BILLINGS, Mont. – Starting in not only her first game of the season, but also her first-ever game against Great Northwest Athletic Conference competition, second-year freshman Jahsita Fa'ali'i led the Montana State University Billings volleyball team with 12 kills and four service aces in the Yellowjackets' 3-0 win over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
"She did so well, and it was so exciting to see her play really well," Williams said of Fa'ali'i's game. "From the jump, I think she had three kills in the first four or five points, which was cool to see. She got off to that fast start and really played awesome throughout the entirety of the match."
 
From the get-go, the Yellowjackets (4-6, 1-1 GNAC) commanded the game. MSUB outplayed Northwest Nazarene (1-7, 0-2 GNAC) in all facets of play, plus the team never trailed until the third set.
 
QUICK HITS

• Fa'ali'i' surpassed her previous career-high of nine kills early in the third set.
• Idaho native Mikayla Yore had a career-high three kills – including the match point.
• Hannah Hashbarger finished with 16 assists, a kill, a service ace and 10 digs.
• Hailey Carroll finished with nine assists and seven digs.
• Four different 'Jackets had service aces in the match. Both Skylar Reed and Fa'ali'i had more aces (4) than Northwest Nazarene did as a team (3).

 
MATCH STATS

• MSUB hitting: .202 overall (.233 set one, .242 set two, .146 set three)
• NNU hitting: .154 overall (.178 set one, .133 set two, .143 set three)
• Service aces: MSUB 10, NNU 3
• Digs: MSUB 64, NNU 59
• Blocks: MSUB 7.0, NNU 2.0
• Northwest Nazarene was led by Natalie Sullivan's 12-kill, 11-dig double-double.

 
Fa'ali'i set the tone early in the first set with back-to-back kills, then a block with Hannah Hayden to give MSUB a quick 4-0 lead. She quickly picked up her third kill of the set, then her first service ace of the season, plus back-to-back kills from Bayli Monck and Hayden helped the 'Jackets stay ahead, 12-8.
 
"I was really nervous, and then I took a couple of deep breaths by myself," Fa'ali'i said of her hot start in first GNAC game. "In the game, on every serve I just let the game come to me. [The first few points] made me really feel confident in myself."
 
NNU took a timeout trailing 14-9, but a big block from Hayden led to a Monck finishing things off to extend the lead. With MSUB leading 18-13, Fa'ali'i tipped the ball between NNU's front and back lines for her fourth kill of the set. Although NNU tried to stage a late rally, the Nighthawks couldn't close the gap any more than five points. Back-to-back kills from Monck gave the Yellowjackets a 25-20 lead.
 
The second set followed a similar script as the first. MSUB jumped out to a 5-1 lead, starting with a block from Hayden and Skylar Reed, then with another kill from Fa'ali'i – the latter of which led to a quick NNU timeout. Fa'ali'i continued her all-around performance by teaming up with Hayden for a block once play resumed, then she earned yet another kill to make the score 8-2, MSUB.
 
The Yellowjackets didn't let their feet off the gas pedal. Big swings from Reed, Hayden and Fa'ali'i kept NNU at bay, then Mikayla Yore's kill to make the score 19-14 fired up the sideline. Playing with a comfortable 22-16 cushion, service aces from Reed closed out the set and gave MSUB a convincing 25-16 win.
 
The third set was the closest of the afternoon. MSUB jumped out to another 5-2 lead early before NNU strung took its first lead of the day on a 4-0 run. Fa'ali'i's 11^th kill of the afternoon tied the game at 6-all, but the Nighthawks took back the lead with a 3-0 run.
 
Yet the 'Jackets kept their composure throughout the set. NNU sent a serve long on the next play, then Fa'ali'i showed how it was done with a service ace of her own. Her second ace of the set gave MSUB a 10-9 lead, but the Nighthawks would tie things up four more times from that point forward.
   
Trailing 22-19 and needing one more surge, Fa'ali'i's 12^th and final kill of the day, then Yore's second kill of the game off a set from Hailey Carroll helped MSUB inch closer to its first GNAC win of the season. A NNU kill nearly gave momentum back to the Nighthawks, but Yore and Fa'ali'i helped put the game away.
 
"I think everyone had the willies a little bit," Fa'ali'i said of NNU's late surge in the third set. "But I'm glad that everyone pulled through. I think us feeling that way helped us push through a little bit."
 
With Fa'ali'i behind the service line, blocks from Joelle Mahowald and Yore, then Mahowald and Reed helped set up a long rally to close the game. Fittingly, Kuna, ID native Mikayla Yore provided the game-winning kill to send NNU back to Nampa empty-handed.
 
"We had really great block moves in the front row – Joelle had a good one and Mikayla Yore had a really good one – and that was really cool to see," Williams said. "I will say that this team has a lot of fire, and it was really cool to implement that and have a three-set win."
 
THE BUZZ: Jahsita Fa'ali'i was the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Saturday's win was the 'Jackets first home victory over the Nighthawks since the 2018 season.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB begins its trip to Alaska by playing Alaska Anchorage next Thursday at 7 p.m. local time. Links to live stats and video can be found on msubsports.com.