By: Hayden Foltz, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BILLINGS, Mont- The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket Volleyball team finished the Yellowjacket Classic with a record of 2-2 while showing major improvement throughout the weekend. They ended the tournament with a nail-biting 5th set loss to tournament champion Lubbock Christian.
MSUB VS SE OKLAHOMA: The Yellowjackets moved to 2-1 on the season with a 4-set victory (24-26, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23) over Southeastern Oklahoma State University (1-3). The Jackets showed both mental and physical toughness in the 4-set back-and-forth battle as each set was eventually decided by a total of 2 points.
The Jackets carried their momentum from last night's 5-set victory by getting into a comfortable lead in the first set, but a late 8-1 run from the Savage Storm helped edge the Yellowjackets 26-24. The second set was another tough battle as neither team led by more than 3 points when the set got into double figures. Eventually, the Yellowjackets came away victorious by finishing the set on a 3-0 run, capped off by an attack error from the Savage Storm.
The Yellowjackets found their rhythm in set 3 and held a 23-18 lead before a 4-0 run by the Savage Storm would force a timeout. However, kills by freshman
Julia Gordon and
Bailey Nichols allowed the Jackets to go up 2-1 in the match.
The 4
th and final set of the match was one for the books. The 'Jackets were trailing 18-21 but rallied behind the rowdy crowd in Alterowitz as they rode senior defensive specialist
Kennedy Juranek's serve all the way to match point behind 3 service aces. A kill by Gordon would end the match and send the Jackets off with a victory to move to 2-1 on the 2023 season.
"This is the most complete match we have played so far this season," said Head Coach Casey Bonner. "Hailey did a great job of running a balanced offence and got us in a lot of one-on-one situations. SEOSU was a great team and had a ton of offensive weapons; I thought we did a great job of slowing them down and siding out quickly. I am proud of our team for their progression throughout the tournament."
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
THE BUZZ: Hailey Carroll is the Intermountain Health Player of the Game. Carroll helped the Jackets win their second match of the tournament while leading the offense with 41 assists, 15 digs, 2 block assists, and a service ace.
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MSUB VS LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN: The Yellowjackets (2-2) lost an absolute heart breaker in five nail biting sets to Lubbock Christian University (4-0) in five nail biting sets (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 12-15).
The Jackets got off to a hot start in the first set by being the first team to 20 points thanks to the help from freshman middle blocker
Julia Gordon who led the way with 5 kills. However, the Lady Chaps finished the set on a 6-1 run to defeat the Yellowjackets in the first set 25-21. MSUB came out hot again in the second leading the majority of the set, and this time flipping the script winning 25-22. The Jackets took the third set 25-20, behind 7 total blocks and 4 service aces led by
Aubrey Allison with two of her own. After a back-and-forth battle in the fourth, LCU took the set 25-23. The final set was everything you could ask for as a volleyball fan. Both teams battled all five sets but ultimately the Lady Chaps bested the Yellowjackets 15-12 with a final match score of 3-2 in favor of Lubbock Christian.
HEAR FROM COACH BONNER: "I am proud of our team for gelling together like they did this weekend," said head coach Casey Bonner. "We had a lot of moments to be proud of, but we look forward to getting back into the gym and working on some things before next weekend. I am proud of our team and the fight they have."
HEAR FROM JULIA: "This weekend was a ton of fun and it made me super excited to see what this team can accomplish this year," said
Julia Gordon. "We were super scrappy on defense; we kept balls in play and I thought we did a great job at putting the ball down."
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
THE BUZZ: Paiten Langston is your Intermountain Health Player of the game after a solid outing. Langston had 20 kills and 6.5 total blocks with a .390 hitting percentage.
HEAR FROM PAITEN: "This weekend I thought we had a ton of fight,"
Paiten Langston said. "We have a ton of young players but they really stepped into their role and left it all out on the court. My game felt steady and my mindset was to do my best to help my team out."
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM:
- MVP – Kiana Fallaha – Outside Hitter from Lubbock Christian University
- D'Nari Mills – Outside Hitter from Southeastern Oklahoma State University
- Abigail Renner – Outside Hitter from Black Hills State University
- Kayton Genenbacher – Setter from Lubbock Christian University
- Julia Gordon – Middle Blocker from MSU Billings
- Paiten Langston – Middle Blocker from MSU Billings
- Christine Funk – Libero from MSU Billings
UP NEXT: Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket Volleyball heads to Spearfish, South Dakota for the Yellow Jacket Classic Volleyball Tournament hosted by Black Hills State University. MSUB will have a four-game split starting on September 8
th at 10 AM.
