BILLINGS, Mont. – Bayli Monck circled around craftily towards the middle of the floor, eyes locked in on setter Hannah Hashbarger.
 
It was a motion that had become second-nature for the Montana State University Billings senior, one that she had been working on perfecting since her debut with the Yellowjackets in the fall of 2017.
 
But with MSUB leading Simon Fraser University – the second-ranked team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference – 2-1 and the score reading 24-19 in Set 4 last Saturday, this one carried a little extra meaning.
 
Gaining momentum as she strode towards the 10-foot line, Monck's 5-foot-10 frame soared elegantly off the floor with her left arm cocking back, ready to strike. Perfect timing, pure contact, 'boom.' Match. Point.
 
It was a motion Yellowjacket volleyball spectators have become accustomed to expecting from the lanky left-hander, who completed the 122nd match of her five-year career at MSUB. When Monck gets into rhythm like that, her arm turns into a cannon. It's a fierce attack that everyone – daunted defensive players included – can see formulating a mile away. But everyone knows it is unstoppable.
 
Not many have meant more to Yellowjacket volleyball than Monck, who ranks sixth in program history with 1,211 kills. The GNAC Player of the Week for the second time this season will wrap up her collegiate career with MSUB's road matches at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday in Nampa, Idaho and at Central Washington on Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash.
 

MSUB Volleyball Career Kills Leaders (as ov Nov. 17, 2021)
Rank	Player	Kills	Seasons
1	Alicia Cazemier	1449	2004-07
2	Jessica Bratton	1376	2003-06
3	Monica Grimsrud	1361	2011-14
4	Devon Crotteau	1351	2007-09
5	Olivia Munro	1288	2001-04
6	Bayli Monck	1211	2017-21
7	Jennifer Boe	1177	2007-10
8	Ashlynn Ward	1156	2013-16
9	Brandee Sayles	1043	1994-97
10	Jody Newberry	951	1996-99

Monck's play looks effortless. She glides off the floor, arms swinging freely in perfect sync with her footwork and legs seemingly dangling as she elevates to get on top of the ball. It's a set of mechanics she has worked hard to perfect, as Monck has been determined to make the most out of her natural athleticism by combining it with a strong dedication to skill development.
 
It's safe to say that Monck has transcended the program's all-time greats, becoming the first Yellowjacket to ever appear in the school's top-10 for kills, digs, blocks, and service aces. It's hard to believe however, that Monck's collegiate career comprised more than two-thirds of her competitive volleyball playing life.
 
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
"I was kind of late to the game. Girls had been playing together since they were 12, and fundamentally I was not as good as they were." – Bayli Monck on beginning her competitive volleyball career in high school.
 
Monck has always been tall and lanky among her peers, and she naturally took to basketball as a kid growing up in Colorado Springs, Colo. "The first sport I loved was basketball, but I had to work hard at it," Monck said. "Naturally I wasn't super great at it."
 
Although Monck's early athletic focus was on basketball, she grew up in a volleyball-heavy environment which naturally piqued her interest in the sport. Her father Gregory coached volleyball from 2009-12 during his tenure serving in the Air Force, and his daughter cites taking in the experience as an important moment in her volleyball career. "All I remember is how fun the environment was," said Monck, who was 10 years old when her father started coaching in the Air Force. "The gyms were packed, the guys were really passionate, and they were great people. It made me think that I wanted to do that."
 
Monck's older sister Kaitlyn carried influence as well, as the eldest Monck was the first to jump into the club volleyball scene. "She was way more into volleyball, but when I started going to her tournaments I wanted to start playing too," Monck commented on her sister, who played four years at Waldorf University in Iowa. "She has always thought the world of me in a sisterly way. She was always hard on me, but always for my best interests."
 
Although Monck competed in volleyball in middle school, her competitive club volleyball career didn't take shape until her junior year at Vista Ridge High School. By then Kaitlyn was a sophomore at Waldorf, where soon-to-be MSUB assistant coach Carly Wehling was on the staff. When Wehling moved to MSUB in the fall of 2016, she quickly got her former West Alabama teammate Casey Williams on board with recruiting Kaitlyn's sister. "My former assistant Carly had a great connection with the Monck family, and helped open the door to recruiting Bayli," said Williams. "Carly really spoke highly of Kaitlyn, Bayli, and their family, and it seemed like the perfect fit for Bayli to join our program."
 
As Monck's passion for basketball faded, her interest in volleyball gained traction as she developed at the high school level. While she eagerly took to the sport that she had grown up surrounded by, a college career was

far from Monck's reality during her junior season in the fall of 2015. "I started getting looked at by schools, but I didn't think I would ever play college volleyball," Monck said. "I didn't think I could play, but I had my coaches and parents telling me I was talented and that I should go play."
 
Monck's mother Aimee, whose career is centered in the fitness industry, was a driving force in her youngest daughter gaining the confidence to compete at the next level. "She is the hardest working person I have come across in my life, and she was one of my biggest influences for sure," said Monck, who has witnessed her mother's influence on her two younger brothers Tyson (16) and Quentin (14) in their prep basketball careers. "She pushed me on days where I didn't feel like training or working out, and she has always implemented a healthy lifestyle for me. She believes in all of us, and my little brothers have some of the best heads on their shoulders. They're so humble, and all of us are like that. She is definitely the reason why."

Family in Helena combined with a reasonable commute back to her home state were among factors leading Monck to commit to the Yellowjackets. Monck identified an opportunity to compete right away and have a major impact, and when she got back into the car with her mother upon the conclusion of her visit in the spring of 2017, Monck knew she wanted to sign her letter of intent. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind," Monck said on committing to MSUB. "It felt like the right decision for me at the time."
 
A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP, A HALL-OF-FAME CAREER
"I'm thankful she has stuck around, and I'd probably lose my mind without her. I'm old." – Bayli Monck on former teammate and current assistant coach Maddi Vigil.
 
When they arrived jointly in the fall of 2017 as true freshmen, Monck and Maddi Vigil could not have been more opposite. The quiet, unassuming, tall right side from Colorado met the boisterous, dynamic younger sister of two NFL linebackers from Utah. "At first I didn't like Maddi – I thought she was really intense," said Monck. "When I was younger I was not intense, and I just wanted everyone to like me."
 
As the 2017 season progressed and the duo spent increasing time together both on and off the court, the sport forged an unbreakable relationship between the two. "Our first encounter was her running up to me while we were setting up our dorm rooms and giving me a big hug," said Vigil. "It was kind of awkward because I'm not a big hugger, but after that we hit it off and just became best friends."
 
'Monck and Vigil' has been synonymous with MSUB volleyball over the last half-decade. Although she had the option to return this fall after the coronavirus-affected 2020-21 season, Vigil elected to retire her court shoes after the 2021 spring season and rejoin the program as an assistant coach this fall. "I was sad Maddi had to spend her last year the way she did, but I was so proud of her for choosing her career over volleyball," Monck said. "At the end of a game or practice, I'm so thankful she is still here to visually understand where I'm coming from."
 
The first of the two showing excellence both offensively and defensively, Vigil was 1 of 6 players in school history to be in the top-10 in both kills (940) and digs (1,124) at the end of her career. She had no qualms about being displaced from the top-10 in kills with Monck's surge this fall, as her former teammate has risen to sixth in school history. "It has been amazing watching Bayli play as a player, friend, and coach," Vigil said. "Compared to when she came in freshman year, her confidence and ability to play has increased significantly over the five years I have watched her. I'm pretty hard on her as a player, friend, and coach, and I have held her to high standard, but she has never disappointed me. Over the last five years she has grown in every aspect of life and volleyball, more than I thought she would. She has become the best player, teammate, and captain I have seen."
 
With two matches left in her career, the record book is already littered with Monck's name. Her 1,014 digs are 10th in school history, and she became the fifth Yellowjacket to join the 1,000-1,000 club in kills and digs last week. Add in Monck's 272 career blocks – which rank her eighth in school history – and her 83 service aces – which rank 10th, and her name is the most frequent occurrence among the program career leaders list. She is the only one in the top-10 in all four categories.
 

Bayli Monck Career Statistical Rankings (as of Nov. 17, 2021)
Category	Amount	MSUB Career Rank
Sets Played	455	3
Kills	1211	6
Attempts	3636	5
Service Aces	83	10
Block Assists	255	4
Total Blocks	272.0	8
Digs	1016	10

"Bayli has become a phenomenal player in the past five years," said Williams. "She has grown up so much and become a pillar in our volleyball program. I think the biggest growth I've seen from Bayli is her mentality. She has become a leader and has become such a composed player. Physically, she has always been our go-to player. From her very first collegiate match when she had 20 kills, 3 errors, and 44 attempts, we knew that Bayli was going to be special. She has gotten better and better every year, and will finish as one of the top volleyball players in MSUB's history."
 
Monck's prowess extends beyond the confines of MSUB, as she enters the final week of the season tied for 23rd in GNAC history in kills and total points with 1,438, and tied for fourth in sets played with 455. She is within reach of Gina Langer's school record of 462 sets played (1996-99). Monck has also totaled 36 double-doubles and was a first-team all-GNAC selection during her junior season in 2019.
 
Monck had to work hard on all aspects of her game as well as her leadership qualities, as she has grown into a mentor and key role model as the longest-tenured player in the program. Monck adapted to a position she had never played before at the outset of her freshman season, and turned it into one of the best careers the program has ever seen. "Bayli was a setter in high school, and in that recruiting class we definitely needed a six-rotation opposite side," Williams said. "With the athleticism we saw the first time that we saw Bayli play, we knew that she would make the transition from the setting position to opposite side seamlessly."
 
 
"I feel like a completely different person than I was my freshman year," Monck said. "I wasn't very confident in myself on and off the court, and you could tell. I knew I had to step up, and the transition from my sophomore to my junior year I had to step into my role. I want to leave here on the most positive note possible, and just show that working hard pays off some day."
 
MONCK'S DREAM
"Bayli will leave the MSUB volleyball program better than she found it. A lot of that is due to the effort that she has put in on the court, and in the classroom and training room. She has been a 'mom' at times, a shoulder to cry on, a goofball, a leader, a mentor, and she will be greatly missed." – Casey Williams on Bayli Monck.
 
Monck is working towards completing her degree in MSUB's health and human performance program, and is evaluating her options upon the conclusion of her athletic and academic career. PA school or a graduate degree in the field of nutrition are within her scope, and taking after her mother as a personal trainer is also a career Monck could see herself in. "I'm not in a big rush, and I'd love to work and travel next semester," Monck said. "Sports have always been the biggest thought in my head – I've never really had a dream job or location to live in."
 
Monck's legacy will live on permanently, as she puts the finishing touches on the masterpiece of a career she has authored over the last five years this weekend. "She has always been a really powerful attacker but that practice I really wanted to work on rolling and tipping balls. She was a freshman and didn't understand at the time the benefit of having a bunch of tools in the tool kit. We worked for about 45 minutes on how to roll shot and she was bamboozled by the fact that she was not instantly perfect at it (funny because she is pretty darn near perfect at everything else). The rest of the team (along with Bayli) was cracking up. To go from a primary power attacker to one of the top offensive players (and defensive) players in the GNAC is because of the work ethic that Bayli has had for the past five years. The summer workouts, the open gyms, the extra reps, the nutrition. She has been the ideal student-athlete, teammate, player, and person, and is leaving the MSUB volleyball program as one of the all-time greats."
 
As for her final touch in Alterowitz Gym last Saturday? "It was very emotional, and I was just ready for that moment," Monck said in a postgame interview. "That moment struck tears, and it started to hit me."

How else would her final home match end besides a game-winning kill? Fatefully, it had to come off the left hand of Bayli Monck.