BILLINGS, Mont.- The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket volleyball team (7-11, 0-8 GNAC) narrowly fell in five sets (25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 14-25, 15-12) to the Saint Martin's Saints (5-11, 3-5 GNAC) in Alterowitz Gymnasium. Prior to the match, senior libero
Christine Funk was honored at center court for breaking the MSUB career digs record after surpassing 1,530 total digs last week at Simon Fraser.
Julia Gordon led the way in the five-set thriller, posting 16 kills while swinging .414 with four blocks to add. Also posting an impressive offensive line was
Jordin Taulua who had 17 kills with a .263 hitting percentage and two blocks.
Jahsita Fa'ali'i also found her way into double digit kills with 10 while also tallying two blocks and one service ace.
After switching back to a 6-2 offensive system, both
Addie Allen and
Emma Fa'alogo posted 20+ assists, combining for 47 total. On the back row
Christine Funk to no surprise led the way, tallying 23 digs in the match with five assists to add. Allen and Fa'ali'i also did some defensive damage, falling just short of double-digit digs with nine. At the net, true freshman
Aliah Williams led the way with another six-block performance, followed by Gordon with four blocks.
HEAR FROM COACH WILLIAMS: "Tonight we played some really great points but weren't aggressive enough to finish the match. We had a great night defensively and had some really high-quality digs, but we weren't able to convert when we were in system. We had some young players step up and we saw some really great things from Julia, Chris, and Jordin tonight."
The Saints came out hot out of the gate, taking the first set 25-18 and getting ahead to an early 10-2 lead in the second frame. This was when MSUB kicked it into gear, going on a 6-2 run of their own with four of the points behind the serve of Allen. Not long after Fa'alogo checked into serve, leading the 'Jackets to a 6-0 run backed by a pair of kills from Fa'ali'i. The Yellowjackets continued their momentum throughout the rest of the set and Gordon ended it with a kill, evening the match 1-1.
Saint Martin's answered back in the third set, taking it 25-17 but the Yellowjackets did not lay down there. MSUB flipped the script, getting out to a 17-9 lead in the fourth set after an impressive 9-2 run. From there, the 'Jackets continued to extend their lead and Taulua capped it off with back-to-back kills to send the match to set five. The final set of the night was back-and-forth volleyball as the intensity grew in Alterowitz but it was Saint Martin's claiming the victory after winning the fifth set 15-12.
STATISTIC LEADERS
KILLS: Jordin Taulua (17);
Julia Gordon (16)
ASSISTS: Addie Allen (26);
Emma Fa'alogo (21)
DIGS: Christine Funk (23); Two Players Tied (9)
BLOCKS: Aliah Williams (6);
Julia Gordon (4)
THE BUZZ: Julia Gordon was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 16 kills, a .414 hitting percentage, and four blocks.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings volleyball team stays home for another GNAC matchup against the Western Oregon Wolves this Saturday at 1 PM.
