No one at Montana State Billings has done it as well as Chistine Funk.
The Choteau native this season broke the program record for career digs, finishing with 1,778 of them and surpassing a record a quarter of a century old, originally set by Gina Langer from 1996-99.
"Honestly, I want it to sit for as long as possible. That would be so cool. Making that record as big as possible and make it another 25 years before someone can reach it would be awesome," Funk said.
"Now if someone comes in and they're super motivated and they do their job as a libero and break it, that's even cooler."
Funk isn’t the only Choteau graduate to find success recently for the Yellowjackets. In fact, associate women’s basketball coach and former player Alisha Breen grew up right down the street from Funk, who credits her upbringing for the success at MSUB.
"I definitely think that growing up in rural Montana has instilled a lot of core values within me. Grittiness, that will to compete and get better," Funk said.
Funk has proven to be ultra-competitive on the floor, and she even takes on a personal challenge during matches.
"I think every time I step on the court I think I have a challenge within myself to out-dig the libero on the other team," Funk said. "I know that defensively I probably should be getting the most digs on the team.
"I'm in the back row for all six rotations, so it's more of a competition against the other libero. I get really upset when she out-digs me on the other side."
She’s all alone in the MSUB record books, and it certainly might take another 25 years for her to be caught.
