BILLINGS, Mont. - Through the first two sets of play against Montana State University - Billings, Lady Argo volleyball looked like a team that had played six matches in the last five days. UP fell down two sets to none, but thanks in part to the energy of substitute Tymerie Vincelli the team mounted a long comeback to win 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13).
 
After a long tournament in Denver and just one day or rest in between, the Lady Argos looked tired and sloppy in the first set. The Yellowjackets got off to an early lead and thanks to a hitting percentage below .100, UP didn't have enough firepower to climb back.
 
The second set was better, with 3 more kills for UP, but it still held 9 hitting errors. To compound the problem, the Lady Argos still  weren't  able to get MSUB's offense off track.
 
However, UP's hitting got better and better as the match went on and by the third set, the tables started to turn.
 
It started with a renewed defensive effort. Freshman middle blocker Kailey Rashford lived up to the positions name, helping lead a UP defense that held MSUB's hitting percentage to .098 in the match's third game.
 
Another factor in UP's improvement was bringing junior Tymerie Vincelli off the bench and onto the court. The versatile outside hitter, who has seen limited minutes for much of the young season, subbed in during the third set and pretty much stayed on the court for the rest of the match. 
 
While she didn't lead the team in anything, Vincelli did a little bit of everything. She hit efficiently with 4 kills, some of which came at crucial moments, she served well with 2 aces, and she played solid defense in both the front row and the back row with 7 digs and 3 block assists. 
 
With Vincelli and Rashford helping shore up the Lady Argo defense, the team's offense started to kick in during the fourth and fifth set. After set-by-set percentages of .049, .086, & .105 through three games, those numbers went to .314 and .250 in the fourth and fifth set respectively.
 
In the tiebreaker set, the third in the last six games for the Lady Argos UP took an early lead but then gave it up. A few kills from junior Mariah Diaz and a few MSUB mistakes finally got the team to match point. Then, freshman outside hitter Sydney Andersen finished it off with her 16th kill of the match.
 
Andersen, having already established herself as the team's top hitter, also had her best defensive performance of the year. For the sixth straight match, she led UP in kills, but for the first time this season she also led the team in digs with 14. She also had the first two  aces  of her career and tied her career high with 3 block assists.
 
Other standout individuals were Rashford with 5 kills, 2 solo blocks, and 7 block assists, redshirt freshman Lauren Brown with 11 kills, 10 digs, and 4 block assists, and freshman setter Ava Larkin with 29 assists and 11 digs.
 
UP's season record moved to 7-2 with match counting for their record while it was an exhibition for MSUB. The Lady Argos followed up the match with a scrimmage against Northwest College before finally heading home. The team will go back on the road on August 25 for the first day of the Big Sky Challenge tournament in Butte, Mont.