Sat., Oct. 13 - at Saint Martin's, 8 p.m. MDT

Click HERE for this week's Yellowjacket Volleyball Show featuring head coach Sara Schaub and Alicia Cazemier

Click HERE for Devon Crotteau's blog about last week.
 

The Yellowjackets started last week on a high note, traveling down the street to defeat Rocky Mountain College 3-1 on Tuesday.  In the rival match up that is always hard-fought, MSUB built large leads and withstood furious Rocky comeback attempts.  The week ended with the Jackets losing ground in the GNAC.  Seattle University took advantage of a sub-par performance by the Yellowjackets in a 3-1 MSUB loss. 

Tuesday's win, while great for bragging rights, did nothing for the Jackets' chances at the GNAC title or a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  With Saturday's loss, the Jackets fell to 6-3 in the league and 11-5 overall.  They remained alone in third place in the conference standings, but are now two games back of league leaders Western Oregon and Western Washington.  MSUB gets a shot at WOU on Thursday to kick off the second half of the conference schedule.  A win can put the Jackets right back in the hunt.

In Tuesday's win, the Jackets found a way to dispatch cross-town Rocky Mountain 30-28, 32-34, 30-23, 30-27.

“It’s fun to keep the tradition of the inner city rivalry going,” said Yellowjacket head coach Sara Schaub after the match.  “It was a great crowd and a great atmosphere.  It’s good to walk away with a win in a tough match like that.”

The Yellowjackets opened the match on fire and appeared to be on cruise control halfway through game one.  They opened a 22-9 lead on the Bears before the momentum took a massive swing.

The Bears went on a furious 19-6 run to tie the game at 28 all.  They weren’t able to finish off the rally, however.  A Rock service error gave the Jackets a 29-28 edge, and Alicia Cazemier finished off the game with one of her match-high 20 kills.

“I think we got complacent, and we let them back into the game” said Schaub.  “Every streak they made came when we were ahead by a lot.  They served tough, and we weren’t able to receive the serves well and get our offense going.”

The momentum gained by the Bears in the second half of the first game carried over into game two.  They played even with the Jackets through the first nine points.  MSUB responded with a 7-3 run capped by a Stefania Aladjova service ace to take a 16-12 lead.

The Bears battled back again, and the game turned into a battle of wills.  Rocky tied the game at 19 apiece on a Kelly Fox kill.  From that point there were seven ties and eight lead changes.  MSUB had two shots at game point after the score reached 30-30, but they couldn’t close the deal.

Instead of reeling, the Yellowjackets responded with their best game of the night in the third game.  MSUB led wire to wire and posted a .344 hitting percentage.  Cazemier and Jessica Lechner each posted five kills in the pivotal third game.

After Rocky jumped to a 5-2 lead to start the fourth game, the Yellowjackets took over to close the match.  They tied the game at 7-7 and used a 16-2 run to break out to a 23-9 lead.  A majority of the run came on Hillary Morrison’s service.  Morrison served up 10-straight Yellowjacket points.  The Bears were able to rally to within 28-27, but another service error and a Jennifer Boe kill ended the match.

“Hillary did a good job of serving tough to throw off their offense,” Schaub said.  “We stayed disciplined with our blocking and defense so we could attack effectively.”

Cazemier’s 20 kills came on a blistering .452 attack percentage.  The senior middle blocker had just six errors on 31 attempts and moved to No. 2 on the Yellowjacket career kills list with 1,292.  She is now within 84 kills of tying the school record.  Cazemier also posted six block assists and three aces.

“Alicia had a good match,” said Schaub.  “We need to get the ball to her more.  She is our go-to player.  When she produces, it usually ends in a win.”

Devon Crotteau knocked down 19 kills on a .255 hitting percentage.  She had a dozen digs and led all players with five service aces.  Boe finished with 16 kills, and Lechner drilled 13 kills, career highs for both players. 

Aladjova dished out a career-high 59 assists and dropped in four aces.  Nicole Kruse picked up a match-high 14 digs.  The Jackets had 12 aces in the match, but handed the Bears 20 points on service errors. 

Seattle University cruised to a 2-0 lead en route to Saturday's 30-19, 30-23, 22-30, 30-25 win.  The Redhawks broke from a 12-12 tie in the first game, outscoring the Yellowjackets 18-7 over the final 25 points.  In the second game, Seattle pulled away from a 7-7 tie to lead by as much as 15-9 in the early going.  MSUB battled back to within 20-18 before a 10-4 Redhawk run ended the game.

“We really came out flat,” said Schaub.  “Our communication was low, and Seattle did a good job of taking advantage of that and controlling the match.  Our passing was not sharp, one of the worst matches we’ve had this season.  We had troubles starting anything because of our passing.”

Down two games to none, the Yellowjackets responded with a solid third game.  They jumped to a 10-5 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 11.  The Jackets hit .382 in the third game to salvage a .110 hitting percentage for the match.  They didn’t hit above .048 in any of the other three games.  Seattle led wire to wire in the fourth and final game.

The Yellowjackets had three players finish in double figures for kills, led by Crotteau’s 16.  Crotteau had a match hitting percentage of .190 and also picked up a match-high 16 digs and four aces.

Boe knocked down a dozen kills to go with 13 digs, and Cazemier added 11 kills.  Stefania Aladjova handed out 36 assists and dropped in three aces.

Record Watch:
Alicia Cazemier moved one step closer to her next school record last week, passing Olivia Munro for second on the career kills list.  Cazemier's 1,303 kills are only 73 behind school record holder Jessica Bratton's 1,376.  Cazemier is now easily in range of the record; it's just a matter of when and where she will break it.  Odds are she'll do it on the Jackets' last road trip of the year (Oct. 25 at Central Washington and Oct. 27 at Western Washington).  To do it at home, she would have to get either really hot or really cold.  To hit 73 kills in the next four matches, Cazemier would have to averaged just over 18 kills a night.  If she does go on a tear and get there on Oct. 20 against Alaska Fairbanks, Bratton will likely be in attendance.  MSUB will be honoring the 2006 conference championship and NCAA Tournament team that night....Cazemier is also on the verge of another milestone, although it will probably pass with less fanfare.  Entering the week with 485 total blocks, Cazemier is only a few weeks at most from reaching 500 career total blocks.  It's uncharted territory since she already holds the school record.  No player in the GNAC has ever come close to 500 career total blocks (conference record is 402), although Cazemier will not be eligible for the GNAC record book since three of her four seasons were played in other conferences.  She also won't appear in the NCAA record book anytime soon since the NCAA doesn't list block records.  Because of vast discrepancies in regards to how blocks were recorded in the 1980s, the NCAA has not published blocking records up to this point....Stefania Aladjova is closing in on the single season school record for service aces, and she has some company.  With seven aces last week, Aladjova jumped to sixth all-time with 51 aces.  She is only 11 behind Nicole Kruse's single season mark of 62.  Devon Crotteau isn't far behind Aladjova with 43 aces.  With the ability to serve up aces in bunches (Crotteau set the GNAC single match record earlier this season with eight), Crotteau also has a shot at passing Kruse.

GNAC PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK:  Stacey Bennett, Western Oregon (OH-MB, 6-3, Jr., Portland, OR – Westview) and Shealun Campisi, Saint Martin’s (OH, 5-11, So., Buckley, WA – White River). . .Bennett hit for a .564 percentage (24-2-39) averaging four kills per game in road sweeps at Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks as the Wolves ran their win streak to five matches.  She also had three blocks. . .Campisi led the Saints to a 3-0 win at Anchorage, ending a 29-match losing streak, with 15 kills.  In two matches, she had 25 kills, 13 digs and a .232 hitting percentage.  It was SMU’s first victory since Sept. 21, 2006 during which it had won only seven games.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Rachael Schurman, Central Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Spokane, WA – Mead) had 35 kills and 19 blocks, including a GNAC-record 14 in a 3-1 home win against Seattle Pacific, as the Wildcats split two matches.  Schurman hit at a .337 pace (35-5-89) in the two matches.

AROUND THE GNAC:  Haley Kostrba had 21 kills, 21 digs and four aces in Western Oregon’s two victories as the 8-1 Wolves moved to within one win of their best-ever GNAC conference record.  WOU finished 9-9 in both 2001 and 2005. . .Western Washington extended its win streak to seven matches with home wins over Northwest Nazarene and Seattle Pacific, getting 97 of their 109 kills from Tiana Roma (26), Emily Castro (26), Jaime Anderson (25) and Angie Alvord (20).  Katie Robinson had 84 assists. Courtney Schneider had 62 digs increasing her career total to 2,284, which is eighth on the NCAA Division II all-time career list. . Seattle’s Nikole Thompson had 16 kills in a 3-1 win over MSU Billings increasing her career total to 1,092. She needs 93 more to break into the GNAC’s Top 10 career list. . ..Megan Thigpen had team-bests of 29 kills and 32 digs as Alaska Fairbanks split two matches.  Korlyn Bolster hit at a .559 pace (22-3-34). . .Erin Norris had 26 kills, 10 blocks and nine service aces as Central Washington split two home matches. . .Devon Crotteau led Montana State Billings with 35 kills, 28 digs and nine aces as the Yellowjackets split two matches, beating Rocky Mountain before losing a conference contest to Seattle. . .Lindsay Forseth paced Northwest Nazarene, which split two road matches, with 31 kills, a .386 percentage (31-4-70) and 26 digs. . .Seattle Pacific’s Alyssa Given had 31 kills moving into fifth place on the GNAC all-time career list with 1,292.  SPU was outhit .203 to .075 in losses at CWU and WWU. . .Joanna Johnson had 29 kills in Alaska Anchorage’s two losses.

AROUND THE REGION:  The first official NCAA Division II Pacific Regional poll will be announced on Wednesday. . .GNAC teams are 39-40 in non-conference matches.  The only remaining non-conference contest is Nov. 1 when Montana State Billings hosts Rocky Mountain. . . GNAC teams finished 22-25   against Pacific Region opponents, including 17-18 against CCAA teams and 5-7 against the PacWest. 

NCAA National Statistics (Sept. 30): Individuals (Top 50): Kills - 24. Alyssa Given, SPU, 4.47; 36. Alicia Cazemier, MSUB, 4.30; 41. Devon Crotteau, MSUB, 4.23; 46. Kayla Mainer, WOU, 4.13. Hitting Percentage - 29. Rachael Schurman, CWU, .367. Assists - 39. Stefania Aladjova, MSUB, 11.62. Aces - 5. Alyssa Given, SPU, 0.88; 24. Stefanie Aladjova, MSUB, 0.72. Digs - 2. Courtney Schneider, WWU, 7.27. Blocks - 7. Angie Alvord, WWU, 1.46; 14. Emily Powell, SU, 1.38; 48. Alicia Cazemier, MSUB, 1.21. Team (Top 50): Hitting PCT. - 30. Western Washington .245. Assists - 50. Montana State Billings 13.51. Aces - 46. Seattle Pacific 2.47. Digs - 7. Western Oregon 21.05, 19. Seattle 20.02. Blocks - 35. Western Washington 2.53; 38. Central Washington 2.51; 45. Seattle 2.46.
 

Kayla Mainer ranks fifth in the GNAC at 4.03 kills per game.  She has hit .176 on over 750 attempts.  Haley Kostrba averages just below three kpg.  Stacey Bennett is one of the top hitters in the conference with a season hitting percentage of .322.  Claire Carpenter ranks third in the league for digs at 4.95 per game.

All-time Series:  WOU leads series 4-1
Last Meeting: MSUB def. WOU 3-1 on Sept. 15, 2007 in Billings
 

Shealun Campisi and Andrea Tarbet each average over two kills per game.  Campisi ranks 25th in the conference at 2.37 kpg.  Tarbet's 20 service aces are 12th-most in the GNAC.  Malia Ibarra leads the Saints in digs at 2.86 per game.

All-time Series:  MSUB leads series 3-0
Last Meeting: MSUB def. SMU 3-1 on Sept. 13, 2007 in Billings
 

A player had 30 or more kills in a match — Nov. 12, 2004 (Jessica Bratton, 33 vs. Western New Mexico)

A player had 25-29 kills in a match — Sept. 30, 2006 (Jessica Bratton, 25 vs. Texas A&M-International)

A player had 60 or more assists in a match — Sept. 2, 2006 (Natalie Bills, 66 vs. Fort Lewis)

A player had 25 or more digs in a match — Aug. 25, 2007 (Nicole Kruse (30) vs. Minn. St. Moorhead)

A player had 5 or more aces in a match — Oct. 2, 2007 (Devon Crotteau, 5 vs. Rocky Mountain)

A player had 10 or more blocks in a match — Sept. 29, 2007 (Alicia Cazemier, 11 vs. Cent. Washington)

The team had an attack percentage over.300 — Oct. 20, 2006 (.400 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State)

The team had 70 or more kills in a match — Oct. 2, 2007 (74 vs. Rocky Mountain)

The team had 70 or more assists in a match — Sept. 2, 2006 (77 vs. Fort Lewis)

The team had 100 or more digs in a match — Sept. 8, 2006 (116 vs. Central Okla.)

The team had 15 or more blocks in a match — Sept. 29, 2007 (16.0 vs. Cent. Washington)

The team had 10-14 blocks in a match - Sept. 8, 2007 (11.0 vs. Seattle Pacific)

Kills
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (526); 22. Alicia Cazemier (293); Devon Crotteau (293)
Career – 1. Jessica Bratton (1,376); 2. Alicia Cazemier (1,303); 15. Jessica Lechner (464)

Assists
Season – 1. Natalie Bills (1,327); 11. Stefania Aladjova (804)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (4,354)

Digs
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (440)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (1,530); 5. Nicole Kruse (1,051)

Service Aces
Season – 1. Nicole Kruse (62); 6. Stefania Aladjova (51); 13. Devon Crotteau (43)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (178); 4. Nicole Kruse (116); 5. Alicia Cazemier (107)

Total Blocks
Season – 1. Deb Dianda (169)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (485); 15. Jessica Lechner (149)

Solo Blocks
Season – 1. Alicia Cazemier (67)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (155); 19. Jessica Lechner (29)

Block Assists
Season – 1. Deb Dianda (119); 19. Alicia Cazemier (70)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (330); 12. Jessica Lechner (120)

Attack Percentage
Season – 1. Andrea Donahue (.373)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (.310); 5. Jessica Lechner (.234)

Kills per Game
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (4.61)
Career – 1. Ali Watson (4.10); 6. Alicia Cazemier (3.51) 

Assists per Game
Season – 1. Natalie Bills (12.52)
Career – 1. Natalie Bills (12.16)

Blocks per Game
Season – 1. Alicia Cazemier (1.52)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (1.31) 

Digs per Game
Season – 1. Connie Meyer (4.75)
Career – 1. Connie Meyer (3.96); 5. Nicole Kruse (3.75)

Games Played
Career – 1. Gina Langer (462); 5. Alicia Cazemier (371); 12. Nicole Kruse (280); 14. Jessica Lechner (277)

Sara Schaub was hired as the Yellowjackets' tenth head coach since the program was reinstated in 1984. Schaub’s coaching experience was most recently at Division I Eastern Michigan University where she was the first assistant since 2002.  She helped the Eagles to the program’s first Mid-America Conference West Division Championship in 2005.  Schaub’s responsibilities were recruiting, practice organization, and leading a successful volleyball camp program at Eastern.   

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next head coach at MSU Billings,” said Schaub.  “I am very grateful to Dr. Gray and the entire search committee for giving me this opportunity.  I feel very fortunate to join such an upbeat and visionary department.  I look forward to working with the student-athletes, building an exciting program, and being part of the Billings community.”

Schaub, originally from Huron, Ohio, was a four-year starter for the Eastern Michigan Eagles as an outside hitter.  Schaub is the only player in Mid-American Conference history to average over four kills and four digs per game in the same season.  She currently holds the record at Eastern Michigan for career attack attempts and is second for career kills and digs, sixth for career aces, and seventh for career block assists.

Schaub graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2001 with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Accounting Information Systems.  She also holds a Master of Science in Accounting, graduating Magna Cum Laude from EMU in 2002.  In her free time, Schaub is an avid beach volleyball player and has participated in the Association of Volleyball Professionals, Extreme Volleyball Professionals, and Midwest Professional Volleyball Association, winning many events.

Jay Christensen begins the season as a first-year assistant coach for the Lady Yellowjackets. With a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science-Sports Medicine, he also is a second year graduate student in the athletic training program. 

Christensen moved to Billings from Laie, Hawaii, and comes with a varied athletic background. All-state in soccer and four-time state champion in swimming, he played soccer for a U-17 team throughout Europe and after high school helped represent the United States, swimming in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. 

He enjoys surfing, golfing, swimming, basketball, soccer and reading.  Jay, his wife Cassandra and son Kai live in Billings.

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