Cazemier Earns Second POTW Award (10/25/05)

BILLINGS, MT – Montana State-Billings middle blocker Alicia Cazemier has been named the Heartland Conference hitter of the week for the second time this month.  She also earned the award two weeks ago.  The sophomore from Vauxhall, Alberta, Canada carried the Yellowjacket offense last weekend in a two-match split at St. Edward’s University.

On Friday Cazemier was the lone bright spot in the Yellowjackets’ 3-1 loss at St. Ed’s, knocking down a career-high 22 kills on a .457 attack percentage.  She bettered that performance with 24 kills in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Hilltoppers, helping Montana State-Billings clinch a spot in the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament.  MSU Billings and Western New Mexico were the first two teams to qualify for the four-team tourney that will be held in Austin November 11-12.

On 79 attempts over the weekend, Cazemier posted a .405 attack percentage.  She is currently second in the league and ranked in the top 20 in the nation with a .399 attack percentage this season.  The Heartland Conference leader in blocks per game, Cazemier was also in on 10 blocks over the weekend and averaged a team-high 6.56 points per game. 

The sophomore is quickly establishing herself in the MSU Billings school record books.  Her 10 blocks last weekend gave her 103 for the season.  It’s her second consecutive season with over 100 blocks.  She became just the fourth Yellowjacket to have two 100-block seasons and just the sixth to reach 200 career total blocks.  Cazemier also eclipsed 500 career kills (538) to move to twelfth in school history.

The Yellowjackets host Rocky Mountain College on Wednesday.  They wrap up the regular season on November 4 and 5 with a pair of Heartland Conference matches against Incarnate Word at Alterowitz Gymnasium.