BURNABY, B.C.- The Montana State University Billings volleyball team (1-7) fell in three to the #11 Simon Fraser University Red Leaf's (9-1) on Saturday night in Canada.
 
In a tough road environment against the #11 ranked team in the nation, it was the Yellowjackets that got out to an early 2-0 lead behind a Red Leaf's error and a kill from Jordin Taulua. After trading punched, MSUB forced the first timeout of the game after scoring four unanswered points behind the serve of Allie Dorman to take a 7-3 advantage. Simon Fraser responded quickly with an 11-2 run to retake a 14-9 lead. SFU stayed hot and backed that up with an 11-4 run to take the opening set 25-13.
 
The Red Leaf's carried their momentum into the second set of the night, going on a 4-1 run until Addison Holcomb shut down the rally with a perfectly executed kill. SFU then heated up again with a 9-3 run until Dorman and Taulua went back-to-back kills topped with another Dorman ace. The 'Jackets were able to chip away a couple more points but the #11 ranked team in the nation proved their skillset with a second set 25-12 win.
 
MSUB bounced back in the third set of the night, jumping out to a 4-2 lead behind a Marissa Allen kill and a Kenzie Allen service ace. From there it was back-and-forth with the 'Jackets able to keep their lead with another set of back-to-back kills from Kenzie Allen and Stella Scott. Both squads continued to trade punches, staying knotted up until 10-10. SFU then went on a 5-2 run until Scott followed a Simon Fraser attacking error with a service ace to make it a one-point ballgame. The Red Leaf's continued to extend their lead from there, going on to take the set 25-15.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Jordin Taulua: 8 Kills, 6 Digs, 1 Solo Block, 1 Block Assist
Kenzie Allen: 15 Assists, 5 Digs, 1 Ace, 1 Kill
Allie Dorman: 4 Kills, 8 Digs, 3 Aces
Marissa Allen: 5 Kills, .222 Hitting Percentage, 1 Block Assist
 
THE BUZZ: Marissa Allen was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game.
 
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket volleyball team returns home for the annual Rimrock Rivalry against Rocky Mountain College. On September 30^th at 7:00 PM, the Yellowjackets will host their second annual Intermountain Health Kids Night where they will collect stuffed animals, books, puzzles, and more to donate to the St. Vincents Pediatric Unit.