Lady Jackets Drop Second-Straight to No. 2 BYU-Hawaii (Sept. 23, 2003)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – MSU Billings dropped is second match in a row to second-ranked BYU-Hawaii Tuesday, 3-0 (30-12, 30-17, 30-17), in a non-conference match.  The Seasiders improved to 9-2 overall while the Yellowjackets dropped to 3-8.  MSU Billings will host fifteenth-ranked Hawaii Pacific on Thursday and Friday.

“I think they could be competitive in some Division I leagues,” said Yellowjacket head coach Pa'ulasi Matavao of his alma mater.  “It’s tough to open your conference season with the defending national champions, but it’s also disappointing in a way because we thought our kids would take it as a big time challenge to play one of the best teams in the nation.”  

BYU-Hawaii, the defending NCAA II National Champions, dominated from the start, forcing the Yellowjackets into 11 attack errors in the first game.  MSUB had just two kills in the game, finishing with a -.281 hitting percentage.  The trend didn’t change much throughout the match as the Seasiders out-hit the Yellowjackets .317 to .000 over the three games.

The Yellowjackets were led by Olivia Munro’s (Jr., Toronto, Ontario) nine kills and 10 digs.  Freshman libero Alberta Letoa (Laie, HI) also had a match-high 10 digs.  Kari Jones (Jr., Hermiston, OR) and Katrina Dahlgren (Sr., Missoula, MT) combined for nine kills.

The Seasiders were led by Ashley Moeai’s 15 kills and .545 hitting percentage.  All-American middle blocker Chun Yi Lin registered 11 kills and three block assists.  Yu Chuan Weng and Silva Oliveira combined for another 17 kills and 16 digs.  BYUH knocked down ten service aces in the match, led by Kaala Lo’s four. 

“We just don’t match up well with them,” said  Pa’ulasi Matavao.  “They’re too quick in the back row to everything.  They anticipate things in the back row.  That’s the thing good team have; they anticipate where the ball will be.  And the three players they have in the front row (Lin, Weng and Moeai) are tough to deal with.”