VB 03-04 MG.pmd - Montana State University - Billings
VB 03-04 MG.pmd - Montana State University - Billings
VB 03-04 MG.pmd - Montana State University - Billings
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2002 Season in Review<br />
The 2002 volleyball season presented a number of<br />
challenges for the Yellowjackets. The foremost of<br />
those challenges was replacing three of the best<br />
players to ever have played in the program. The<br />
Jackets opened their 2002 training camp with the<br />
primary goal of finding players to fill the vacancies<br />
left by school record holders Angie Hopes, Mandi<br />
Taylor, and Tegan Harris. MSUB relied on a mix of<br />
transfers and freshmen to replace the three graduated<br />
stars and the results were also mixed.<br />
2002 Pacific West Conference Standings<br />
School Conf. Overall<br />
Brigham Young <strong>University</strong>-Hawaii 9-1 27-2<br />
Chaminade <strong>University</strong> 6-4 15-8<br />
Hawaii Pacific <strong>University</strong> 6-4 14-9<br />
Western New Mexico <strong>University</strong> 3-7 19-13<br />
<strong>Montana</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong>-<strong>Billings</strong> 3-7 9-18<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Hawaii at Hilo 3-7 8-18<br />
The Yellowjackets opened the season on the road at<br />
a tournament in Mankato, Minnesota. The finished the tournament with a 1-3 record after defeating Bemidji<br />
<strong>State</strong> and falling to Concordia-St. Paul, St. Cloud <strong>State</strong> and South Dakota <strong>State</strong>. SDSU was the national<br />
runner-up the previous season.<br />
MSUB won three of their next five with one of the losses coming at the hands of eventual undefeated NAIA<br />
national champion National American <strong>University</strong>. With the recent success, the Jackets entered the opening<br />
week of PacWest play with confidence. They opened the PacWest season with losses at BYU-Hawaii and<br />
Chaminade. BYUH later went on to win the conference, regional and national titles while Chaminade went on<br />
to qualify for the regional tournament. The Yellowjackets finished that trip with a good showing against<br />
Hawaii Pacific and an improbable 3-2 comeback win at Hawaii-Hilo. MSUB trailed 0-2 in that match and<br />
won three straight games for their first conference win of the season.<br />
After falling to cross-town rival Rocky Mountain just days after returning from the long trip to Hawaii, the<br />
Yellowjackets won their second straight PacWest match by defeating Western New Mexico. However, they<br />
dropped their next four matches by a combined score of 12-1. MSUB rebounded for a 3-0 win over<br />
Chaminade just one night after Chaminade had prevailed 3-0.<br />
After consecutive losses, MSUB battled Western New Mexico for a 3-2 win on the road and followed with a<br />
three-game sweep of Hawaii-Hilo at home. However, it was the visiting team that made the comeback the<br />
second night as UHH held on for a marathon 3-2 victory to send the Yellowjackets into a three match losing<br />
streak to finish the season.<br />
When it was all over, the theme of the season was one of both frustration and optimism. The Yellowjackets<br />
had played well at times against some of the best teams in the nation while at other times falling into lapses<br />
that resulted in disappointing losses.<br />
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