HELENA, Mont. – Closing its 2021 spring season with a bang, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team fought for a five-set victory at Carroll College on Tuesday evening at the PE Center winning 17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13.
 
The win was the sixth straight overall for the Yellowjackets and the fifth consecutive counting victory as MSUB finished the spring season with a 5-1 record. "I am really proud of the way we competed this spring, and how we finished," said MSUB head coach Casey Williams. "We showed a lot of growth throughout our matches, and we continued to keep a competitive edge throughout our entire season. I am really excited about how well this sets us up going into the fall season."
 
Bayli Monck led all players with 23 kills in the match, while adding 10 digs to complete a double-double. Joelle Mahowald had a dozen kills – including the game-winning point, and Skylar Reed added 12 kills and 12 digs in the match. Freshman Olivia Schwartz had a season-high eight kills, and sophomore Hannah Hashbarger led the way with 55 assists.
 
Playing in the final match of her collegiate career, senior Maddi Vigil led all players with 33 digs while adding four service aces. Vigil finished her four-year career at MSUB with 1,114 digs, ranking her seventh in program history.
 
Lexie Gleasman and Taelyr Krantz led Carroll with 11 kills apiece, while Ali Williams had 19 assists and Julia Carr had a team-best 21 digs. The Saints remained at 10-6 on the season with Tuesday's match being an exhibition contest for the hosts.
 
The Saints came out strong, pulling away late in the first set to take it 25-17 and pull ahead in the match.
 
The Yellowjackets responded well however, winning each of the next two sets to take the lead. With Set 2 tied at 13-13, a kill by Mahowald was followed by a service ace from Monck as the 'Jackets kicked off a 6-2 scoring burst that proved to be the difference. The Saints never evened the score after that, with MSUB claiming the second set 25-21.
 
The third set unfolded evenly through the first 17 points, before the Yellowjackets made their move. Three service aces from Reed highlighted a 7-1 run by the 'Jackets, that put them ahead 17-9. Carroll responded however, winning seven points in-a-row to get back within one at 17-16. Two kills by Mahowald and one more by Monck gave MSUB another 5-0 run, and this time the 'Jackets held onto the advantage for a 25-19 triumph.
 
Carroll trailed 19-16 in the fourth set, before reeling off seven straight points to turn the tables and ultimately force the decisive frame. The Yellowjackets won the first two points and never trailed in the fifth set however, closing off the road victory strong.
 
MSUB improved to 4-0 in five-set matches during the spring season with Tuesday's victory.
 
THE BUZZ: Monck was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 6-23 all-time against Carroll…Tuesday was the first meeting between the teams since the 2002 season.