Oct. 17, 2009
Box Score
BILLINGS, Mont. - Middle blocker Emily Jepsen (So., Kennewick/Kamiakin) had a team-high 14 kills and a .609 attack percentage and Bailey Jones (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak) hit .833 with 10 kills as Western Washington University swept Montana State University Billings, 25-22, 25-20, 25-18, on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
The Vikings improved to 14-7 overall and took over sole possession of third place in the GNAC at 7-3, just one-half match out of first. It is the first time since early in the season that they have put together three straight wins.
Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific also won Saturday and remained tied atop the GNAC standings at 7-2.
"At this point, I'm not looking ahead beyond the next match," said Western coach Diane Flick. "You have to win on the road to do well in our conference and this was huge for us."
MSUB, which had won seven of its last 10 matches following a 4-5 start, fell to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in league play. The Yellowjackets were led by the match-high 15 kills of Devon Crotteau (.306 attack pct.), who leads the GNAC and ranks fifth nationally in that category.
Outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Fr., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) had 11 kills for Western, and libero Allison Gotz (Jr., Bothell/Archbishop Murphy) had 14 digs.
The Vikings led 17-10 in set one, but MSUB rallied to tie it at 20-20 before Western rebounded to score five of the last seven points.
Leading 19-16 in set two, Western scored four straight points for a 23-16 edge and got its last two points on kills by Jepsen.
The Vikings took an early 10-3 lead in set three and MSUB never got closer than six, Geary ending the match with a kill.
"We need to work on finishing sets, but when you hit .314 as a team that's really efficient," Flick said. "If you don't make too many errors, you're not giving up too many freebies."
Western continued unbeaten in eight series matches with the Yellowjackets.
The Vikings are on the road for a pair of GNAC contests next week, meeting Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (7 p.m.).
