BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team was defeated by the Seattle Pacific University Falcons in four sets (25-23, 15-25, 6-25, 12-25) in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Alterowitz Gym.
 
The 'Jackets claimed an early lead with a set one victory where they looked promising, but after the break both teams came out playing entirely different. Seattle Pacific made the important adjustments, and won each of the final three sets by at least 10 points.
 
Caty Havekost had a team high 10 kills for the Yellowjackets, while Hannah Hashbarger led the squad in both digs (15) and assists (12). The duo of Jahsita Fa'ali'i and Paiten Langston tied for the team lead in blocks with three each. Christine Funk ended up with 10 digs to go with two aces in the game, and Kennedy Juranek had 13 digs. The loss sunk the Yellowjackets' record to 7-18, and 0-16 in conference play.
 
MSUB came out playing well against the Falcons, taking an early lead and managing to see out the set to gain an early advantage. But that start was quickly forgotten when Seattle Pacific came out and dominated in set two. It set the tone for the Falcons, who cleaned up their errors and managed to put together some dominant stretches of play.
 
After pulling the game back to 17-13 and looking to rally, the Falcons only allowed MSUB to score two points the rest of set two.
 
Set thee would be an absolute masterclass in volleyball by SPU, who snuffed out any momentum MSUB had, winning the set by 19 points. The 'Jackets improved their play in set four, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons finished off MSUB to even up their overall record at 12-12, with a 10-6 record in conference play.
 
The Falcons ended up collecting 19 aces in the game, with Lindsey Lambert leading the team with six, and Allison Wilks just behind her with five. Maddie Pruden had 12 kills to pace SPU, while Sarah Brachvogel and Ashley Antoniak had 11. Abigail Cunningham had a team high 17 digs, and three different players had four blocks in what was a complete team game for the visiting team.
 
Overall in the match Seattle Pacific posted a hitting percentage of .203, while the Yellowjackets managed a mark of .016. SPU out-blocked MSUB 9-5, while the teams were dead even in digs at 61 apiece.
 
THE BUZZ: Hashbarger was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the double-double was her fifth of the year and the 25th of her career…the 'Jackets have a 13-36 record against the Falcons all time, with a 9-12 record in home games.

UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets have two games remaining in their season, both at home next week. Coming up first is their matchup with No. 9 Western Washington University on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.