Bratton’s Big Night Not Enough for Jackets in Loss (Nov. 12, 2004)
Box Score

SILVER CITY, NM – MSU Billings sophomore Jessica Bratton had a career night, but Western New Mexico prevailed 3-1 in PacWest Conference volleyball action on Friday.  The outside hitter from Casper, WY, knocked down a career-best 33 kills and added 20 digs in the losing effort.  The 33 kills tie her for fourth in PacWest history for single-match kills.

The Yellowjackets dominated every part of the stat sheet except the final score, falling to 14-10 overall and 4-6 in the PacWest.  The Mustangs improved to 21-10 overall and 6-4 in the PacWest, locking up a third place finish in the league.  MSU Billings will finish fourth, two games behind the Mustangs.

The Yellowjackets out-hit the Mustangs .210 to .163, had ten more kills, 11 more assists, 11 more digs and three and a half more blocks.  But it was the Mustangs who held on for three two-point wins to take the match 30-28, 34-32, 17-30, 32-30.  Liz Narkon led Western with 21 kills to go with 13 digs.  Jennifer Snowbarger added 15 kills and 15 digs.

Bratton’s 33 kills came on 74 attempts with just 11 errors for a .297 hitting percentage.  She tied three players in PacWest history with 33 kills in a match, including teammate Olivia Munro (Sr., Toronto, Ontario) who accomplished the feat last season.

Munro finished the night with 11 kills and a match-high 26 digs.  Cortney Lennan (Sr., Roundup, MT) added 13 kills and 14 digs.  Freshman Alicia Cazemier (Vauxhall, Alberta) was in on eight blocks and added eight kills.  Her 113 total blocks this season move her to sixth on the school record single season list.  Setter Natalie Bills (So., Provo, UT) handed out a career-high 65 assists and also added nine digs.

The Yellowjackets and Mustangs wrap up their seasons on Saturday in a non-conference match in Silver City.  MSU Billings has already secured the program’s first-ever winning record.  One more win would tie the school record for total wins in a season.