Nanooks Bite Yellowjackets with Furious Comeback in Five Sets, 3-2

Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A 2-0 set lead by the visiting Montana State Billings volleyball team wasn’t enough as Alaska Fairbanks rallied for three-straight set wins in a 3-2 victory (26-24, 25-19, 27-29, 20-25, 14-16) Thursday evening.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 6-6 on the year and 0-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while UAF improved to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in league play.

“We had 5-6 match points in sets three and five and we need to push through,” head coach Steve Smith said.  “We need to be more of the aggressors and not play as conservative and we need to play to win.”

The Yellowjacks were led by a match-high 31 kills from Devon Crotteau which was good for a tie for fourth in the school record book with Olivia Munro, who also had 31 kills against Saint Cloud State on Aug. 31, 2002. Jen Boe chipped in 16 kills as well.

The Nanooks had four players with double-digit kills as Jessica Hill led the way with 18, while Megan Thigpen and Sydney VanMunster each had 16 and Heather Lyons added 15.

MSUB outhit UAF 0.215 to 0.193 for the match and held a 15-6 lead in blocks.  Crotteau led the way with a 0.394 attack percentage, while Hill led the way for the Nanooks with a 0.349 average.

SET ONE: Montana State Billings 26, Alaska Fairbanks 24

In a very tight set from the start, the Yellowjackets built a five-point advantage at 15-10 with a nice block by Boe and Melissa Porter forcing the Nanooks to call a timeout.  Out of the timeout, UAF cut the deficit to one at 15-14, but a service error by UAF ended the rally.  The ‘Jackets built the lead back to four again with an ace from Jill Trabing and held a 24-22 lead on a kill from Boe.  A block by UAF tied the set at 24, followed by a UAF service error and another UAF miscue, giving MSUB the first set.

SET TWO: Montana State Billings 25, Alaska Fairbanks 19

The Yellowjackets held UAF to hitting negative numbers for the set (-0.25) with a match-high 13 errors. With the set tied at 13, a Hannah Johnson kill gave MSUB a 14-13 lead as it scored nine of the final 15 points of the set for 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead.  MSUB hit .139 in the set with 10 kills and five errors.

SET THREE: Alaska Fairbanks 29, Montana State Billings 27

In the best set performance by the Yellowjackets of the night with 20 kills and six errors for a .275 percentage, MSUB couldn’t quite close the door on the Nanooks.  UAF had a streak of building an early 10-5 lead, but the Yellowjackets came right back and regained the lead on an attack error by Thigpen for an 18-17 lead.  UAF again regained the lead, but the ‘Jackets came right back and tied the match at 23 through 27.  A Yellowjacket miscue followed by a kill by VanMunster gave the Nanooks new life.  MSUB had three match points in the set.

SET FOUR: Alaska Fairbanks 25, Montana State Billings 20

The Nanooks pulled slightly away in set from a 16-15 lead and outscored the Yellowjackets 9-5 the rest of the way.  UAF had its best set with 19 kills and five errors for a .368 percentage in set four.  MSUB got no closer than 20-18 down the stretch in the set.

SET FIVE: Alaska Fairbanks 16, Montana State Billings 14

MSUB had the early lead in the set and looked as if it was going to hold on and win the match with a 10-7 lead.  A 5-1 run by the Nanooks gave them their first lead since 1-0 in the set at 12-11.  The Yellowjackets responded and had a match point at 14-13, but VanMunster came up with the match-saving kill.  Back-to-back attack errors gave UAF the win, 16-14.

The Yellowjackets will look to rebound tomorrow at 7 p.m. Alaska time as they face Alaska Anchorage in a match that was moved from Saturday evening to Friday due to travel problems.  MSUB completes the three-match road trip at Rocky on Tuesday, before hosting Saint Martin’s and Alaska Anchorage Sept. 26 and Sept. 28, respectively in Alterowitz Gymnasium.

This season ALL MSUB volleyball matches will be FREE on the internet with live video and audio as the voice of the Yellowjackets, Ken Adelblue, will have the call.