Volleyball Set to Close Out Home Slate This Weekend

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AND WE’RE MOVIN ON UP...
With the victory last week over Seattle Pacific University, the Yellowjackets moved into a tie for fourth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. MSUB is just one game behind Western Washington and just two behind SPU. Though the Yellowjackets are three and a half games behind Alaska Anchorage, MSUB could surge into second place in the conference by seasons end. MSUB has four games remaining on the schedule, they are 1-3 this season against those teams but look to change their fortune the second time around.

IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST...
Defeating SPU last Thursday meant a season sweep of the top two teams in the conference standings. The Yellowjackets swept both squads for the second time in three years. MSUB is just 3-5 in the other matches played this conference season.

SENIORS LAST STAND...
This week’s games will be the final two home matches in the careers of Devon Crotteau, Hillary Morrison and Jill Trabing. The three seniors have been instrumental in the turnaround from last season. Crotteau will leave MSUB as one of the most prolific hitters in MSUB history. She currently has 1286 kills which is fourth in school history, but will move in to third this weekend, sitting two back of third place on the list (Oliva Munro, 1288). Morrisson is the team leader in assists, while Trabing ranks among the best in digs.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING...
Currently, MSUB is on a three game winning streak and have won five of the last seven. The current winning streak ties the longest of the season which was done from 8/29 to 9/5.

A LOOK BACK...
Going into last week, MSUB was sitting in the middle of the field in the GNAC standings. A win Thursday night against SPU would put the ‘Jackets back in the top half of the conference and position them for an end-of-the-year run toward the top. For the second time this season, MSUB handled the Falcons, this time proving the first win was no fluke. The Yellowjackets jumped on SPU early with a 25-17 victory in the first, and then claimed a second set victory, 25-22. SPU was able to keep the match alive with a third set victory, but MSUB sent the Falcons packing with a dominating third set victory, 25-16. The Yellowjackets were led by Crotteau and her 18 kills, while Jen Boe recorded 10 kills and Morrison tallied 44 assists in the match.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (7-17, 4-9)
The defending GNAC champions come into the week in eighth position in the standing. The Wolves are currently on a six game losing skid which dates back Oct. 10, a five set loss at Central Washington. One of those losses came at the hands of MSUB (3-0, Oct. 24) in Monmouth. Danielle Reese leads the team in kills with 227 in total and averaging 3.11 per set. Amy Herron has recorded 727 assists as Laura Sakala leads the team in blocks with 60 on the season.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
Montana State Billings is just 2-6 in the eight meetings prior to this week’s match-up. MSUB got its first win in Monmouth in its fourth try and are now 1-3, but are 1-1 at home. The lone victory came in Alterowitz on Sept. 15, 2007, 3-1. The win snapped a three game skid against the Wolves, dating back to the Sept. 15, 2007 win at home.

ABOUT ALASKA FAIRBANKS (11-12, 5-7)
Fairbanks enters the week sitting in seventh position in the GNAC. The Nanooks are coming off of a weekend sweep of Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon. UAF swept Saint Martin’s and defeated the Wolves, 3-1. They come to Billings with the reigning Player of the Week in Alexa Sherman who had 91 assists, 14 digs and five blocks, all while hitting .684. Megan Thigpen leads the team in kills, averaging 3.93 kills per set with 2.89 digs per set. Sherman leads the team in assists with 826, while Allison Oddy is leading the team in total digs with 257 for a 3.38 average per set.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Nanooks hold a five game edge in the series wih MSUB. In 39 games the Yellowjackets are 17-22 all-time, but are 12-11 at home. On the road, the ‘Jackets are just 5-10 including a loss earlier this season. Last season the two teams split the series, both teams winning on the others’ court. The Yellowjackets are 3-2 against the Nanooks since moving into the GNAC in 2007.

LOOKING AHEAD...
With just five games left in the 2009 season, three home and two on the road, the Yellowjackets are looking to finish the season on a high note. After this week’s match with SPU, MSUB stays at home to face Western Oregon (Nov. 5) and Alaska Fairbanks (Nov. 7) with both games starting at 7 p.m. MSUB will then finish the season on the road at Central Washington (Nov. 12) and at Western Washington (Nov. 14).

LUTZ GARNERS POW HONORS...
Jody Lutz was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week for Oct. 26. It is her first weekly conference honor of the season and third for the volleyball program this season. The Dugald, Manitoba, Canada native recorded 13 kills and 10 blocks, nearly doubling her season set average in both categories, helping lead the Yellowjackets to consecutive 3-0 sweeps on the road at Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon. Currently, Lutz is fourth in the conference in blocks per set with 0.99 but is third in total blocks with 89. She also ranks sixth in hitting percentage with a .266 average and 115 kills.

AMONG THE NATIONS ELITE...
Devon Crotteau currently ranks fifth in the nation with 4.39 kills per set, the leader,Tatiana Kuhn of Henderson State has 4.94. Crotteau’s numbers currently rank her first in the GNAC and are also tops in the conference for points per set (4.92) and are fifth in hitting percentage and service aces per set.

PORTER CLAIMS 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.

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.