BILLINGS, MT – Nehkyah Ellis registered a double double to open the season and Kaia Sueker had a big day in the back row on day one of the Yellowjackets Volleyball Invitational on Friday. The Marauders suffered a 3-1 loss to Chadron State University before falling in three sets to tournament host MSU Billings.
 
GAME 1 | Chadron State 3-1 (11-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-17) over UMary
Nekyah Ellis posted a double double and Maddie Cooper hammered home ten kills in the Marauders season opener. UMary handily captured the opening set before Chadron State College rallied to take the next three to give the Eagles a 3-1 win.
 
The Marauders overwhelmed the Eagles 25-11 to claim the first set. UMary posted five aces and hit .276 as a team to a .000 attack percentage for Chadron State. In control the whole match, the Marauders closed the set on a 13-5 run. Nehkyah Ellis served an ace for the final point as UMary scored the final four points.
 
The Eagles found their footing early in the second set before a 12-7 surge by the Marauders pushed UMary into a 17-15 lead. Pushing to take a second straight set, two kills by Ally Grubber sandwiched around a Maddy Cooper kill gave UMary a 23-18 advantage and the Marauders largest lead of the set. The Eagles then reeled off five straight points to pull even. An Eagles attack error gave the Marauders a 24-23 lead but Chadron State reeled off three straight points to pull out the win and even the match.
 
Chadron State claimed the lead early in the third set and kept the advantage throughout for a 25-18 set win and the Eagles first lead of the day. The Eagles closed out strong, taking set four 25-17 to claim victory.
 
Ellis blasted a game-high 15 kills in the match. The senior outside hitter tied for game-high honors in aces with two and had 10 digs.
 
Cooper added two blocks (1 solo, 1 assisted) on the day. Kaia Sueker paced the team with 20 digs and two aces. Chloe Lieser picked up 16 digs.
 
Alexia Hurtado and Aiyana Fujiyama led the Eagles with 10 kills each.
 
GAME 2 | MSU Billings 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 26-24) over UMary
Reyba Isenbart terminated nine balls and Kaia Sueker registered 19 digs to pace the Marauders in their second game of the day.
 
Starting a couple hours behind schedule in the sixth and final match on the opening day of the invitational, the Yellowjackets opened with a strong attack that carried MSUB to a 25-13 win in the opening set.
 
The Marauders slowed the Yellowjackets attack in the second set and clawed their way to a 17-16 lead. At one point the two teams alternated points on nine straight serves. Eventually MSUB regained the lead at 18-17 and remained in front the remainder of the game.
 
The third set was also closely contested as the Marauders fought to extend their night. Behind a pair of Ellis kills, UMary rolled off five straight points to take a 21-17 lead. The largest previous advantage either team held was two points early in the set.
 
With MSU Billings charging hard, UMary climbed to a 24-22 advantage on a kill by Emily Torborg. The script soon flipped in favor of the home team as the Yellowjackets reeled off four straight points to claim the set and the match.
 
A transfer to UMary from Otero Junior College playing her first season with the Marauders, Isenbart added seven digs and a block assist to her nine kills. Alexandria Harper chipped in six kills and hit .385 for the game. Selvig delivered 24 assists and added two block assists.
 
Paiten Langston led MSUB with 10 kills.   
 
NEXT UP
The Marauders close out the Yellowjacket Volleyball Invitational on Saturday, August 27, with matches against South Dakota Mines (11 am CST) and Saint Martin's University (5 pm CST).
 
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