HAYWARD, Calif. – Playing both of its matches on Saturday in five sets, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team split its final two contests in the 2015 Route 92 Showdown as the Yellowjackets defeated Holy Names University 3-2 and fell to host Cal State University East Bay at Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
With the split on the day, MSUB moved to 1-3 on the season with three of its four matches carrying into a fifth set thus far. Junior Ashlynn Ward was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day as she led the team with 35 total kills in the two matches.

"We had a very strong start tonight and Taylor Albertson came in and really terminated the ball well on the right side," commented MSUB head coach Lisa Axel on the Yellowjackets' second match of the day. "We just could not sustain that level of play for the entire match. We have a short turnaround to make some changes and come back next weekend with a fresh start."
 
Match 1 – MSU Billings 3, Holy Names University 2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-6)
 
The widest margin of victory over the first four sets between MSUB and HNU was just four points, but the Yellowjackets made a statement with 15-6 Set 5 win and claimed their first victory of the season.
 
After falling in five sets to Academy of Art on Friday, this time the Yellowjackets finished the job with a 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-6 triumph over the Hawks in their first game of the day.
 
"We went out in the fifth set and finally put together a complete game," commented Axel. "Ashlynn was taking some big swings for us on the outside this morning and Audri stepped up and really terminated well on the slide."
 
Ward finished the match leading all players with 21 kills, while Audri Marrs added 10 kills for the 'Jackets. Senior setter Kyndal Williams finished with 49 assists, and Kimmy Kirk led all players with 20 digs on the match for MSUB.
 
Holy Names fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss.
 
For the Hawks, Melissa Munley led the attack with 15 kills and Kaylyn Lackey was also in double digits with 10. Setter Heather Emory totaled 38 assists on the match, while four HNU players had double figure digs with Emory and Lucee Fitzgerald (14 apiece) leading the way.
 
MSUB held the advantage in attack percentage at .126 compared with HNU's .089, but the Hawks had a slight, 7-6 edge in blocks.
 
Match 2 – Cal State University East Bay 3, MSU Billings 2 (12-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13)
 
Despite a valiant comeback effort in the fifth set, the Yellowjackets came up just a couple of points shy of sweeping their Day 2 opponents as CSUEB held on for a narrow 3-2 victory.
 
Ward added 14 more kills to her season total, while freshman Taylor Albertson led the team with 16 on the match. Williams finished with 38 assists, and Kirk (20), Taylor Sherman (14), and Williams (13) all had double-digit digs.
 
For the Pioneers, Darlene Lee was the lone player to have double digit kills with 14. Kylie Fraga led the squad in assists with 41, while Angie Maina had 26 digs on the match. The Yellowjackets held a slight .173-.151 advantage in hitting percentage, but the Pioneers had one more block than the 'Jackets, 6-5.
 
The Yellowjackets jumped ahead 7-0 in the first set and never looked back, claiming a loud 25-12 victory.
 
The Pioneers made a run early on, cutting the score to 10-7 on a kill by Kathy McKiernan. The 'Jackets responded by winning six of the next seven points however, building an eight-point advantage at 16-8 on a kill by Miranda McConnell.
 
MSUB closed the first frame by winning three straight points, on kills by Sherman and Marrs, and an ace by McConnell.
 
It was CSUEB taking command in a big way in the second set, winning 9 of 10 points midway through to establish an 18-9 advantage. The Yellowjackets made a push down the stretch but ran out of wiggle room, as the Pioneers evened the score at 1-1 with a 25-17 victory.
 
In the closest set of the match to that point, the Yellowjackets held off a late rally by the Pioneers and squeezed out a 25-23 victory in the third. Trailing 23-17, CSUEB won six of the next seven points to pull within one at 24-23.
 
Axel called timeout to interrupt the Pioneers' rhythm, and Albertson slammed down the game-winning kill on an assist from Williams.
 
Getting even with a fourth-set win, CSUEB made its move early and established a 9-4 lead on a kill by McKiernan. The cushion proved to be enough for the Pioneers, as the 'Jackets didn't get closer than trailing 13-11 in the eventual 25-20 defeat.
 
The teams started the decisive set evenly, but the Pioneers pulled ahead 7-4 with a 4-1 run during which Kiani Rayford had a pair of terminations.
 
The 'Jackets did their best to cut into the spread, hanging tough and keeping within three points at 12-9. Facing match point at 14-9, MSUB rattled off four straight points to cut the deficit to 14-13. Coming out of a CSUEB timeout, Michaela Gardner put down the match winning kill as she gave the Pioneers the narrow 15-13 edge in the final set.
 
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 1-3 on the season.
 
COMING UP: MSUB remains on the road next week, heading north for the PacWest/GNAC Crossover Tournament hosted by Seattle Pacific University. MSUB will face four more west region opponents from Sept. 10-12, including a rematch with Academy of Art next Thursday.