2007 Volleyball Weekly Release #10 (October 23)

Sat., Oct. 27 - at Western Washington, 8 p.m. Mountain

Click HERE for the Yellowjacket Volleyball Show featuring head coach Sara Schaub and
junior setter Stefania Aladjova

Click HERE for Alicia Cazemier's blog about last week.

Note: The Yellowjackets will be running youth clinics at Alterowitz Gym on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10.  Click HERE for the informational flyer, or call Coach Schaub at 657-2603.
 

The Yellowjackets had a good return to Alterowitz Gym with a pair of wins over the Alaska schools.  After two weeks on the road that included three-straight conference losses, the Jackets made the most of their week at home.  The defeated Alaska Anchorage 3-1 on Saturday and rallied to down Alaska Fairbanks 3-2 on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, MSUB honored the 2006 conference championship volleyball team by unveiling the championship banner during the intermission between games 2 and 3.  All but one player from the 2006 team was in attendance for the ceremony.

A balanced attack carried MSU Billings to a 3-1 win over Alaska Anchorage in GNAC volleyball on Thursday.  Four players knocked down double-digit kills in the 30-28, 19-30, 30-18, 30-16 win.

“We came out ready for a win and took care of business,” said Yellowjacket head coach Sara Schaub.  “In game two, we got a little complacent and became almost spectators watching what was going on.  After game two, I really liked the way my team came out really strong in games three and four for the match win.”

With the exception of the second game, the Yellowjackets were in control for much of the match.  MSUB jumped to a 7-1 to open the match and had to hold on for the two point win.  After five game points, Jessica Lechner’s kill finally put an end to the game and gave MSUB a 1-0 lead.

The second game belonged to the Seawolves (5-13, 1-11), who broke from a 7-7 tie to win going away.  Anchorage hit a blistering .387 in the game as the Yellowjackets were unable to stop the Seawolves at the net.  Five of UAA’s 11 blocks in the match came in game two.

After the intermission, the Jackets were in complete command, out-hitting the Seawolves 28 kills to 17 in the final two games.  UAA posted a negative attack percentage in the third game and never recovered.  MSUB cruised in the fourth and final game, posting 18 kills with just two errors for a .421 attack percentage.

Devon Crotteau led all players with 17 kills and also added 11 digs.  Lechner and Alicia Cazemier each had 14 kills.  It was a career high for Lechner.  Jennifer Boe finished with 10 kills and nine digs.

The Seawolves benefited from 18 Yellowjacket service errors, although they also gave up 13 aces.  Joanna Johnson knocked down 14 kills, and Rachel Kidwell added 10.  Kim Stolk was strong at the net with 10 blocks.

Montana State Billings overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks in five games Saturday night in GNAC volleyball at Alterowitz Gym, 25-30, 25-30, 30-22, 30-24, 15-8.  Devon Crotteau and Alicia Cazemier each pounded out 21 kills to lead the comeback.

“The main thing we had to change from games one and two to games three, four and five was to not make so many unforced errors,” said Yellowjacket head coach Sara Schaub.  “We needed to keep the ball in play.  We did a good job of making that change.”

Each team had 13 kills in each of the first two games, but the Yellowjackets committed four more attack errors and a number of ball handling and passing errors.  MSUB shored up the attack after the intermission, hitting a combined .216 over the final three games.  Alaska Fairbanks hit just .042 as a team over the final three games.

“Our outside hitting struggled in the first game, and our middle blocking struggled in game two,” said Schaub.  “We brought everything together in the final three games and had all cylinders going.  When we play at the top level that we can, I think we’re one of the strongest team in the conference.  We have to remain at that level on a more consistent basis.”

With the win, the Yellowjackets improved to 15-7 overall and 8-5 in the conference.  The Nanooks dropped to 9-12, 3-10. 

Cazemier’s 21 kills came on a .316 attack percentage.  She is now just two kills short of tying Jessica Bratton’s all-time school record of 1,376 kills.  The senior captain was also in on seven blocks, surpassing 500 career total blocks.  The NCAA does not keep career blocking records, but 500 is a noteworthy accomplishment.  The GNAC career record is 402.

Crotteau had 17 digs to go with her 21 kills.  Stefania Aladjova had 45 assists, 14 digs, and four aces.  Nicole Kruse picked up a match-high 21 digs. 

The Yellowjackets have a critical Great Northwest Athletic Conference road trip next week when they play at Central Washington on Thursday and at league-leader Western Washington on Saturday.  Cazemier is sure to become the all-time school record holder for career kills on Thursday, adding it to her list of records that includes total blocks, solo blocks, block assists, and hitting percentage.

From the GNAC:
LAST WEEK: Thursday – Alaska Anchorage 1 at MSU Billings 3 (30-28, 19-30, 30-18, 30-16); Alaska Fairbanks 0 at Seattle 3 30-26, 30-28, 30-27); Western Oregon 0 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (30-14, 30-18, 30-26); Saint Martin's 0 at Seattle Pacific 3 (20-25, 30-24, 30-25); Central Washington 0 at Western Washington 3 (30-14, 30-15, 30-22). Saturday – Alaska Anchorage 1 at Seattle 3 (30-19, 29-31, 30-24, 32-30); Alaska Fairbanks 2 at MSU Billings 3 (25-30, 25-30, 30-22, 30-24, 15-8); Western Oregon 0 at Seattle Pacific 3 (30-19, 30-18, 30-22); Saint Martin's 0 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (30-28, 30-23, 30-19).

UPCOMING: Thursday – Northwest Nazarene at Alaska Anchorage; Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks; MSU Billings at Central Washington; Seattle at Western Washington. Saturday – Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage; Northwest Nazarene at Alaska Fairbanks; Seattle at Central Washington; MSU Billings at Western Washington; Western Oregon at Saint Martin's.  (All matches begin at 7 p.m.). 

CSTV/AVCA National Division II (Oct. 16) -   27. Western Washington; 31. Western Oregon.  NCAA Division II Pacific Region (Oct. 10) - 1. Cal State San Bernardino (17-0); 2. Western Washington (11-3); 3. Cal State L.A. (10-6); 4. Cal Poly Pomona (13-4); 5. Chico State (11-6); 6. Western Oregon (11-5); 7. UC San Diego (11-6); 8. Northwest Nazarene (11-6); 9. Montana State Billings (12-5); 10. Seattle Pacific (9-8).  (Note: Regional polls will also be released this Wednesday and Nov. 7).

NCAA National Statistics (Oct. 14): Individuals (Top 50): Kills - 27. Alyssa Given, SPU, 4.40; 35. Devon Crotteau, MSUB, 4.26; 40. Alicia Cazemier, MSUB, 4.22. Hitting Percentage - 37. Rachael Schurman, CWU, .353; 41. Tiana Roma, WWU, .345. Assists - 47. Stefania Aladjova, MSUB, 11.45. Aces - 9. Alyssa Given, SPU, 0.79; 26. Stefanie Aladjova, MSUB, 0.69; 36. Erin Norris, CWU, 0.65. Digs - 2. Courtney Schneider, WWU, 7.45. Blocks - 12. Rachael Schurman, CWU, 1.40; 16. Angie Alvord, WWU, 1.37; 26. Emily Powell, SU, 1.29; 29. Cammy Dranginis, NNU, 1.28. Team (Top 50): Kills - 45. Western Washington 14.95. Hitting PCT. - 33. Western Washington .244. Digs - 6. Western Oregon 21.16, 29. Seattle 19.73. Blocks - 12. Central Washington 2.75; 43. Western Washington 2.50; 46. Seattle 2.49. 

GNAC PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK:  Angie Wodrich, Seattle Pacific (OH, 5-10, Sr., Richland, WA) had 28 kills and a team-best seven blocks to  leads the Falcons to a pair of 3-0 sweeps of Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon as SPU leveled its GNAC record at 6-6. Wodrich also had 19 digs and hit for a .294 percentage in the two victories.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Alicia Cazemier, MSU Billings (MB, 6-0, Sr., Vauxhall, Alberta) had 35 kills and eight blocks and hit for a .297 percentage to lead the Yellowjackets to two home wins.  Cazemier  is now just two kills short of tying Jessica Bratton's all-time MSUB school record of 1,376 kills.  She also has more than 500 career blocks.  The GNAC block record is 402, however most of Cazemier’s blocks came before MSUB joined the conference. . .Tina Roma, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Edmonds, WA –Woodway) hit for a .600 percentage (12-0-20) in the Vikings’ sweep of arch-rival Central Washington.  Roma’s percentage is the third best this fall by a GNAC player (minimum 12 kills). . .Cammy Dranginis, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-0, So., Nampa, ID - Skyview) had 25 kills and 13 blocks and hit for a .367 percentage (25-7-49) in sweeps of Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.

AROUND THE GNAC:  Angie Alvord had 12 kills and eight blocks and Jaime Anderson had 12 kills and 18 digs as Western Washington extended its win streak to 10.  The Vikings have won 30 of 32 games during the streak.  Courtney Schneider had 21 digs to her career total to 2,349, which ranks sixth on the NCAA Division II all-time career list.  Her career average of 6.86 is on pace to set a NCAA record.  The NCAA doesn’t recognize per game performances until an athlete has completed their eligibility. . .Alyssa Given hit .319 and also had 30 kills, four aces and 31 digs in Seattle Pacific’s two wins.  Given currently ranks fifth in GNAC history with 1,340 kills and has 180 career aces, two off the GNAC record. . .Nikole Thompson led Seattle University with 25 kills and 24 digs in two matches.  Thompson ranks second in SU school history with 1,145 kills and needs only 40 more to break into the GNAC Top 10. . .Loni Evenson had 20 kills, 24 digs and five blocks in Northwest Nazarene’s two wins.  After falling behind 5-0 in Game 1 to Western Oregon, the Crusaders outscored the Wolves 90-53 the remainder of the way.  Ironically, WOU outscored NNU by that identical margin (90-53) in their win earlier this season in Monmouth. . .Central Washington will need to win its final six matches to avoid its first losing season in the seven-year history of the conference.  Twice the Wildcats have finished with 13-13 records. . . Devon Crotteau had 38 kills and 28 digs in MSU Billings’ wins over Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. . .UAA’s Joanna Johnson had 35 kills and 35 digs in a pair of 3-1 road losses. Rhea Cardwell, who has missed the Seawolves’ last six matches with a stress fracture, will probably return next week for contests against Northwest Nazarene and Seattle Pacific at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Cardwell leads the Seawolves, who have lost seven straight, in both kills and digs per game. . .Megan Thigpen had team-highs of 28 kills and 30 digs in UAF’s losses at Seattle and MSU Billings. . .Shealun Campisi matched a GNAC season-best for a three-game match with 19 kills in Saint Martin’s loss at NNU.  In two matches, Campisi had 29 kills and 24 digs. . .Stacey Bennett led Western Oregon with 23 kills in its two road losses.  The Wolves were outhit .341 to .103 in the two contests.

Click HERE for the complete GNAC weekly release

Central Washington Wildcats

Rachael Schurman leads the Wildcats and ranks fourth in the conference at 4.00 kills per game.  She has done that on a blistering .345 attack percentage.  Three other Wildcats average over two kills per game.  The Wildcats are the only team in the conference with three players averaging over a block per game; Schurman, Erin Norris, and Bree Brandt range from 1.06 to 1.36 bpg.  CWU leads the GNAC in blocks, averaging 2.66 per game as a team.

All-time Series:  CWU leads series 2-1
Last Meeting: MSUB def. CWU 3-1 on Sept. 29, 2007 in Billings
 

With Western Oregon dropping two matches last weekend, Western Washington finally broke free of a tie atop the standings that lasted for weeks.  The Vikings will have to be at their best down the stretch as three of their final six matches are against teams in the top half of the GNAC standings, although four of their final six matches are at home.

Jaime Anderson and Emily Castro are each averaging over three kills a game.  Anderson ranks fifth in the GNAC at 3.91.  Tiana Roma leads the conference with a .357 hitting percentage, and setter Katie Robinson leads the league in assists per game at 11.49.  As a team, Western Washington ranks first in the GNAC for hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, and kills.

All-time Series:  WWU leads series 4-0
Last Meeting: WWU def. MSUB 3-0 on Sept. 27, 2007 in Billings
 

A player had 30 or more kills in a match — Nov. 12, 2004 (Jessica Bratton, 33 vs. Western New Mexico)

A player had 25-29 kills in a match — Sept. 30, 2006 (Jessica Bratton, 25 vs. Texas A&M-International)

A player had 60 or more assists in a match — Sept. 2, 2006 (Natalie Bills, 66 vs. Fort Lewis)

A player had 25 or more digs in a match — Aug. 25, 2007 (Nicole Kruse (30) vs. Minn. St. Moorhead)

A player had 5 or more aces in a match — Oct. 2, 2007 (Devon Crotteau, 5 vs. Rocky Mountain)

A player had 10 or more blocks in a match — Sept. 29, 2007 (Alicia Cazemier, 11 vs. Cent. Washington)

The team had an attack percentage over .300 — Oct. 20, 2006 (.400 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State)

The team had 70 or more kills in a match — Oct. 11, 2007 (70 vs. Western Oregon)

The team had 70 or more assists in a match — Sept. 2, 2006 (77 vs. Fort Lewis)

The team had 100 or more digs in a match — Sept. 8, 2006 (116 vs. Central Okla.)

The team had 15 or more blocks in a match — Sept. 29, 2007 (16.0 vs. Cent. Washington)

The team had 10-14 blocks in a match - Oct. 20, 2007 (12.0 vs. Alaska Fairbanks)

Kills
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (526); 11. Devon Crotteau (370); 13. Alicia Cazemier (364)
Career – 1. Jessica Bratton (1,376); 2. Alicia Cazemier (1,374); 15. Jessica Lechner (502)

Assists
Season – 1. Natalie Bills (1,327); 8. Stefania Aladjova (979)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (4,354)

Digs
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (440)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (1,530); 4. Nicole Kruse (1,109)

Service Aces
Season – 1. Nicole Kruse (62); 2. Stefania Aladjova (59); 7. Devon Crotteau (50)
Career – 1. Gina Langer (178); 4. Nicole Kruse (119); 5. Alicia Cazemier (110)

Total Blocks
Season – 1. Deb Dianda (169); 15. Alicia Cazemier (98)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (501); 13. Jessica Lechner (162)

Solo Blocks
Season – 1. Alicia Cazemier (67)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (162); 20. Jessica Lechner (33)

Block Assists
Season – 1. Deb Dianda (119); 9. Alicia Cazemier (79)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (339); 12. Jessica Lechner (129)

Attack Percentage
Season – 1. Andrea Donahue (.373)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (.309); 5. Jessica Lechner (.231)

Kills per Game
Season – 1. Diane Vargo (4.61)
Career – 1. Ali Watson (4.10); 6. Alicia Cazemier (3.53) 

Assists per Game
Season – 1. Natalie Bills (12.52)
Career – 1. Natalie Bills (12.16)

Blocks per Game
Season – 1. Alicia Cazemier (1.52)
Career – 1. Alicia Cazemier (1.29) 

Digs per Game
Season – 1. Connie Meyer (4.75)
Career – 1. Connie Meyer (3.96); 6. Nicole Kruse (3.72)

Games Played
Career – 1. Gina Langer (462); 5. Alicia Cazemier (389); 13. Nicole Kruse (298); 14. Jessica Lechner (295)

Sara Schaub was hired as the Yellowjackets' tenth head coach since the program was reinstated in 1984. Schaub’s coaching experience was most recently at Division I Eastern Michigan University where she was the first assistant since 2002.  She helped the Eagles to the program’s first Mid-America Conference West Division Championship in 2005.  Schaub’s responsibilities were recruiting, practice organization, and leading a successful volleyball camp program at Eastern.   

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next head coach at MSU Billings,” said Schaub.  “I am very grateful to Dr. Gray and the entire search committee for giving me this opportunity.  I feel very fortunate to join such an upbeat and visionary department.  I look forward to working with the student-athletes, building an exciting program, and being part of the Billings community.”

Schaub, originally from Huron, Ohio, was a four-year starter for the Eastern Michigan Eagles as an outside hitter.  Schaub is the only player in Mid-American Conference history to average over four kills and four digs per game in the same season.  She currently holds the record at Eastern Michigan for career attack attempts and is second for career kills and digs, sixth for career aces, and seventh for career block assists.

Schaub graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2001 with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Accounting Information Systems.  She also holds a Master of Science in Accounting, graduating Magna Cum Laude from EMU in 2002.  In her free time, Schaub is an avid beach volleyball player and has participated in the Association of Volleyball Professionals, Extreme Volleyball Professionals, and Midwest Professional Volleyball Association, winning many events.

Jay Christensen begins the season as a first-year assistant coach for the Lady Yellowjackets. With a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science-Sports Medicine, he also is a second year graduate student in the athletic training program. 

Christensen moved to Billings from Laie, Hawaii, and comes with a varied athletic background. All-state in soccer and four-time state champion in swimming, he played soccer for a U-17 team throughout Europe and after high school helped represent the United States, swimming in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. 

He enjoys surfing, golfing, swimming, basketball, soccer and reading.  Jay, his wife Cassandra and son Kai live in Billings.

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