NAMPA, Ida.- The Montana State University Billings volleyball team (1–16, 0–12 GNAC) came up short on the road Thursday evening, falling in straight sets to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (6–13, 5–7 GNAC) at the Johnson Sports Center.
Leading the Yellowjackets was
Allie Dorman, who turned in a strong performance with 11 kills, three digs, and one block.
Tehani Moniz notched a career-high five kills while also pacing the team defensively with three blocks.
Kenzie Allen added her third double-double of the season, recording 11 assists, 11 digs, one service ace, and one kill.
"We were stellar in the serve and pass game tonight," said head coach
Scott Keister. "Now we have to get better at attacking and making a few less errors."
The first set was a tight battle early on, with MSUB matching NNU point for point. Back-to-back kills from Dorman and a service ace from
Reese Sherwood helped even the score, but the Nighthawks built a four-point cushion midway through the frame and held on. Despite three kills from
Addison Holcomb, Northwest Nazarene pulled away late to secure a 25–14 win.
The Nighthawks carried that momentum into the second set, opening with a 4–0 run that forced an early MSUB timeout. Dorman and Moniz each added kills to keep the Yellowjackets within reach, but another NNU surge extended the deficit to 13–3.
Kenzie Allen delivered a service ace and
Stella Scott chipped in a kill to narrow the gap, but the Nighthawks maintained control to take the set 25–13.
Moniz opened the third set with a kill to put MSUB on the board, though NNU quickly jumped ahead 5–1. Dorman's eighth and ninth kills of the match helped the 'Jackets close the gap to 6–4, but another Nighthawk run pushed the score to 16–7. MSUB showed resilience, storming back with an 8–0 run behind Scott's serve to pull within one. However, Northwest Nazarene closed strong with an 8–2 run to seal the 25–17 set and complete the sweep.
STATISTIC LEADERS
Kills: Allie Dorman (11)
Assists: Kenzie Allen (11)
Blocks: Tehani Moniz (3)
Aces: Kenzie Allen (1);
Reese Sherwood (1)
Digs: Kenzie Allen (11)
THE BUZZ: Tehani Moniz was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket volleyball team heads to Ellensburg, WA to face off against the #RV Central Washington Wildcats on November 1
st at 2:00 PM (MT).