Volleyball Back on Road for Conference Matchups

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POUNDING THE PAVEMENT...
After a successful two game home stand, the Montana State Billings volleyball team hits the road again for a Thursday and Saturday matchup with two of the GNAC’s best, Northwest Nazarene and Seattle Pacific. The match against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday evening will be the second meeting of the season as the Crusaders made the trip to Billings for the MSUB Volleyball Invitational (Sept. 11-12), winning 3-1. Saturday’s match will put the Yellowjackets against the conference leaders at Royal Brougham Pavilion for their first meeting of the season.

A LOOK BACK...
Last week, the Yellowjackets returned from Alaska with a split and found itself in a hostile environment at Rocky Mountain College Tuesday evening. A poor first set led to a less than spectacular evening, as MSUB was swept by its cross-town rival, 3-0.

Putting the Rocky game behind them, the Yellowjackets took on conference foe, Saint Martin’s, at Alterowitz Gymnasium on Saturday evening. MSUB jumped on the Saints early and never let up as it swept the match, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19, earning the eighth victory of the season. The Yellowjackets outhit the Saints .198 to .062, coming up with 32 kills, 48 digs, five blocks and ten service aces in the match. Devon Crotteau led the team with her double-double, 10 kills and 12 digs, to go along with 12 digs from Jill Trabing.

Monday evening provided a re-match from ten days earlier as the Yellowjackets hosted the Seawolves of Alaska Anchorage. An exciting match throughout, MSUB jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-23 victory in the first set. Having to battle back in the second, MSUB came up just short, losing the set, 25-19. After the break the momentum stayed with Anchorage, but a huge block from Melissa Porter energized the crowd and the Yellowjackets, as they fought back to take the set 26-24. With the edge, MSUB took total control in the fourth set, outhitting the Seawolves .333 to .026 in the set, routing Anchorage, 25-15, and taking the match 3-1. Crotteau and Jennifer Boe each had a double-double while Hannah Johnson and Porter both had four blocks.

AMONG THE NATIONS ELITE... 
Devon Crotteau currently ranks fifth in the nation with 4.46 kills per set, the leader, Makenzie Snyder of Chico State, has 4.96. Crotteau’s number currently ranks her first in the GNAC and is also tops in the conference for points per set (5.71) and is sixth in hitting percentage (.327).

ABOUT NNU (10-7, 3-2)
The Crusaders enter the week tied for third place, with MSUB, in the GNAC standings. At 3-2, NNU is coming off of a loss to one of the pre season favorites, Western Oregon, in four sets, 3-1. The loss was preceded by a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin’s on Sept. 24th. The win versus the Saints was headed Eki Punimata, who recorded 21 assists and seven service aces, while Lindsay Grant came up with 11 kills. In the Western match, Grant again led the Crusaders with 12 kills and 14 digs, while Cammy Dranginis and Becky Flores each had 10 kills. Grant leads the Crusaders on the year with 3.32 kills per set and is second in digs with 242. Punimata leads the team in assists with 342 of the teams 746 assists. As a team, NNU is hitting .207 while holding opponents to a .167 average. They’re also averaging 1.48 blocks per set.    

INSIDE THE SERIES...
Overall, NNU holds the series lead against MSUB, 7-3. The Crusaders are currently on a five game winning streak against the ‘Jackets dating back to Sept. 6, 2007, including one victory earlier this season, going 0-3. MSUB has yet to earn a victory at the Johnson Sports Center. The last victory for the Yellowjackets against NNU came on Oct. 12, 2000, a 3-2 win at home.  

ABOUT SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-6, 3-0)
The Falcons enter the week as the number one team in the conference standings. SPU is also on a four-match winning streak and have won eight of their last nine. Thus far, the Falcons have wins over NNU, Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon. In the Western Oregon match, SPU fell behind 2-0, but climbed its way out of a hole to take the next two sets. In the fifth and final set, the Falcons took control and downed the Wolves 15-10 for a 3-2 victory behind the hitting of Lindsey Wodrich and Sarah Risser. On the season, Risser leads the Falcons in kills with 163 total, while Wodrich has recorded 139. Wodrich also leads the team in digs with 126. As a team, the Falcons are hitting .213 and holding opponents to just .149. SPU has 110 blocks on the season, led by Amber Johnson, with 56. Before playing the Yellowjackets, the Falcons will take on second place, and rival, Western Washington Sept. 30 at home, starting at 7 p.m. 

INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Yellowjackets have traditionally struggled against the Falcons, as SPU leads the overall series 18-5. In recent memory however, MSUB has a 3-1 record against the Falcons since joining the GNAC in 2007. Last year, the teams split the season series, both winning on its home court and in 3-0 sweeps. During the 2007 season, MSUB won at Royal Brougham for the first time since Nov. 14, 1997. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Upon the return from Seattle, the Yellowjackets will enjoy an extended stay at home. MSUB will not return to the court until Tuesday Oct. 13, as it wraps up non-conference play hosting Rocky Mountain College at 7 p.m. Two days later, Oct. 15, the Yellowjackets welcome Central Washington to Alterowitz for a 7 p.m. conference showdown. The home stand will conclude with a match against conference favorite, Western Washington, on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. All MSUB home volleyball matches can be seen LIVE and FREE on the website.

CROTTEAU EARNS POW
Senior outside hitter, Devon Crotteau, was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week this past week.  It is her first weekly conference honor of the season. The Casper, Wyo. native recorded 48 kills and 23 digs and hit for a .349 percentage as the Yellowjackets went 1-1 on their recent trip to Alaska. Her 31 kills at Fairbanks are a season-best for the conference and she now has four of the top eight kill totals in the conference this season. Crotteau leads the GNAC in kills (4.55) and points (5.20) and ranks 14th in career kills (1,114).

CROTTEAU EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT
Devon Crotteau earned all-tournament honors for her 66 kills and .327 hitting percentage over the weekend. She also earned 42 digs, seven blocks and six aces during the tournament.

A GRAND MILESTONE
Four Players in MSUB volleyball history have eclipsed 1,000 kills in their career. This season, Devon Crotteau made it five. Crotteau entered the 2009 season just 127 kills shy of the mark. With 19 kills in the final match against University of Mary (Sept. 5), Crotteau had exactly 1,000 kills. With her performance at the MSUB Invite., Crotteau is now fourth on the all-time kills list at MSUB, passing Brandee Sayles (1994-97) with 1,043 kills. Crotteau also became the 22nd player in GNAC history to record 1,000 career kills.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2009
Former Fort Hays State coach Steve Smith (44-82, 4 years) takes over at Montana State Billings and has six letter winners available off last year’s team, which looks to improve on last season and build a new winning tradition.

Among the six is outside hitter Devon Crotteau (6-0, Sr., Casper, WY – Northern Colorado), who was one of the top kill producers in the GNAC, averaging 3.89 to rank second in the conference.

Crotteau also ranked 10th in kill percentage (.246), netted 3.19 digs per contest and contributed 29 aces and 36 blocks.

Also back are outside hitter Jennifer Boe (5-8, Jr., Casper, WY – Kelly Walsh), setter Hillary Morrison (5-10, Sr., Casper, WY – Chadron State) and libero Jill Trabing (5-8, Sr., Buffalo, WY).

Boe averaged 2.51 kills and 2.75 digs. Morrison was credited with 7.36 assists and Trabing had 3.52 digs.

Smith’s first MSUB team will include only two other letter winners – middle blocker Melissa Porter (6-3, So., Redmond, UT – North Sevier) and defensive specialist Whitney Mickelsen (5-4, So., Aurora, UT – North Sevier) – along with five freshmen.

YELLOWJACKETS TABBED EIGHTH
The Montana State Billings volleyball team was selected eighth in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll. The Yellowjackets received 15 points behind conference favorite Western Washington with 60 points.

Returning for MSUB is one of the league’s top kill producers in Devon Crotteau. Last season she ranked second in kills per game, averaging 3.89. Joining Crotteau as returning letter winners will be Jennifer Boe, Hillary Morrison, Jill Trabing, Melissa Porter, and Whitney Mickelson.

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