NAMPA, Idaho – Bolstered by new career-highs from several younger players, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team outlasted the Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks for a 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-25, 25-9) Great Northwest Athletic Conference win on Thursday.
 
"We fought incredibly hard tonight and worked hard for that win," MSUB head coach Casey Williams said. "Hannah Hashbarger did a great job of moving the ball around and getting us in system. I'm proud of our team!"

Ever a steady presence for the Yellowjackets (12-15, 7-10 GNAC), sophomore setter Hannah Hashbarger was one shy of her season-high with 48 assists, plus her three kills and three service aces – including one on match point. Senior right-side hitter Bayli Monck led the way with 17 kills, Skylar Reed added 13, plus Olivia Schwartz set a new career-high with a dozen kills to lead the way for MSUB.
 
With the win, MSUB swept the Nighthawks (6-19, 3-14 GNAC) for the first time since 2018.
 
QUICK HITS

• Playing in her home state for the first time in her college career, freshman middle blocker Mikayla Yore set a career-high with 8 kills.
• Olivia Schwartz's .280 hitting percentage was also a career-high.
• Monck moved up to second all-time at MSUB with 460 sets played. She is three sets away from being MSUB's all-time leader.

 
MATCH STATS

• MSUB hitting: .208 overall (.105 set one, .324 set two, .125 set three, .164 set four, .474 set five)
• NNU hitting: .213 overall (.286 set one, .250 set two, .057 set three, .385 set four, .111 set five)
• Service aces: MSUB 6, NNU 7
• Digs: MSUB 69, NNU 72
• Blocks: MSUB 6, NNU 11
• Northwest Nazarene was led by Tayler Markland's 14 kills.

 
As it was the theme throughout the match, the team who scored first eventually went on to win the set. NNU went on a 4-2 run to start, forcing MSUB to claw out of the deficit early. The young Yellowjackets rallied to tie it: first with back-to-back kills from Olivia Schwartz, then with an ace from freshman libero Christine Funk to tie the set at six.
 
A pair of kills from Skylar Reed helped MSUB keep pace, then Idaho native Mikayla Yore came alive on the block. Yore and Bayli Monck teamed up for a block, then Yore earned the first of her four kills in the first set to make things 13-11, NNU. Schwartz and Joelle Mahowald helped MSUB stay in the mix of things, yet the Nighthawks went on a 4-0 run late to take a 23-16 lead. Although Yore delivered with back-to-back kills to pull the 'Jackets within five, NNU won the next two points to pull ahead with a 25-18 first-set win.
 
In set two, MSUB got an early lift from Yore being active on the block once more; she and Monck blocked back-to-back swings to give MSUB a 2-0 lead, then MSUB took a 7-4 lead off another kill by Mahowald. NNU would come back to tie things at 8, but a pair of kills from Reed highlighted a 6-1 run that gave MSUB a 14-9 lead. Keeping the Nighthawks at arm's length, Yore and Schwartz teamed up for a block, then Marissa Logozzo ran down a would-be NNU kill, which led to a point for the 'Jackets and a 19-14 lead. Monck helped wrap things up at the service line, capping off a 3-0 run for the 'Jackets with an ace before Reed shut the door on NNU with two late kills to win the second set 25-19.
 
Riding on momentum from their second-set win, the 'Jackets took a big lead to begin the third set. With Kennedy Juranek back to serve, a pair of kills from Schwartz, an ace from Juranek and a block from Mahowald and Schwartz helped MSUB double up NNU 8-4. Hashbarger's kill helped MSUB double up the Nighthawks again at 12-6, then MSUB maintained its large lead for the next few points. Kills from Yore and Marissa Logozzo's first kill of the season put MSUB ahead 17-10 and forced a timeout, but then the Nighthawks clawed back into the set, taking a 22-21 lead.
 
Yet MSUB's upperclassmen came through. An NNU error tied the game, then swings from Reed and Monck – with an ace from Hashbarger that was just out of reach for NNU's back line – sealed the deal in MSUB's 25-22 set win.
 
NNU took a 2-0 lead before both teams see-sawed to begin the fourth set. Neither team held serve for more than one point until the Nighthawks took a decisive 4-0 run to go up 10-5 on the 'Jackets. Reed snapped NNU's run out of the timeout, then the 'Jackets pulled closer with back-to-back kills from Monck to make the score 12-9, NNU. MSUB would pull within three points once more with Schwartz's kill at 16-13, yet the Nighthawks pulled away with a 9-2 run to win the fourth set 25-15.
 
Reed started the scoring in the fifth set, then Hashbarger's second ace clipped the top of the net and fell inbounds, then Monck gave MSUB a quick 3-0 lead. A block from Yore and Monck sent NNU reeling, then MSUB took a 6-1 lead on Yore's eighth kill that made NNU call timeout. This early cushion benefited MSUB early on, as NNU chipped away to pull within three at 10-7.
 
But MSUB wouldn't relinquish the lead. Mahowald stopped the Nighthawks' rally not once but twice with a pair of kills down the stretch, then Hashbarger found Reed and Monck to force match point. Hashbarger's line-drive of a serve and fooled NNU's back line as it barely graced inbounds in order to give the 'Jackets the win.
 
THE BUZZ: Hannah Hashbarger was the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game for her 48 assists, three kills and three service aces.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB finishes the 2021 season at Central Washington this Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. Links to live stats and video can be found on msubsports.com.