Lady Jackets Hang on for Five Game Win Over Hilo (Nov. 1, 2004)
Box Score
BILLINGS, MT – After a quick
30-19 game-one win, the Montana State-Billings volleyball team
had to battle to a 3-2 win over visiting Hawaii-Hilo on Monday
night. With just three matches remaining, the Yellowjackets
(13-9) are assured of their first winning season in the
program’s history. They also improved to 4-5 in the PacWest.
The Vulcans dropped to 4-16 overall and 1-7 in the PacWest.
The Yellowjackets ran away
with game one, but let three game points slip away in the second
game before losing 33-31. The final three games of the match
were blowouts. The Jackets rolled in the third game, 30-15; the
Vulcans cruised in game four, 30-21; and MSU Billings bounced
back for a win in the fifth, 15-5.
“I told the team that Hilo’s
the type of team that plays on emotion,” said Yellowjacket coach
Pa’ulasi Matavao. “They get something going and just ride it.
We were just trying to break their momentum. I told the kids
that the first team to get the momentum in the fifth game would
win. It was crucial for us to get those first five points.”
The Jackets were paced by Jessica Bratton’s (So., Casper, WY) 23 kills and 23 digs,
both career-highs. Four different Yellowjackets recorded
double-digit kills and five players picked up double-digit
digs. Olivia Munro (Sr., Toronto, Ontario) also doubled up with 19
kills and 19 digs.
Middle blockers Andrea
Donahue (Sr., Whitefish, MT) and Alicia Cazemier (Fr., Vauxhall, Alberta) knocked down 12 and
10 kills respectively. Cazemier was also in on seven blocks to
become just the eleventh Yellowjacket in school history to reach
100 total blocks for a season.
Setter Natalie
Bills (So., Provo, UT) handed out 62 assists, her
second-highest total of the season, and picked up 16 digs. Alberta
Letoa (So., Laie, HI) added 22 digs on the night, and Cortney Lennan (Sr., Roundup, MT) finished with 17.
Hilo was led by a dozen kills
from Maite Ardies, who also added 12 digs. Cori Sutter finished
with 10 kills and 13 digs. Christina Cooley and Rose Ramsey
were each in on six blocks.
“That was another classic
Hilo/MSU Billings match,” said Matavao. “It seems like every
year we have five game matches with them. A couple years ago it
came down to a ball that rolled over the top of the net.
Tonight was another one of those nights. They can handle a lot
of teams defensively; they just have trouble putting the ball
down sometimes.”
The Jackets and Vulcans will
meet again Tuesday night in a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m.
at Alterowitz Gym. Tuesday will be the final home match of the
season and Senior Night for Munro, Lennan, Donahue, Kari Jones (Hermiston, OR) and Joanna Peterson (Butte, MT).
Photos of Yellowjacket
volleyball vs. Hawaii-Hilo |
