BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team finalized its 2022 recruiting class as Beaverton, Ore. native Emma Burlingame signed her national letter of intent on Tuesday.
 
"We are so excited that Emma has decided to join our Yellowjacket volleyball family," MSUB volleyball head coach Casey Williams, who is entering her seventh season in 2022, said. "She brings great versatility to our program and brings a strong competitive spirit to the program."
 
Burlingame is the seventh newcomer expected to suit up for the Yellowjackets in fall 2022 and will join Hannah Hashbarger (West Linn) and Kennedy Juranek (Wilsonville) as the other Oregon natives on the roster.
 

Player	Position	Hometown	Previous School
Emma Burlingame	Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter	Beaverton, Oregon	Mountainside High School
Lily Gentz	Right Side	Glendale, Arizona	Deer Valley High School
Caty Havekost	Outside Hitter	Arvada, Colorado	Faith Christian High School
McKay Kasper	Middle Blocker	Lakewood, Colorado	Green Mountain High School
Alexis King	Setter	Reno, Nevada	Galena High School
Paiten Langston	Middle Blocker	West Jordan, Utah	Yavapai Community College
Avary Spoja	Middle Blocker	Boise, Idaho	Boise High School

"I chose MSUB because of the amazing community within the volleyball program," Burlingame said. "I had a great experience on my visit, and I felt welcomed by everyone. MSUB meets my academic and financial needs, as well as my desire to play at the next level."
 
A middle blocker and an outside hitter for Mountainside High School, Burlingame was a four-year varsity starter for Lena Chan's team and helped the Mavericks make the Class 6A OSAA State Tournament for the first time ever in 2018. Since then, Burlingame has been a fixture at the net for the Mavericks, who placed fourth at the state tournament during her sophomore year in 2019.
 
As a senior this past fall, Burlingame was a second-team all-state selection, a team captain and was named her team's most valuable player. Over the course of 13 matches last fall, she led the team with 181 kills (4.4 per set) while hitting .435 and adding 115 digs, 24 aces and 11 blocks. Burlingame was also named one of Oregon's top hitters by ScoreBookLive. She wrapped up her high school career by helping the Mavericks reach the second round of the 6A OSAA State Championships.
 
Outside of high school volleyball, Burlingame was a four-time all-academic honoree. She also played club for the Portland-based Athena Volleyball Academy – the same club team current MSUB setter Hannah Hashbarger played for during her high school years.

MSUB finished with a 12-16 record – including a 7-11 mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play – and placed seventh in the GNAC in 2021.