October 11, 2007

Wolves Outlast Jackets in Five
Box Score
MSUB Season Stats

Monmouth, Ore. – After coming within a point of sweeping league-leading Western Oregon Thursday night, Montana State Billings let both game and match leads slip away in a 3-2 loss to the Wolves in GNAC volleyball.  WOU prevailed 31-29, 21-30, 24-30, 30-22, 15-11.

“It was a hard-fought match by both teams,” said Yellowjacket head coach Sara Schaub.  “Our passing picked up from last week, and our offense executed well.  We didn’t use momentum from winning games two and three, and it’s always tough to win the fifth game when you’re on the road.”

The Yellowjackets dropped to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Wolves held onto their tie for first place in the conference, improving to 12-5, 9-1.  They remained tied with Western Washington, which swept Alaska Anchorage Thursday in Anchorage.

The Yellowjackets let the lead slip away from them in what turned out to be a match-changing first game.  They had two game points but failed to convert.  Leading 29-27, the Jackets committed two attack errors and hit into a block to fall behind 30-29.  Haley Kostrba closed the game with a kill for the Wolves.

MSUB went on to win the next two games to take a 2-1 lead in the match, but the lapse at the end of game one ultimately cost them.  The Jackets posted a resounding win in game two, jumping out to an 18-9 lead on a block by Alicia Cazemier (Vauxhall, Alberta) and Stefania Aladjova (Sofia, Bulgaria).  MSUB built its lead to as many as 11 late in the game before settling for the nine-point victory.

MSUB had to battle from behind to win the third game.  They took the lead for good at 14-13 on a kill by Jessica Lechner (Pompeys Pillar).  A Cazemier kill gave the Jackets a six-point lead at 21-15, and a pair of kills by Devon Crotteau (Casper, Wyo.) nailed down two of the final three points of the game for MSU Billings.  Crotteau had five kills in the game.

The Wolves showed in the fourth game that they aren’t in first place by accident.  They jumped on the Jackets early, scoring the game’s first three points.  With first place on the line, WOU broke from a 7-6 lead to run away with the game.  The Wolves led by as many as 11 late in the game before the Jackets tried to rally.  Three-straight kills from Crotteau pulled MSUB within 28-22, but it wasn’t enough as the Wolves tied the match and two games apiece.

The fifth game was close most of the way, and MSUB led 8-7 as the teams traded sides of the court.  Western pulled away from a 9-9 tie with a 6-2 run to lock up the match and hold onto the first place tie.  After hitting solid all night, the Jackets had seven kills and eight errors in the deciding fifth game.

Crotteau finished the night with a career-high 23 kills and 24 digs.  She had a .290 attack percentage on 62 attempts.  Cazemier had 17 kills and was in on seven blocks.  Jennifer Boe (Casper, Wyo.) added 13 kills and a career-high 20 digs.  The Yellowjackets out-hit the Wolves 70-61 for kills and .197 to .164 for hitting percentage.

Western Oregon was led by Stacey Bennett’s 16 kills.  Lisa Martini added a dozen kills, and Kayla Mainer and Kostrba each had 11.  The Wolves had 105 digs in the match, led by Kostrba’s 28.

The Yellowjackets conclude a stretch of four-straight road matches on Saturday when they face Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash.  The Saints entered Thursday’s match against Seattle University with a 1-17 overall record and a 1-8 record in the GNAC.  MSU Billings returns home to host both Alaska schools next week.  Alaska Anchorage will visit Alterowitz Gym on Thursday, and Alaska Fairbanks will play in Billings on Saturday.

Saturday’s match will also include a presentation honoring the 2006 Heartland Conference championship volleyball team, the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament qualifier.  Including current players who were on the team last year, alumni Natalie Bills, Jessica Bratton, Alexis Sandru, and Ali Watson are expected to be in attendance.