Volleyball Bites Seawolves, 3-1

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BILLINGS, Mont. – Two big blocks swung the momentum in favor of the Montana State Billings volleyball team as they took down the University of Alaska Anchorage in four games, 25-23, 19-25, 26-24, 25-15, Monday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

“We just beat a very good team for the second time this season,” said head coach Steve Smith. “They were able to jump on us in set two but we were able to fight back a little and really fought back in set three to set up the win in set four. Melissa Porter had a big block that helped energize our team and especially the crowd.”

Porter led the team in hitting percentage, going 10-0f-19 with three errors for a .368 hitting percentage, and was also in on four blocks. Devon Crotteau and Jennifer Boe each had a double-double, Crotteau, leading the team in kills (19) and digs (15), while Boe recorded 13 kills and 14 digs. Hillary Morrison tallied 50 assists during the match, including nine digs.

MSUB jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set one but allowed the Seawolves to eventually tie the match at 8-8. Hannah Johnson gave the Yellowjackets the lead for good with a kill to make the score 12-11. Anchorage would cut back into the lead, but kills by Porter and Crotteau shut the door on set one as MSUB took it, 25-23.

Set two was all Anchorage as the Seawolves jumped out to a 14-4 lead behind a .333 hitting percentage during the set. The Yellowjackets attempted to cut into the lead, getting back within four at 21-17 with a Porter kill and an attacking error by Anchorage’s McKenzie Moss. The Seawolves went on to win the set 25-19 and tie the game at one apiece.

The third set saw back and forth action as neither team was able to gain control, but the biggest plays of the match came with the score 18-13. Jody Lutz received a perfect set from Morrison and put down the kill to move within four, then came the big block by Melissa Porter which sparked the Yellowjackets comeback. At 20-20, Morrison and Johnson came up with another huge block on McKenzie Moss and took the lead for the final time in the set, closing it out 26-24 on a ball handling error by Anchorage.

Leading two sets to one, MSUB jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set. A pair of service aces by Anchorage brought them within four, 11-7, but two kills from Crotteau gave the Yellowjackets a 17-10 lead.  Needing another spark, Boe slammed down a kill to stretch the lead to 20-15 and the Yellowjackets never looked back, shutting out the game on a service ace from Jill Trabing and a kill from Melissa Porter.

MSUB (9-7, 3-2) out-hit the Seawolves .219 to .180 for the match. The Yellowjackets ended the match with 53 kills, 54 digs, 10 blocks and six service aces. “We still have plenty of things to work on, but the most important thing is that we need to stay consistent,” said Smith.

Alaska Anchorage (10-7, 2-2) was coming off of four games in five nights, splitting the road trip. They were led by 14 kills from McKenzie Moss and Jackie Matthisen. Moss also ended up with 19 digs, while Stacie Meisner dug 14 balls.

The Yellowjackets hit the road later this week for a pair of conference match-ups with Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Oct. 1 and conference leading, Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 3. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. local time.