishing right now, she's crushing it."
 
Joining Mahowald as the only player to take advantage of the bonus year awarded to student-athletes after the coronavirus pandemic, right side hitter Bayli Monck will leave MSUB as one of the best players in program history. Statistically, Monck ranks sixth all-time at MSUB in kills (1,195), 10^th in digs (988), eighth in total blocks (269.0) and is three service aces away from breaking into the top 10. Monck is also 12 sets away from being MSUB's all-time leader in sets played, plus 13 more digs would make her just one of three players in program history with over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
 
"It's hard to put into words all that we've been through as a duo," Williams said of Monck. "We've been the two people that have been here the longest out of everyone on the team right now. Bayli has been through thick and thin with the MSUB volleyball program. Personally, I am super grateful for that. She's helped shape what we want MSUB volleyball to be, and a lot of that is due to her sticking it out and putting in the time to make everything better."
 
According to Williams, Monck made the biggest strides with the mental aspects of the game. On her own volition, Monck sought out mentors, read books about improving one's thought processes and currently attends weekly leadership training with the coaching staff in order to help improve the team.
 
"Seeing her develop into the composed, powerful and confident player she is now has been a night-and-day change from how she came in as a freshman," Williams said. "Watching that has been so cool over the past five years, and it comes down to the little things she's doing – whether it's focusing on nutrition, the weight room, summer workouts or the mental side of things – in order to become one of the forces in the GNAC."
 
LAST TIME OUT
In one of the GNAC's toughest road trips, MSUB finished on the wrong side of 3-0 sweeps against Simon Fraser and then-20^th-ranked Western Washington. During that stretch from Oct. 14-16, MSUB's bright spots included freshman middle blocker Mikayla Yore's defense (three solo blocks against SFU), junior Skylar Reed rising to the occasion late against Western Washington, plus contributions from Olivia Schwartz (seven kills against WWU) and Monck.
 
"They're always super fun teams to play because they're always so talented and so focused," Monck said of both Simon Fraser and Western Washington. "One thing about our team is that out of all the years I've played here, we're the most focused group I've been part of. At the end of the day, we all want the same things and we have so much determination. Western and Simon are teams that will challenge us, but with the environment we set here, I think we'll definitely have good competition with them."
 
In order to flip the script this time around, Williams says the team has to get the other teams out of system, make smarter decisions and – especially during senior day on Saturday – play selflessly as a group in order to send out the seniors with a win.
 
"Selfless play is going to be a huge factor," Williams said. "Playing for our seniors who won't be able to play on our home court anymore is what our focus will be. If we give all-out effort, selflessly, I think we'll do some really big things. I think when we play for a bigger cause, we tend to do really well, and that's what the Simon Fraser game will be."
 
One positive for the 'Jackets has been their play at home: MSUB has an 8-4 record at home – including a 4-3 record in GNAC play – and has already pulled an upset in GNAC play with its 3-2 win against Alaska earlier this season.
 
"They are great teams, but we're super pumped for it," Mahowald said "We're going to come out with great energy and have our friends and parents behind us, which will be really special. I think we have to understand this is the last time playing in our gym together, leave it all out on the court and prove who we are as a team."
 
UP NEXT: MSUB plays #16 Western Washington tomorrow at 7 p.m. MT, then hosts Simon Fraser for senior day on Saturday, Nov. 13 at noon. Senior day festivities will start at 11:50 a.m. on Saturday. Livestream and live stat links can be found at the women's volleyball schedule page on msubsports.com.