Munro Explodes for 30 Kills in Yellowjacket Win at Rocky (Oct. 22, 2003)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – Olivia Munro single-handedly made sure that the MSU Billings volleyball team ended its ten-match losing streak Wednesday night, hammering down 30 kills in the Yellowjackets’ 3-1 win over Rocky Mountain (26-30, 30-25, 30-21, 30-28).  The junior outside hitter from Toronto, Ontario becomes just the eleventh player in Pacific West Conference history to record at least 30 kills in a match.  She was just one kill short of her personal career-high which she recorded in a win over St. Cloud State at the beginning of the 2002 season.

The Yellowjackets (4-16) had some tense moments early in the match, finishing the first game with as many attack errors as they had kills.  After starting in the hole 1-0 and losing their 31^st game in their last 33, Munro and Co. bounced back to take three straight games and the match.

Setter Kari Jones (Jr., Hermiston, OR) showed that she is becoming more comfortable with running the Yellowjacket offense, passing out 50 assists.  It was her second match of at least 50 assists this season including 52 in a five-game loss at Western New Mexico last week.  Jones also had three kills, nine digs and three block assists against Rocky.

Jessica Bratton (Fr., Casper, WY) added 11 kills despite struggling at times with 12 attack errors.  She has knocked down 51 kills in her last five matches.  Bratton also had eight digs and a solo block.

Katrina Dahlgren (Sr., Missoula, MT) and Cortney Metzler (Jr., Roundup, MT) combined for 11 kills and eight total blocks to give the Yellowjackets a strong presence in the middle.  Defensively Alberta Letoa (Fr., Laie, HI) led all players with 25 digs, her highest match total of the year.  Munro held her own on the defensive side as well, picking up 18 digs.  Brittany Uffelman (Sr., Thermopolis, WY) added another 16 digs as the Yellowjackets held the Bears (14-14) to just a .061 team hitting percentage. 

The win puts an end to the Yellowjackets’ ten-match losing streak that included six losses to nationally ranked teams.  It also completed the season sweep of Rocky, returning the favor to the Bears who won both matches last year.  MSUB is now 21-9 in the all-time series with Rocky.

The Yellowjackets will look for their first conference win of the season next Friday when they host Chaminade on Halloween night.