MONMOUTH, Ore. – On Senior Night, Western Oregon University's volleyball team was swept in straight sets by Montana State Billings, 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 19-25), in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Saturday inside the New PE Building.

The Wolves (5-21, 3-15 GNAC) closed out the season being led offensively by Hannah Deede with a season-high 16 kills, while Alisha Bettinson and Sam Moore added eight and seven kills, respectively. Jordin Ramos and Kiana Cash combined to hand out 34 assists, while Christie Colasurdo anchored the Wolves' defense with a match-high 17 digs. At the net, Deede and Moore tallied a combined seven blocks for WOU.

Montana State Billings (13-14, 8-10 GNAC) got 15 kills from Monica Grimsrud, while Ashlynn Ward chipped in with nine kills off the Yellowjackets' bench. Kyndal Williams handed out a match-high 37 assists for MSUB, while Haley Wells tallied a team-high 16 digs defensive for Montana State Billings.

When asked about his team's performance, Head Coach Brad Saindon said, "I thought it was a really good volleyball match on both sides. I thought we played really well, but it seemed like Billings, on the really important moments, came up big. I was really happy for Hannah. I thought she had the best match of her career on her last match. She just keeps working and working and getting better. I could say the same thing about Sam. I thought she had the best match of her career on her last match. Senior night is tough. I'm happy because they're completing their degrees. They're going to go off into the world as independent, young women, but it's really sad because I'm close to them. It's hard to see them go."

The opening set would begin with Western Oregon building a 9-4 lead on a kill by Deede that forced MSUB to call its first timeout. Following the break in action, the Wolves would increase their lead to seven points (15-8) on a kill by Ramos that forced the Yellowjackets to call their second and final timeout of Set #1. After the second break in action, MSUB used an 11-2 run to tie the score at 17-17 before the two teams battled back-and-forth over the next 12 combined points. With the score tied at 23-23, MSUB scored the final two points on back-to-back kills by Ward for the hard-fought 25-23 victory.

Set #2 would be a dog fight over the opening 20 combined points, as Western Oregon broke a 10-10 tie with three straight points behind the serve of Lani Kalalau en route to earning a 13-10 lead. After pulling ahead 16-13 on a service ace by Kiana Cash, Montana State Billings used a 7-3 run to pull ahead 20-19 on a Wolves' hitting error. After the two teams battled to a 23-23 tie, MSUB once again scored the final two points of the set on a WOU hitting error along with a combo block by Alaina Gentili and Ward for the 25-23 win.

The third and final set began with Western Oregon scoring the first six points before Montana State Billings scored 10 of the next 11 points en route to earning a 10-7 advantage. Western Oregon would battle back to tie the set at 17-17 on a combo block by Deede and Moore before the Yellowjackets pulled ahead by three points (20-17) on a block by Gentili and Grimsrud. MSUB would close out the set by scoring five of the match's final seven points en route to earning the 25-19 victory that resulted in a three-set sweep.

As a team, Western Oregon combined to hit .186 (41-20-113) compared to MSUB's .257 (44-15-113).

Following tonight's match, Western Oregon honored its four seniors – Deede, Cherene O'Hara, Moore, and Ramos – who completed their career with the Wolves.

Coach Saindon also wrapped up the season by saying, "Unfortunately, I think most people only look at the win/loss record. In that regard, we had a below par season, but the growth that we experienced this season was really irreplaceable. A lot goes on behind the scenes that the general public doesn't recognize, but the growth we had this year, and the experiences we went through were really strong. Our program will bounce back next year. We're on the right path."