BELLINGHAM, Wash.- Despite a thrilling second set that featured a combined 66 points, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 22-ranked Western Washington University on Thursday night.
The Vikings (9-1) were dominant offensively, hitting nearly .400 in the opening set and an impressive .571 in the final frame to secure the sweep over the Yellowjackets (1-6).
"Roller coaster of a match, we came out flat and we will look into why that happened," said head coach
Scott Keister. "It was incredible how they flipped and switched in the second set, focusing on the game plan and seeing what they are capable of. We had tons of growth throughout the match and are ready to get back to practice tomorrow to keep getting better!"
In front of their home crowd in Sam Carver Gymnasium, Western Washington got out to a flaming start with an 11-0 run in the opening set of the night. After a kill by
Stella Scott the Vikings went on another 6-0 run until
Allie Dorman ended their streak with a kill of her own. From there,
Marissa Allen and Dorman were able to add another pair of kills while the Yellowjackets also capitalized on a pair of attacking errors, but it was the Vikings who went on to take the first set 25-7.
Bouncing back from the opening frame, it was the Yellowjackets taking the early 3-2 lead in the second set of the night via back-to-back kills from
Addison Holcomb and
Jordin Taulua. After a 4-0 WWU run, Holcomb made it a one-point ballgame with a pinpoint accurate kill followed by a service ace. The Vikings would then go on another unanswered streak of three but again MSUB responded with a 5-2 run to take a 10-9 advantage with three of the points coming behind the serve of Scott.
From there, the 'Jackets forced the first Western Washington timeout of the match after taking a 15-12 lead, but the Vikings came out of the break with a 3-0 run to tie it back up. The streaky set continued as Holcomb led the 'Jackets on another four-point stretch behind her serve but the Vikings were able to come back and tie it at 20 apiece. From there it was WWU first to reach match point but a clutch kill from Holcomb and block assists from Scott and Taulua tied the game back up at 24-all. Free volleyball was what the fans got as both squads went punch for punch until it tied up again at 32. The Vikings then had a couple balls fall their way and were able to come out of the miraculous set with the 34-32 victory.
Leading off the third set, Western Washington got hot again with a 6-2 lead to start. MSUB closed the gap to 7-5 behind another pair of Holcomb kills. The Yellowjackets continued to build their momentum off of it as they went on a 4-1 run to take a 9-8 advantage. The Vikings responded and were able to reclaim a four-point lead, but Allen shut it down with her fifth kill of the night. The 'Jackets were able to scrape a few more points across but the rest was all WWU, finishing out the set with a 9-0 run to take the set 25-12 and ultimately win the match.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Addison Holcomb: 12 Kills, 9 Digs, 2 Aces, 2 Assists
Kenzie Allen: 12 Assists, 1 Dig, 1 Kill
Reese Sherwood: 12 Assists, 4 Digs, 1 Kill
Marissa Allen: 5 Kills, 2 Block Assists, 1 Solo Block
Avarey Stuff: 15 Digs, 2 Aces, 2 Assists
THE BUZZ: Addison Holcomb was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game after posting 12 kills, nine digs, two service aces, and two assists.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket volleyball team heads to Burnaby, B.C. to face off against the red hot #11 Simon Fraser Red Leaf's this Saturday at 8:00 PM (MT).
