Yellowjackets Remain on the Road in Volleyball

Click Here for Full Release in PDF

THIS WEEK: Montana State Billings remains on the road as they head south to compete in the Fort Lewis Tournament, Sept. 5-6 in Durango, Colo. On Friday, the fifth, the Yellowjackets will play Palm Beach Atlantic and Fort Lewis College. On Saturday, the sixth, MSUB will close out the tournament with Abilene Christian and Dixie State.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN: The Wildcats went 4-0 at the Lady Buff Classic. This is the first 4-0 start since 1994. Shawna Hines and Ijeoma Moronu were named to the all-tournament team. This will be the second meeting between the two with ACU winning, 3-2, on October 2, 1992.

DIXIE STATE: The Rebels went 2-2 at the CSU-Pueblo Fall Classic. Katie Luna led the attack with 3.20 kills per game. Mariessa Nielson had a solid tournament with 13 service aces and 16 total blocks in 15 games. This will be the second meeting between the two with the Yellowjackets prevailing, 3-0, on September 1, 2006.

FORT LEWIS COLLEGE: The Skyhawks went 2-2 at the Lady Buff Classic. They beat Texas Permian Basin and Texas A&M International while falling to Findlay and West Texas A&M. Fort Lewis and Montana State Billings have met eight times and are dead even.

PALM BEACH ATLANTIC: The Sailfish started the season off with victories over Northwood (Mich.) and St. Thomas (Fla.). Kristin Carroll and Brittany Erickson both averaged over two kills per game in the victories. This will be the first time the two school have met on the floor.

LAST WEEK: Montana State Billings played tough as they finished 0-4 at the Seawolf Spike Tournament. Devon Crotteau led the attack with 3.08 kills per game (40) and 3.62 digs per game (47). Jill Trabing had a solid defensive effort with 60 digs for 4.62 per game. Melissa Porter had just 27 hitting attempts but had 16 kills with only four errors and hit .444 for the tournament.

NAME TAGS PLEASE: With a new coaching staff and only five veterans on the roster, the Yellowjackets might want to buy some name tags for the early part of the season.

HOWDY COACH: Dana Cordova begins her first season as the head coach at Montana State Billings. She is no stranger to coaching as she has nine years of experience. Cordova was an assistant coach at McPherson College for one season. The last eight seasons has been spent as the head coach at Otero Junior College where she compiled a record of 174-155. Cordova guided the Lady Rattlers to six season of winning at least 20 matches.

LECHNER MOVING UP: Jessica Lechner, the lone senior on the squad, is taking aim at several categories in the career record book. She is tied for ninth in block assists with 147 and 10th in total blocks with 181. Lechner need to play in just six more games to move into the top 10 career for games played. She has participated in 326 games during her career.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Jill Trabing was all over the floor at the Seawolf Blitz, Aug. 29-30. She came away with 60 digs in 13 games averaging 4.62 per game. Pretty impressive considering that Trabing had 20 digs for the entire season last year.

GNAC PRE-SEASON POLL: Montana State Billings has been picked to finish sixth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll. The Yellowjackets received 28 points.

If the poll is any indication, expect a wild and wooly volleyball season in the GNAC. Western Washington, who reached the NCAA Division II championship game, was picked to repeat as conference champs finishing with 69 points. Right behind them were Western Oregon (67), Central Washington (65) and Northwest Nazarene (62). Seattle Pacific received 49 points to finish in fifth.

Rounding out the standings were Alaska Fairbanks in seventh (26), Saint Martin’s in eighth (21) and Alaska Anchorage in ninth (18). Of the top four teams, all but Central Washington qualified for the NCAA West Regional Championships last year.