Box Score
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Alaska women's volleyball team held a 2-1 advantage on the road, but Montana State-Billings rallied to take a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 25-11, 16-25, 25-20, 16-14) Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory on Saturday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
In the deciding set, it was tied at 6-6 before Alaska put a string of three in a row to grab a 9-6 advantage. MSUB put together a 3-0 run to follow to re-tie the set at 9. A pair of attack errors by the home team gave the 'Nooks an 11-9 lead, but the Yellowjackets took four of the next six for a 13-all tie. Senior outside hitter
Simone Chavous (Aurora, Colo./Bishop Machebeuf Catholic) notched a solid kill to put Alaska on match point, but Billings survived and ended the match with three straight points to win 16-14 and take the match 3-2.
“It was a very tight set and they ended up in a better rotation than we did and that's really all it came down to,” head coach
Phil Shoemaker said. “Both teams battled very hard, had plenty of opportunities to win and to lose and they got the rotation they really wanted and needed at the end of the match.”
The Yellowjackets improved to 10-13 on the year and 4-10 in conference, while the Nanooks dropped to 2-20 this season and 2-12 in the GNAC.
Monica Grimsrud tallied a match-high 24 kills and added eight digs and three blocks in the victory for the MSUB. Erin Compton had 32 digs, while Brooke Tolman compiled 45 assists and 13 digs. Amanda Berry also posted 16 digs.
For Alaska, sophomore outside hitter
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) led the team with a career-high 15 kills, while Chavous came one kill shy of her season high with 13, respectively.
“Keri fought like crazy, she gives us everything she has got every single night and she does the best she can,” Shoemaker said. “With Simone, we've had a revolving door on that position between her, Reilly [Stevens] and Jaxon [Hill]. Simone was the choice tonight and she played hard and certainly had good moments and that was nice to see.”
Junior libero
Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Highroad Academy) tied a career best with 34 digs and freshman setter
Becky Martin (Cochrane, Alberta/Bow Valley) had 40 assists. Junior middle blocker
Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif./Manhattan College) also chipped in nine kills and a career-high nine digs.
The Nanooks opened the match by taking set one 25-20. The Yellowjackets built a 12-8 advantage, but a 7-0 run gave the 'Nooks a 15-12 lead. After two straight for MSUB to trim the lead to one, Alaska came right back with five of the next six points for a 20-15 lead. Leading 23-17, the Nanooks gave up three in a row to cut the lead in half. After a timeout, an error by the home team and a kill by Martin gave Alaska the first set.
MSUB bounced back in the second frame, taking it 25-11. With the set tied at 6-6, the Yellowjackets went on an 11-2 run to hold a comfortable 17-8 lead. The Nanooks never drew closer than eight points the rest of the way as Billings closed the set with six points in a row.
Alaska got back on track in the third with a convincing 25-16 victory. With the set knotted up at 11, the Nanooks took advantage of MSUB errors and surged into the lead at 21-12 with a 10-1 run. The Yellowjackets got to within six at 22-16, but Alaska closed the frame with kills from three different players to regain the match lead at 2-1.
Billings forced a fifth and final set with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth. With the frame tied at 14, the Yellowjackets scored three in a row for a 17-14 advantage. After a pair of points by the Nanooks to close the gap to one, the home team went on a 6-0 run with the help of four Alaska errors to gain a 23-16 lead. The Nanooks scored four of the next five, but Grimsrud's monster kill tied the match at 2-2 and forced the fifth set.
“We have the ability to compete within the GNAC,” Shoemaker said. “We've been coming up short on the win totals and this team just needs to remain resilient and try to do the best job they possibly can every time they're out on the court.”
The Nanooks return home next week for a pair of GNAC contests. They first host Central Washington Thursday at 7 p.m., and Northwest Nazarene comes to Fairbanks Saturday at 3 p.m. for Senior Day.
