KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team wrapped up it's Texas road trip on Saturday on day two of the Javelina Volleyball Classic, falling in five sets to hosts Texas A&M Kingsville to open the day, before falling in straight sets to Minnesota State University Moorhead in the tournament finale.
The Yellowjackets (2-6) took the Javelinas (6-3) to the brink on their home court, but would fall just short of the victory in a 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9 contest, before falling in three sets to the Dragons (7-2) by scores of 25-20, 25-15, 25-16.
Texas A&M Kingsville would outhit the 'Jackets .195 to .124 in their contest, with the 'Jackets collecting 42 kills, eight aces, six blocks, 41 assists, and 70 digs.
Allie Dorman would finish with a team-leading 15 kills, adding on 11 digs, a pair of aces and a block assist. Meanwhile,
Izzy Ping would total career bests with 12 kills on a .367 hitting percentage.
Emma Fairbairn finished with eight kills and nine digs.
Avery Starr dished out 37 assists, collecting 11 digs, three assists, and two block assists.
Mikayla Champlin would and
Laina Whitney would each collect two kills, with the feshman Champlin collecting three aces, four digs, and a block assist, while Whitney had two solo blocks and three assists.
Avarey Stuff would finish with a team-high 13 digs.
The Javelinas would take an early 4-0 lead in the opening set, but after stopping the run and trading points, the 'Jackets would rally from down 11-6 for four straight points to pull within two. The teams would then trade runs, before a four-point run from the 'Jackets pulled them even at 15, with MSUB taking three of the next four points to take a lead. They would never relinquish that lead, stepping up to make plays and trade points with the Javelinas to take set one.
But set two would fall the way of the Javelinas, despite MSUB starting with an early 4-1 run. Texas A&M Kingsville would battle back to even things up, before a mid-set 14-4 run saw them rack up a comfortable lead on their way to a set two victory. The 'Jackets would battle back to keep set three closer throughout the entire proceeding, but Kingsville would hold on to take the set victory , boughed by another big run in the middle of a set to build their cushion.
But MSUB would respond strong with a 9-3 run to open the fourth set, would see off a rally attempt in the middle of the set from the Javelinas to set up a winner-takes-all set five. The 'Jackets would strike first, taking an early lead, but after leading 4-3, Kingsville would score seven straight points to take a lead they would not relinquish, holding onto the advantage to collect the match victory, despite a strong fight from the Yellowjackets.
In game two, the Dragons took control early and use that momentum to set up a strong performance, outhitting MSUB .272 to .082, with 42 total kills compared to just 27 from MSUB. Ping would lead the team once more with an attacking percentage, along with a team-high eight kills.
Emma Fairbairn would total seven kills and a pair of digs, while
Allie Dorman finished with six kills and nine digs.
Laina Whitney and
Mikayla Champlin each totaled a trio of kills.
UP NEXT: The 'Jackets head to the last frontier to open GNAC play next week, kicking off their road trip with a matchup against University of Alaska Fairbanks at Alaska Airlines Court on Thursday, September 10. First serve is scheduled for 1 PM MT (11 AM AKT), with live video available on the
GNAC Network, and live statistics
available here.
