Volleyball Begins Three Game Homestand

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RESTED AND READY...
Coming off of back-to-back five set matches, the Yellowjackets enjoyed some much needed time off, taking nine days between matches. As the schedule resumes this week, MSUB will finish non-conference play with a re-match against cross-town rival Rocky Mountain College Tuesday night at Alterowitz, starting at 7 p.m. The conference schedule resumes again on Thursday when the Yellowjackets host Central Washington at 7 p.m. and again on Saturday evening during a pivotal match-up against GNAC power, Western Washington also at 7 p.m.

A LOOK BACK...
After back-to-back wins at home, MSUB hit the road for a pair of crucial, and highly competitive, matches against Northwest Nazarene and conference leading Seattle Pacific. Earning a split during the road trip was going to be huge undertaking.

The Thursday match against NNU proved to be a lot closer than the two teams’ last meeting at the MSUB Invitational in September. After dropping the first set 25-18, the Yellowjackets clamped down and took the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match.  NNU used great play in the fourth set to tie the match, and had all the momentum in the fifth, winning 15-9. Devon Crotteau ended the night with 16 kills and 27 digs, while Melissa Porter tallied 13 kills and seven blocks. The Yellowjackets were held to .155 hitting, but won the blocking battle 14-11.

Putting the loss in Nampa behind them, MSUB looked ahead to the conference leading Falcons of SPU for their next match. Unbeaten in the conference, SPU was stunned in the first set, as MSUB took the lead with a 25-22 win. The Falcons would rally to win the second and third, but could not shake the Yellowjackets in the fourth, fending off multiple match points to win 31-29. With the momentum, MSUB jumped out to a quick lead in the fifth set and eventually slammed the door and handed the Falcons their first loss of the conference season. Crotteau had a game-high 24 kills, while Jill Trabing recorded 23 digs. The win also propelled the Yellowjackets back into the thick of the conference race.

PORTER EARNS POW...
Porter was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Week (Oct. 5) after helping the Yellowjackets to wins over Alaska Anchorage and previously unbeaten Seattle Pacific. In three matches, she had 29 kills and a team-best 16 blocks. Her third-set block ignited a comeback from a 17-11 deficit and she then later had a kill to break a 24-24 tie in a 26-24 set victory over the Seawolves. She finished with 10 kills and four blocks against UAA, then had 13 kills and seven blocks against NNU and then contributed six kills and five blocks against SPU.

ABOUT ROCKY (15-6)
The Battlin’ Bears head into the match-up with MSUB riding a three game winning streak. Rocky, like MSUB, last stepped onto the court Oct. 3, taking on Westminster College. Rocky got a great performance from Sara Brunner, 18 kills and a .234 hitting percentage, which earned her Frontier Conference Player of the Week honors. In the first match this season, Rocky bested the Yellowjackets in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 22 at Rocky.    

INSIDE THE SERIES...
In the series, MSUB has won 11 of the last 13 match-ups, dating back to Sept. 17, 2003. The split last season was the Jackets’ first loss to Rocky since Oct. 29, 2002, a 3-0 sweep at Rocky. Overall, the Yellowjackets lead the series with 34 wins against 14 losses in 48 meetings. The Yellowjackets hold an impressive record at home against the Battlin’ Bears, 23-4.  

ABOUT Central Washington (10-8, 2-5)
The Wildcats enter the week eighth in the conference at 2-5, 10-8 overall. Central has dropped seven of the last ten matches in which it has played. They’re coming off of win against pre season favorite Western Oregon this past weekend in Ellensburg. The Wildcats are being led by Kady Try with her 215 kills on the season. Try also is second on the team in digs with 196. Erin Norris leads the team in service aces and is among the nation’s best in that category. The Wildcats are outhitting their opponents .189 to .168, but have been out blocked and out dug by their opponents this season. As the Wildcats enter Billings, their record away from home this season is 0-4. 

INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Yellowjackets have traditionally struggled against the Wildcats, dropping six of the seven matches in which the two teams have played. The lone win for the Yellowjackets came at home on Sept. 29, 2007, winning 3-1. Four of the six losses have been sweeps, including the last three.

ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON (12-7, 5-3)
Last week, Western split a pair of GNAC matches, winning in four sets at Saint Martin’s after being beaten in a five-set match at home by Northwest Nazarene. Western, the preseason GNAC favorite, has split a pair of league matches in each of the last three weeks after opening conference play with two wins. Two of those losses have been at home. The Vikings rank second in the GNAC in service aces at 1.72 per set and third in attack percentage at .206. Western middle blocker Emily Jepsen is tied for the league lead in blocks with a 1.04 per set average. Outside hitter Marlayna Geary is second in kills (3.94) as is setter Laurie Yearout in assists (10.33). Geary had a pair of double-doubles in kills and digs last week, including a career-high 29 kills in the loss to Northwest Nazarene.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Yellowjackets are 0-7 all-time against the Vikings. In fact, MSUB has taken just one game from Western in those seven meetings, Oct. 10, 1998, a 3-1 defeat in Canada.

LOOKING AHEAD
After enjoying a three game home stand, MSUB will again take to the road for a pair of GNAC contests. The first, a match-up with the last place Saints of Saint Martin’s on Thursday Oct. 22. The Yellowjackets defeated the Saint’s in Billings on Sept. 26. The second, a match at defending GNAC champion Western Oregon. The Wolves just suffered their first home loss in 19 matches at the hands of Western Washington. WOU, thought to in the thick of the championship race, has struggled this season, going 4-4 in the conference and 7-12 on the year thus far. 

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 numbers currently rank her first in the GNAC and are also tops in the conference for points per set (5.71) and are sixth in hitting percentage (.327).

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.

Yellowjackets Ink Two-Sport Product
Kayla Neumiller signed with the Yellowjackets for the 2009-2010 season.  Neumiller plans on competing in both volleyball and track & field. Neumiller lettered all four years in high school in volleyball and was an all-state selection as a junior and senior.  She was a first team all-conference selection for three years and earned state all-tournament honors as a senior. Neumiller recorded 330 kills, 48 blocks, 83 aces and 406 digs during her senior year and amassed over 1,000 kills (1,026), 211 aces and 161 blocks in her high school career.