Lady Jackets Sweep First Tourney Win (11/9/06)
Box Score
Game Photos
Coach Matavao post game audio

CANYON, TX – The glass slipper on Montana State-Billings’ Cinderella volleyball season fit for at least one more night Thursday.  Playing in their first-ever NCAA Tournament, the fifth-seeded Yellowjackets swept fourth-seeded Western New Mexico, 30-23, 30-27, 31-29.  MSUB advances to the NCAA Southwest Region semifinals where they will face top-seeded West Texas A&M.

“I’m very excited,” said Yellowjacket junior Alicia Cazemier following the match. “This win is huge for our team, our program, and our school.  We did a lot of good things on offense and defense.  I’m already looking forward to tomorrow night.”

The Yellowjackets (26-4) trailed in all three games, but rallied behind a scrambling defense to win each.  In game one, Western used a mid-game run to build a 13-9 advantage.  With the Mustangs on the verge of blowing the game open, the Yellowjackets battled back with defense.  A block by Jessica Lechner (Pompeys Pillar, MT) and Natalie Bills (Provo, UT) tied the game at 13-13.  Cazemier followed with a service ace that gave the Jackets’ their first lead since 1-0.

“We did a good job blocking, and we got some balls up,” said Yellowjacket senior Alexis Sandru.  “We had hustle plays when we needed them, and we just hung in there and played through the rough parts.  We never gave up.”

After one more tie at 14-14, the Jackets went on a tear started by a rare kill from defensive specialist Taylor Faught (Billings, MT).  Back-to-back kills from Ali Watson (Calgary, AB) followed by a kill from Lechner gave the Jackets their largest lead at 28-22.  Three points later, Lechner finished off the game with a kill into the heart of the Mustang defense.

Game two saw the Jackets again dig themselves into an early hole.  Four early MSUB attack errors contributed to a 9-4 Mustangs lead.  The Yellowjackets picked up the slack on the defensive side of the net, finally catching the Mustangs at 11-11 when Cazemier (Vauxhall, AB) and Jessica Bratton (Casper, WY) combined for a block. 

The final two thirds of the second game had seven ties and eight lead changes as the two familiar opponents traded blows.  The Mustangs’ largest lead came at 17-14, and the Jackets’ biggest advantage was at 23-20.  Trailing 26-25, Cazemier pounded out two kills sandwiched around a Watson kill to give the Jackets a 28-26 lead.  Faught, who had to leave the court earlier in the game after diving headfirst into the wall chasing a ball, returned to serve up an ace for a 29-26 MSUB lead.  Cazemier finished off the game two points later with one of her dozen kills.

“We rely on our defense a lot,” said Sandru.  “That’s what’s going to make or break us.  We have a good offense, but the defense just bolsters us.  When you get a ball up it takes away from the other team.”

Despite the Jackets’ 2-0 lead in the match, the teams were too evenly matched for MSUB to make it a runaway win.  The third game was a fight from the start and featured 16 ties and 17 lead changes.  At one point in the middle of the game, the score was either tied or the lead changed hands on 20-straight points. 

“The game went back and forth,” said Yellowjacket coach Pa’ulasi Matavao.  “We (WNMU and MSUB) battled each other for years in the PacWest and last year in the Heartland.  We knew each other pretty well.  All three games could have gone either way.”

It was the Mustangs who finally broke the deadlock, leading from 22-21 until the Jackets were finally able to tie the game at 26 points apiece.  MSUB’s first lead since 15-14 came on a Mustang error that gave the Jackets a 28-27 edge.  Bratton knocked down a kill to send the Jackets to match point at 29-27, but Western fought back to tie the game at 29.  The Jackets answered the adversity as they had all night, using a Bratton kill and a block from Cazemier and Bills to close the game and the match.

“The first two games I didn’t notice it as much,” said Sandru of the Jackets’ falling behind in each game.  “We kept fighting.  A lot can happen.  They get their runs, and we get our runs.  We talked about it before the game, just to hang in there and fight through it.  Then in the last game when were down 24-21, coach said, ‘This is what we’ve been practicing all week.’  We just fought through it.”

Watson and Cazemier each finished the night with 12 kills on attack percentages above .200.  The Jackets hit .242 as a team in the match.  Bratton had 10 kills, including the two crucial ones at the end of the match.  Lechner continued the solid play that has made her a key contributor for the past several weeks.  She had nine kills and just three errors while getting in on four blocks.  Cazemier also had four blocks to draw within one of the all-time school record for total blocks.

Bills handed out 45 assists to guide the Yellowjacket offense.  Faught finished with a match-high 10 digs despite missing much of game two.  Five different Yellowjackets had at least six digs, including Nicole Kruse (Huntley, MT) with eight and Sandru with six.

The Mustangs were led by Jennifer Snowbarger’s match-high 17 kills.  Liz Narkon added 14 kills, and Meghan Watson had 12.  Narkon also had 10 digs.

The Yellowjackets will again play the role of underdog on Friday when they take on host West Texas A&M in the late semifinal match.  The Lady Buffs (31-1) are three-time NCAA National Champions with their most recent national title coming in 1997.  The winner advances to the regional championship match Saturday night.

“We don’t know anything about them,” said Matavao.  “We’ve heard a lot of good things about West Texas.  They’re veterans to the regional tourney.  We’re rookies at this.  We’re just concentrating on our side.”