BILLINGS - It's not often you'll find an aggressive monk, but that's what the Yellowjackets are dealing with at MSU Billings. Right side hitter Bayli Monck just passed 1,000 career kills -- not just another number within the program. Only eight players had done it in over 40 years of volleyball at MSUB.
"Oh my gosh, that's been a goal of mine to get 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs since I was in high school," Monck told MontanaSports.com after a recent practice.
Thing is, when the moment arrived last Thursday at home against Central Washington, Monck had no idea. Even post match.
"I had a million messages on my phone, like family and friends congratulating me, and I was like, what? Then one of my teammates came up to me and was like, 'You got a thousand kills tonight, that's awesome! Let's go!' And I was like, wow, that's insane. I had no idea I was even that close," she said.
"The kill that she got was actually a very hard-driven ball," said Yellowjackets' head coach Casey Williams. "She came around on it too, and just kind of smacked it down around the 10-foot line."
Monck also played high school basketball in Colorado Springs and ran track. But this is the sport that captured her heart.
"It was something I enjoyed physically and mentally, and that was better than basketball ever really gave me," Monck said.
She grew up making trips to Northern Montana visiting family, which made MSUB a comfortable choice.
Williams remembers recruiting her.
"She was super gangly and super athletic," Williams recalled. "She has started, I believe, every single game since her freshman year. I think her very first collegiate game she had 24 kills, which is kind of crazy."
MSUB setter Hannah Hashbarger sometimes gets caught up in Monck's athleticism.
"There are times when I'll turn around and think, oh my gosh, how did you do that one," she said with a look of amazement.
A lot of friends think that living in Colorado Springs, Monck would surely be a Denver Broncos fans.
"I'm actually a Cowboys fan, so we won (Sunday) night, which is good," Monck said pumping her fist.
"Not only is she responsible, nice, and smart, she's all of those things and a great teammate," Hashbarger continued, "and, obviously, (she) makes me look good, so that's a bonus."
Monck will graduate with a health and human performance degree, says she loves to stay active and especially loves traveling. Her big trip this summer?
"I went to Iceland. I've always wanted to go there - I didn't want to leave," she said. "It's amazing, it's beautiful, natural... not a lot of people think to visit so it wasn't even super busy."
Monck is now one of the all-time best at MSU Billings. For youngsters angling to follow her footsteps in the art of hammering volleyballs, Monck advises using "power from your legs and swing hard."
Advice straight from an aggressive Monck.
