Western volleyball was in Billings, Mont., Saturday night, seeking their third straight volleyball match victory. The Vikings made it look easy with consistent offense from Vikings sophomore middle blocker Emily Jepsen and freshman outside hitter Marlayna Geary, who both combined for 25 of the team’s 43 kills.
The Vikings were able to rout the Yellow Jackets of Montana State University-Billings in a 3-0 straight set sweep.
“We have some momentum right now which is important because we are on our longest road trip of the year,” Vikings head coach Diane Flick said.
The Vikings improved to 14-7 overall and 7-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference as they moved to within half a game of conference leaders Seattle Pacific University and the University of Alaska Anchorage, both of whom won Saturday night and are 7-2 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets fell to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in GNAC matches. The Vikings overall record against the Yellow Jackets is now 8-0.
This was the first time since early September where the Vikings were able to win three consecutive matches.
“We are catching fire at the right time and we are playing consistent,” Vikings junior Allison Gotz said. “Our team is working on the little errors that hurt us before.”
Western took charge in the first set, rolling out to a 17-10 advantage, playing near-errorless volleyball. However, after a few miscues made by the Viking hitters, the Yellow Jackets were able to capitalize, tying the match at 20. The Vikings then called a timeout; looking to regain their focus.
“We get up on teams and then we just fall flat at certain points during the set,” Vikings assistant coach Shannon Rowland said.
After the timeout, the Vikings battled their way to a 25-22 first set win, led by the near-flawless hitting of freshman middle blocker Bailey Jones, who compiled five first set kills and hit .833 for the match.
The second set was back and forth from beginning to end, as both teams were on the attack. Geary turned up her offensive game, collecting nearly half of her 11 kills in the set. It was the 17th match in which Geary totaled more than 10 kills.
“I always try to play aggressive and make smart shots,” Geary said. “Our team was very strong offensively in the match, and we cut down the mistakes.”
Western rallied to win eight of the final 13 points winning the set 25-20, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
Western exploded to a 15-7 lead in the third set forcing the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout as they were in danger of falling to the Vikings in three quick sets.
After the timeout, the Vikings relentlessly capitalized on Yellow Jacket hitting errors. The Yellow Jackets never pulled it together, succumbing 18-25 to the Vikings in the third set to close out the match.
Western’s offense was dominant as they hit a match high .385 attack percentage during the third set including .609 by the GNAC co-player of the week Jepsen.
“We were able to use what we learned in practice this week and apply it to this match, and I think we accomplished our goal,” Flick said.
Western takes their frigid road trip up north, visiting the Nanooks from the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 22.
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