Box Score

LACEY, Wash. - The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket Volleyball team (2-7) took on the Saint Martin's University Saints (6-3) on Thursday, September 14th, 2023. The 'Jackets lead the Saints 23-9 all-time in head-to-head matchups, but these two young teams do not care about that. The Saints and Yellowjackets meet to start the 2023 GNAC slate and all they care about is improving to 1-0. 

The Yellowjackets were slow out of the gate as they dropped the first set of the match 25-11. In the set, the Saints had an impressive 14 kills while the Jackets only had 5, led by freshman Julia Gordon with 2.  

Head Coach Casey Bonner quickly changed the line-up to begin the 2nd set and her team saw improvement right out of the gate, trailing 9-7 to get things started. However, the Saints would go on an 11-4 run to force another timeout, leading 20-11. The 'Jackets would not go quietly as they started to find their rhythm to close the set. Olivia Schwartz led her team with 4 kills in the set, gaining momentum at the end but eventually falling 25-16. 

The Saints would come out on fire in the 3rd set, taking a 13-2 lead en route to a 3-0 sweep. The Jackets never got their offense going all night as they unfortunately played their worst match of the season, statistically speaking. Schwartz led the way on offense with 7 kills, followed by Gordon with 5 and Paiten Langston with 3. Junior libero Christine Funk had a team-high 10 digs while Hailey Carroll led the team with 9 assists. 

Although a disappointing night for the 'Jackets, they will look to rebound this Saturday and improve to 1-1 in the GNAC before a 3-game home stand in Alterowitz Gym from September 19th-23rd.  

THE BUZZ: Olivia Schwartz is your Intermountain Health Player of the Game. Schwartz led the team with 7 kills in the match. 

UP NEXT: Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket Volleyball heads to Monmouth, Oregon for another Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup against the Western Oregon Wolves on September 16TH at 7 PM (PDT).