Box score, play-by-play

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons came back strong after dropping the first two games, but ultimately went down in four to Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Saturday night.
 
Scores in Alterowitz Gymnasium were 25-21, 25-16, 18-25, 25-17.
 
The Falcons (4-8, 1-2 GNAC) had won four straight against the Yellowjackets (5-6, 2-1 GNAC), dating back to 2010.
 
Senior outside htiter Cailin Fellows (Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS) was credited with 20 kills, just one shy of her career high, and freshman outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) had nine kills, tying her career high. Britt hit .333, and Fellows was at .250. Fellows' 56 attacks pushed her past 2,000 for her career. She now has 2,011.

Senior setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) came up with 40 assists, and sophomore libero Brianna Leenders (Portland, Ore.) had 23 digs. Freshman middle blocker Jackie Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) had two kills and no errors on five attacks -- her fifth error-free outing in 10 matches this season.
 
After starting the season with 12 straight on the road, SPU finally gets to play in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7 p.m. when Central Washington visits. The Wildcats handed Western Washington its first loss of the season on Saturday in five games at Ellensburg.
 
The Yellowjackets led for all of Game 1, but SPU was never far behind, getting within 23-21 before Billings got the last two points. Then, down just 14-12 in the second game, the Falcons saw Montana State Billings go on a 9-1 tear.
 
Seattle Pacific had control of Game 3, using a 9-3 surge to turn a 2-2 tie into an 11-5 lead. The Falcons were down 15-11 in the fourth game, but clawed back into a 15-15 tie. From there, the Yellowjackets put seven of the next eight points on the board to take command at 23-16.

SPU had its second-highest hitting percentage of the season at .258 (48 kills and just 14 errors on 132 attacks). The error total was its lowest of the season. But Billings was even better at .328 (55 kills, 13 errors on 128 attacks).
 
“We actually had a good offensive night,” SPU head coach Chris Johnson said. “Our outside hitters were taking it to them all night – they had a very hard time stopping our outsides.
 
“We just need to shore up our defense a bit,” Johnson added. “We're playing more aggressively. We just need to put together a complete effort for a whole match.”


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Montana State Billings 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-21, 25-16, 18-25, 25-17.
 
Service aces – SPU 3 (3 players with 1), MSUB 8 (Erin Compton 3). Kills – SPU 51 (Cailin Fellows 20, Ellie Britt 14), MSUB 53 (Monica Grimsrud 15, Jody Lutz 13). Assists – SPU 47 (Shelby Swanson 43), MSUB 53 (Kyndal Williams 46). Digs – SPU 54 (Brianne Leenders 22, Swanson 10), MSUB 63 (Compton 29). Block assists / solo blocks – SPU 4 / 0 solo (Lowell 2 / 0 solo), MSUB 10 / 0 solo (Lutz 4 / 0 solo). Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 51-17-136--.250 (Arnold 3-0-6--.500, Ellit Britt 14-2-28--..429, Lowell 7-1-14--.429), MSUB 53-13-126--.317 (Lutz 13-1-22--.545). Attendance – 400.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-8, 1-2 GNAC. Montana State Billings 5-6, 2-1 GNAC.
 
Next match – Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Brougham Pavilion, 7:00 p.m.