BILLINGS, Mont. – Skylar Reed stole the show Wednesday night at Alterowitz Gym, pounding down a career-high 24 kills to lead Montana State University Billings to a five-set volleyball victory over visiting Rocky Mountain College 25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 21-25, 15-7.
 
Reed added a career-high 18 digs to complete her first-ever double-double, and fittingly finished the match with the game-winning kill in the final set. "She crushed it," MSUB head coach Casey Williams commented on Reed's standout performance. "We gave her an opportunity to go six rotations, and she never looked back. She was loaded in the back row, swung really well both in the front row and back row, and I'm super proud of her."
 
The win helped MSUB (1-1) avenge its road defeat against the Bears and even the season series. It also snapped RMC's 10-game winning streak, as the Bears slipped to 12-2 overall on the season. "That one hurt, especially when you know you could have done better," Reed commented on MSUB's 3-1 loss at Rocky on Feb. 23. "We went out tonight just thinking about what we know we can do. This is our third match and we've had a chance now to put it into gear, and I think we saw that in that fifth set."
 
The pivotal point in the match came in the third set, with the Yellowjackets trailing 23-19 and in danger of falling behind in the match 2-1. A Marissa Logozzo-led stretch of serves resulted in five-straight points for the Yellowjackets, who stunned the Bears and took their first lead of the set at 24-23. The fifth point during the run was perhaps the loudest individual moment of the night, when Joelle Mahowald leapt up and rejected RMC attacker Weiying Wu with a powerful solo block to put the Yellowjackets ahead.
 
"Marissa did everything she was asked to when she went in, and her serve kept us in the game," Williams commented on the sophomore's string of serves in the third set. "I was super proud of her effort. Hannah Hayden and Joelle did a great job of fronting their middles, and executing everything we had worked on in practice."
 
While Rocky forced extra play by pulling the score even at 24-24, Reed finished the momentum-changing set with a kill to give MSUB a 26-24 win. "We're just some fighters," Reed commented on the third-set victory. "It is so exciting to see us be able to push through like that and work through everything."
 
MSUB's late rally in the third was preceded by an equally-impressive stand by the Bears in the second set, as Rocky rallied to win it 26-24 to avoid falling behind in the match 2-0. A kill by Bayli Monck gave the 'Jackets set point in the second at 24-22, but RMC stood its ground and won the next four points to pull off the win and bring the match even at 1-1.
 
On a night where she couldn't be stopped, Reed opened the fifth set with back-to-back kills and the Yellowjackets never looked back after that. A service ace by Morgan Allen pulled the score even at 4-4, but MSUB won nine of the next 10 points as the Bears ran out of gas in the decisive set. Three straight kills by Mahowald set up match point at 14-7, and Reed pushed down the final ball of the night to give MSUB the victory. "We talked about starting fast in the last set, and it was nice to see us execute what we were talking about in the huddle," said Williams. "We came out swinging, and I'm proud of the way we worked throughout the entire night."
 
MSUB started the night with a decisive victory in Set 1, as the 'Jackets built an early 11-7 advantage and never trailed after that. Rocky got as close as 17-16, but MSUB won four of the next five points thanks to a pair of kills by Reed to reestablish a firm lead late.
 
The Bears meanwhile had an impressive showing in the fourth set to stay alive, pulling away in the middle of the period. A kill by MSUB's Hannah Hayden brought the Yellowjackets' deficit to just one down 15-14, but RMC won five points in-a-row to jump ahead 20-15 before finishing strong to force the decisive set.
 
Mahowald finished with 18 kills and three blocks, while Monck posted a double-double with 18 kills and 23 digs to lead the Yellowjackets. Hannah Hashbarger had a career-high 64 assists to go along with 18 digs, and Maddi Vigil had a career-high 30 digs to help lead the MSUB defense. Making her first-career start for the 'Jackets, Jahsita Fa'ali'i finished with nine kills and eight digs. "Everybody passed phenomenally tonight," Reed said. "Hannah Hashbarger did a great job of running the offense, and we were focusing on trying to get our hitters into good positions."
 
Kyra Oakland led Rocky with 16 kills while Wu also reached double figures with 13 and Allen had nine. Natalie Hilderman had 45 assists and 14 digs for the Bears, while libero Ayla Embry led the team with 27 digs and Tori Cybulski was close behind with 26. RMC's offense posted a hitting percentage of .178 on the evening, compared to a mark of .217 by the Yellowjackets. The Bears out-blocked the 'Jackets 10-6 in the match.
 
The back-and-forth affair featured a pair of sets in the middle that went to extra points, with neither team leading by more than MSUB's final margin of victory of eight points in the final set. "We were rough at Rocky, and we were sloppy," Williams commented on the team's match two weeks ago – its second of the spring season. "We did some things well, but we just had not worked out the kinks. Coming back into practice after that loss, we were focused and determined to make sure we cleaned up our side of the net. Hopefully we will continue to take that next step in our next couple of practices, and get ready for our Division II opponents this week."
 
THE BUZZ: Reed was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Reed's previous career high in kills was 20, reached on Sept. 18, 2018 against Rocky…Reed's previous career high in digs was nine, reached on Sept. 6, 2019 against South Dakota Mines…Vigil's previous career high in digs was 26, reached on Sept. 23, 2019 against Rocky…Hashbarger's previous career high in assists was 62, set on Oct. 12, 2019 at Northwest Nazarene…Hashbarger's assist total tied for the 11th-highest in MSUB single-game history, matching the total by Kristen Janney on Sept. 17, 2002 against Hawaii-Hilo…the MSUB single-match record for assists is 73, set by Hillary Morrison on Oct. 14, 2008 against Rocky…MSUB is now 38-22 all-time against Rocky and is 27-8 in home matches.
 
COMING UP: MSUB has three road matches over the weekend in South Dakota, playing against University of Mary and Black Hills State on Sunday and at South Dakota School of Mines on Monday. Live coverage for the games will be available online here.