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Jackets Drop Bears, Bratton Breaks Record
(10/17/06)
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Coach Matavao post game audio
BILLINGS, MT – On a night when
history was made at Alterowitz Gym, the Montana State-Billings
volleyball team dominated all phases of a 3-1 win over visiting
Rocky Mountain College Tuesday night. The win was the fifth
straight and fifteenth in the last 16 matches for the
Yellowjackets, who improved to 19-4 overall. Rocky Mountain
dropped to 19-7.
After losing the first game
30-28, the Yellowjackets rolled through the next three by scores
of 30-18, 30-17, 30-23. On the first point of game No. 3,
Yellowjacket senior
Jessica Bratton broke the all-time career kills record at
MSU Billings with her 1,289th career kill. She
passed Olivia Munro, who set the record in 2004.
“It’s good to set a record,
but now I’m just raising the bar for someone else to come beat
it,” said Bratton, an outside hitter from Casper, Wyo. “It’s
just one more thing for someone else to beat. But it’s good to
have. It’s exciting.”
Bratton, who entered the night
needing 10 kills to break the record, pounded down 17 in the
match on a .350 attack percentage. She also had six digs and
was in on four block assists. Bratton wasn’t alone in having
her way with the Bears’ defense.
Ali Watson
(Calgary, AB) posted her fifth 20-20 night of the season with 20
kills and 22 digs.
Alicia Cazemier (Vauxhall, AB) added 15 kills on a .379
attack percentage.
As a team the Yellowjacket hit
.317 for the match and had a .375 attack percentage over the
final three games. In the game-one loss, the Jackets had nine
attack errors. They had just 11 the rest of the night.
Jessica Lechner (Pompeys Pillar, MT) and
Alexis
Sandru (Twin Bridges, MT) played key roles in helping the
Jackets through a few tight spots in the second and third
games. Lechner finished the night with eight kills and seven
blocks. Sandru had eight kills and a dozen digs. Setter
Natalie
Bills (Provo, UT) distributed the ball evenly all evening,
ending with 57 assists.
“Tonight we had a lot of
different options,” said Bratton of the balanced effort. “When
they would think we were going outside we would go middle, and
when they would think we were going middle we would go right
side. We kept them on their toes with where we were going, and
everyone was contributing. Natalie is good at seeing where the
block is going to be and predicting who they’re going to cheat
with. If everyone is contributing, why not mix it up.”
The Yellowjackets will close
out the regular season portion of their home schedule this
weekend with matches against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday
and Saturday. Friday’s match starts at 7:00 p.m. and will be
Senior Night for Bratton, Watson, Bills and Sandru. Saturday’s
contest begins at 2:00 p.m. MSUB will play at St. Mary’s
University in San Antonio, TX on October 27 and 28 before
hosting the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament on
November 3 and 4 at Alterowitz Gym. |
