Lady Jacket Volleyball Hosts BYU-Hawaii Friday and Saturday (Oct. 7, 2004)

BILLINGS, MT – Fresh off its best trip to Hawaii ever, the Montana State-Billings volleyball team returns to Alterowitz Gym on Friday and Saturday to host BYU-Hawaii.  The Yellowjackets will face the Seasiders in a PacWest Conference match on Friday at 7:00 p.m. with a non-conference match at 7:00 on Saturday.

The Yellowjackets (9-5, 2-3 PWC) split four matches in Hawaii last week, winning at BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii-Hilo and losing at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade.  It was the first time MSU Billings has won more than one match on the annual trip to the islands.

Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Bratton (Casper, WY) had a solid week in Hawaii with double-digit kills in all four matches.  She improved throughout the week, posting 13, 16, 17 and 19 kills in the four matches respectively.  Bratton currently ranks third in the PacWest for kills per game (4.27) and used three good hitting nights in Hawaii to move to tenth in the league for hitting percentage (.261).

The matches in Hawaii were the first for senior Olivia Munro (Toronto, Ontario) after breaking the school record for career kills against Rocky Mountain on September 21.  She picked up where she left off with three double-doubles and an average of 4.27 kills per game.  Her best match of the week came in a loss to eighth-ranked Hawaii Pacific where she knocked down 22 kills and hit .354.  Munro ranks fifth in the PacWest for kills (4.24) and second for digs (4.41).

Senior transfer Andrea Donahue (Whitefish, MT) continued her steady play in Hawaii.  She took over the conference lead for hitting percentage by hitting .404 for the week.  She is hitting .433 for the season—first in the conference and fifth in the nation—and also ranks ninth in the conference for blocks per game (0.80).  Donahue is third on the team for kills at 3.29 per game.

Joining Donahue as a welcome addition to the Yellowjackets this season has been freshman Alicia Cazemier (Vauxhall, Alberta).  Cazemier is fourth on the team for kills (2.29) and has a solid .226 hitting percentage.  She also ranks second in the PacWest for blocks at 1.24 per game.

Other conference stats leaders from MSU Billings include Natalie Bills (So., S, Provo, UT), Alberta Letoa (So., L, Laie, HI) and Alexis Sandru (So., OH, Twin Bridges, MT).  Bills is third in the conference for assists (11.92 per game) and fourth for service aces (0.53).  Letoa is fifth in the PacWest for digs per game at 3.20.  Sandru is tenth for service aces per game at 0.32.

Ranked in the top 25 nationally in the preseason, BYU-Hawaii brings a 7-6 overall record and a 1-4 PacWest mark to Billings this weekend.  The Seasiders are in a rebuilding year after losing a couple potential starters for various reasons early this fall.  They did bounce back last weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Western New Mexico.

Junior Yu Chuan Weng is BYU-Hawaii’s most experienced and explosive player.  The outside hitter from Taiwan is averaging 4.38 kills per game, second in the PacWest.  Freshman Noelle Filimoeatu is averaging 2.91 kills per game along with 2.30 digs.