by BILLINGS, Mont. – MSU Billings took it to the wire, earning a five set victory over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Western Oregon in five sets 17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, and 15-13 Saturday at Alterowitz.
After falling in a five set match on Thursday against Concordia (Ore.), the Yellowjackets were powerful in tonight’s final frame, jumping out to an 8-2 lead. MSUB needed to withstand a surge from the Wolves, but buckled down in the final two points of the match for the ‘Jackets second GNAC victory of the season.
“I thought tonight was a step in the right direction for us,” MSUB head coach Casey Williams said. “We had some younger players that stepped-up and had a big night. Both Faith and Bre did a good job at staying consistent and making plays when they needed to. I was excited by the team’s effort, and happy that they earned the win.”
“We have some tough opponents coming in to play us next week so we are excited to get some practices in before hosting two more GNAC teams,” Williams continued. “I know our team looks forward to carrying tonight’s momentum into our upcoming matches.”
The defense put up some big numbers in the victory. MSU Billings recorded a season-high 15.0 team blocks and 87 total digs. Ashlynn Ward (Standing Rock Sioux) earned a career-high nine block assists in the match while pounding home a match-high 17 kills. Freshman Bre Rodrigues finished with eight block assists and nine kills. Freshman Faith Taylor collected 20 digs for the ‘Jackets and Kylee Cornelio 19.
Two players earned double-doubles.Angala Jensen had 44 assists and a season-high 17 digs. Stormy Siemion had 15 kills and 10 digs. Casey Rich cleared nine kills on a team-leading .304 attack percentage while adding six block assists.Lexa de Jesus finished with a season-high 10 kills with two block assists. Mataia Robinson also had double-digit digs with 14.
UP NEXT: MSUB continues its hosting duties with a pair of conference matches next week. MSU Billings welcomes Central Washington on Thursday, Oct. 20, followed by Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Oct. 22.
