BILLINGS, Mont. – Winning six consecutive sets on Friday at Alterowitz Gym, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team rallied for a pair of victories to kick off the 2022 regular season.
 
The Yellowjackets (2-0) trailed 2-0 after a sluggish start before taking three straight to knock off Minnesota State University Moorhead 3-2 (16-25, 16-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-8) in the opener. MSUB then took care of business in the nightcap, which was delayed nearly three hours, beating University of Mary in straight sets 25-13, 25-21, 26-24.
 
"I am so proud of the grit we showed today as a team," said MSUB head coach Casey Bonner. "We fought hard and got great production from the entire team. I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow."
 
Match 1 – MSU Billings 3, MSU Moorhead 2 (16-25, 16-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-8)
 
The Yellowjackets overcame a 2-0 set deficit and facing match point in Set 3, for a morale-boosting comeback victory to start their 2022 season.
 
It was Paiten Langston early and Caty Havekost late making strong impressions in their collegiate debuts, with the junior/freshman duo combining for 24 kills in the match. Jahsita Fa'ali'i was two off her career high with 10 kills, and true freshman Lily Gentz chipped in eight kills in her first collegiate match.
 
Bridget Witzmann had a team-high 18 kills while hitting .279 to lead the Dragons, and Jadyn Feist also reached double figures with a dozen kills while adding 20 digs. Brooke Walthall finished with 30 digs, and Emily Skalicky and Halle Erickson split the setting duties with 23 and 18 assists, respectively.
 
After stalling late in each of the first two sets, MSUB righted the ship and contended with the Dragons deep into the third. A kill by Hannah Hayden tied the score at 15-15, and neither team led by more than two points through the rest of the tightly-contested set.
 
The Yellowjackets produced their first set point of the day on a kill from Havekost that made the score 24-23. The Dragons won the next two points however, creating their lone match point of the afternoon. A clutch kill from Gentz kept MSUB alive and sparked a 3-0 run concluding with a Kennedy Juranek ace to force the fourth set.
 
Havekost gained confidence at the outset of the fourth set and MSUB took advantage of mistakes by the MSUM defense to build an early 9-5 advantage. The momentum continued to the tune of a 17-10 spread, as the Yellowjackets put together their strongest push up to that point in the match.
 
The Dragons chipped away however, getting as close as 20-19 thanks to a kill from Amanda Carlson that sparked a 3-0 run. The returning all-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference senior suffered an injury however, and was unable to return for the rest of the match.
 
The 'Jackets matched the Dragons into the closing stages of the set, and evened the match at 2-2 on another defensive miscue. Havekost was at the root of the most important swing of points in the match, punching down a pair of kills during a 6-2 run by MSUB which made the score 9-6 in the decisive set. The Dragons never got closer than within two points after that, and Funk ended the match with a service ace to give the 'Jackets the improbable victory.
 
The Dragons out-hit the 'Jackets .209-.158 in the match, and totaled seven blocks to the Yellowjackets' five.
 
Match 2 – MSU Billings 3, Mary 0 (25-13, 25-21, 26-24)
 
Although the Marauders steadily improved set-by-set, the Yellowjackets started and finished strong to complete the sweep. MSUB saved its best push of the match for last, staring a 23-19 deficit in the face in Set 3. Gentz sparked a 3-0 run with a pair of kills, before Mary used a kill from Emily Torborg to create set point.
 
Three consecutive attack errors put the lead back into MSUB's hands, and Langston punched down the match-winning kill to cap off a stellar start to her collegiate career.
 
Langston led MSUB with 10 kills, while Havekost and Gentz had eight apiece. King and Hashbarger each finished with 14 assists, while Fa'ali'i had a team-high 15 digs to go along with six kills and a career-high five service aces.
 
Reyna Isenbart led the Mary attack with nine kills, while Kameron Selvig had 24 assists and Kaia Sueker had 19 digs.
 
THE BUZZ: Langston was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…MSUB is now 2-4 all-time against MSU Moorhead and made it two straight wins in the series between the teams…MSUB is now 5-2 all-time against Mary.
 
SATURDAY: The Yellowjackets return to the court with a 2 p.m. match against Chadron State and a 6 p.m. match against South Dakota Mines to close out the 2022 Yellowjacket Volleyball Invitational. Live coverage for Saturday's matches can be found online here.