MSUB volleyball opens conference play with 2 matches at home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu September 15, 2015 Volleyball opens conference action with 2 home matches

The MSU Billings volleyball team opens their 2015 home schedule with two conference matches this week.

After being on the road for 10 days, the MSUB volleyball team is set to return to their home court for two conference matches this week.

BILLINGS, Mont. – After 10 days and eight matches on the road, the MSUB volleyball is ready to kick off their home season with two conference matches.

The Yellowjackets are opening Great Northwest Athletic Conference action with matches against Central Washington on Thursday, Sept. 17 and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Montana State University Billings (1-7) opened its regular season with tournaments in California and Washington. The ‘Jackets won their match against Holy Names at the Route 92 Tournament during the opening week of play. Last week, MSUB was in Washington for the GNAC/PacWest Crossover tournament hosted by Seattle Pacific.

MSU Billings lost all four of its matches against PacWest opponents, but did come out with leads in sets two and three of the team’s last match against Cal Baptist.

“The first two tournaments were really good for us to point out what we need to work on,” MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. “With so many newcomers it took some time for us to make sure we were all firing on the same cylinders, but I thought by the end of our second tournament we were really playing the best that I have seen us play so far this season.”

In the first two weeks of competition junior outside hitter Ashlynn Ward and freshman Taylor Albertson are both hitting .243 for the Yellowjackets. Ward leads the team with 94 total kills and a 2.94 average per set. Another freshman, Miranda McConnell, is averaging 2.14 kills per set for second on the squad.

Senior captain Kyndal Williams has amassed 301 assists on the season and is fifth in the conference averaging 9.41 assists per set. MSUB has two players in the top-5 in service aces. McConnell is ranked second in the GNAC at .46 aces per set, while Williams is fourth in the conference with an average .44 per set.

Junior Kimmy Kirk

Defensive specialist Kimmy Kirk leads the team in digs with an average 4.16 per set.

“I am really happy and encouraged that we are progressing and going in the right direction,” Axel said on the first two weeks of competition. “I am also really excited to be home now to start conference play. This week we are focusing on serve receive and being able to put ourselves in a situation where we can use all of our hitters. We need to be able to run a balanced offense and I think that is going to help us be successful.”

Thursday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.

Alterowitz Gymnasium Opponent: Central Washington University 2015 Record: 5-3, 1-0 GNAC Head Coach: Mario Andaya (20th season) 2014 Record: 19-8, 12-6 GNAC Last season, Central Washington finished with a 19-8 overall record, advancing to the NCAA west region tournament hosted by Northwest Nazarene, but lost out in the first round to BYU-Hawaii 3-1.

This year, the Wildcats are off to a solid conference start. CWU defeated Northwest Nazarene on Monday 3-1 to open GNAC play. The Wildcats dropped their first three matches of the season, but have now rattled off five-in-a-row. Two of their opening season matches were to No. 2 Concordia St. Paul and No. 15 Palm Beach Atlantic. Since defeating No. 20 Point Loma, CWU has taken care of business. Starting with a win over the No. 20 Sea Lions, the Wildcats are on a 5match hot streak, including a triumph over the team that defeated them in last year’s NCAA tournament - No. 21 BYUHawaii and Monday’s win over NNU. CWU returns several veteran players to its roster from last season that made it to the NCAA west region tournament and are being bolstered by several underclassmen that are making a splash.

As a team, Central Washington is nationally ranked No. 3 in blocks with 3.21 per set. Sabrina Wheelhouse, a 6’3” sophomore middle blocker, leads the team and is fourth in the GNAC with a .336 (55-17-113) attack percentage. She also sits atop the conference in blocks per set with 1.41. Teammate Kaitlin Quirk is averaging just under Wheelhouse with a 1.40 block per set average. The 6’1” senior is ninth in the GNAC in attack percentage, posting a .308 (72-23-159).

Senior Linden Firethorne, a 5’11” outside hitter returns to the squad a first team All-GNAC pick from last season.

Firethorne is currently second in the conference in kills per set with 3.73. Catie Fry is second in the conference in assists at 10.6 per set.

The Series: (4-15) MSU Billings holds an all-time record of 4-15 against Northwest Nazarene and are 2-7 at home. The Yellowjackets lost in straight sets during both matches last year to the Wildcats.

Saturday, September 19, 7:00 p.m.

Alterowitz Gymnasium Opponent: Northwest Nazarene University 2015 Record: 3-6, 0-1 GNAC Head Coach: Doug English (3rd season) 2014 Record: 24-3, 17-1 GNAC Northwest Nazarene begins their 2015 season with 10 straight road matches with the Crusaders last stop to be Saturday night in Billings. NNU completed its 2014 season with a 24-3 overall record and a NCAA tournament appearance which they hosted as the No. 1 seeded team. The Crusaders lost out in their first round to west region opponent Dixie State 31.

NNU played Dixie State at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover last week hosted by Central Washington and came out on top 3-2, but the Crusaders are starting their season with a 3-6 overall record, including dropping a match against CWU on Monday.

Madi Farell, a 6’2” sophomore is part of a big front row attack for NNU this season. The middle blocker is third in the GNAC in attack percentage at .338 (72-24-157) and sixth in blocks averaging 1.12 per set. Joining her is 6’3” senior outside hitter Elayna Rice who is leading the team in kills per set with 2.26. Also on the outside is sophomore Kendra Bodine who is averaging 2.53 kills per set.

NNU is third in the conference in blocks per set with an average of 2.62.

Haley Cook leads the team in assists with 9.82 per set while senior libero Linnea Phillips is fourth in the GNAC in digs with 4.71 per set.

The Series: (5-16) MSU Billings has lost the last six meetings between the teams by scores of 3-1. NNU holds a 7-2 record in Billings. The last time MSU Billings won against the Crusaders was in 2012.

All of this season’s MSUB home volleyball contests will feature live video streaming as well as live statistics, available via MSUB's Stretch Internet portal. Links to the live coverage can be found at msubsports.com.

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