Lady Jackets Ready for Heartland Tourney (11/9/05)

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings volleyball team is hoping the third time is a charm this week as they prepare for their first-ever Heartland Conference Championship Tournament.  The third-seeded Yellowjackets will face second-seeded University of the Incarnate Word in the opening round of the conference tourney Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. in Austin, TX.

The Yellowjackets and Cardinals will be plenty familiar with each other when they take the court Friday evening at the St. Edward’s Recreation and Convocation Center.  It will be the third meeting between the two in a span of eight days after Incarnate Word played a pair of matches in Billings last weekend.  The Cardinals won both matches (3-2 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday) to claim the No. 2 seed at the conference tournament.

For Montana State-Billings to advance to Saturday’s championship match, the Yellowjackets will have to find a way to get past the Cardinals’ front row.  In the two matches in Billings, the Cardinals out-blocked the Yellowjackets 27-11.  Despite having the league’s best blocker in Alicia Cazemier (So., Vauxhall, Alberta), the Yellowjackets rank sixth in the conference for team blocking.  The Cardinals, meanwhile, rank second as a team at 2.15 blocks per game.

The Yellowjackets lost back-to-back matches for just the second time all season when the Cardinals accomplished the feat last weekend.  Despite losing the matches, the Jackets were close in all six games they lost.  In the three games the Yellowjackets won last weekend, they outscored the Cards by a combined 90-42.

Cazemier, a two-time conference player of the week, has been steady all season and should factor into the game plan heavily this week.  She leads the Heartland in blocks per game and ranks second for attack percentage and third for kills.

The Yellowjackets will also need solid play from their outside hitters to overcome a strong Cardinals defense.  Ali Watson (Jr., Calgary, Alberta) and Jessica Bratton (Jr., Casper, WY) are each averaging over 3.00 kills per game.  Alexis Sandru (Jr., Twin Bridges, MT) is adding over 2.00 kpg.

The Jackets’ offense will be directed by setter Natalie Bills (Jr., Provo, UT).  Bills has led the Heartland Conference in assists nearly all season and has the Yellowjacket offense hitting at a .214 clip, second in the conference.  In her two seasons as a starter, Bills has guided the Yellowjackets to their first two winning seasons and helped the team post the two highest single season hitting percentages in school history.

The Cardinals will rely on staunch defense at the net and offense from their two biggest weapons.  UIW ranks second in the Heartland Conference for opponent hitting percentage and second for team blocking.  Kari Chapman and Amy Silva are each ranked in the top 10 in the conference for kills, attack percentage, and service aces.   Chapman is also second for blocks.

In Friday’s other semifinal match up, top-seeded Western New Mexico will take on fourth-seeded St. Mary’s at 2:00 p.m.  The winners of the two semifinal matches will square off at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday for the conference championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Western is 24-4 overall and was 11-1 in league play during the regular season.  The Mustangs’ only loss in the conference was at MSU Billings on September 23.  The Yellowjackets also handed WNMU its only loss in 18 regional matches.  The Mustangs are ranked fourth in the most recent Southwest Region poll and could qualify for an at-large berth to the NCAAs even if they don’t win the Heartland tourney.

Heartland Conference Championship Tournament Schedule
Fri., Nov. 11 - #1 Western N.M. vs. #4 St. Mary’s, 2 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 11 - #2 Incarnate Word vs. #3 MSU Billings, 6 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 12 – Championship Match, 7 p.m.