MSUB on the road at SFU and No. 16 WWU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu October 27, 2015 Volleyball on the road this week, will face SFU and No. 16 WWU

Abbie Mikelson and the Yellowjackets are on the road this week for two GNAC contests.

MSUB Volleyball on Facebook Interviews with Juniors Abbie Mikelson, Stormy Siemion, and Ashlynn Ward MSUB Volleyball Stack on ISSUU The MSU Billings volleyball team is heading out for matches against Simon Fraser and No. 16 Western Washington.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Last week MSU Billings picked up its first win at home with a 5-set thriller against Alaska Fairbanks that culminated in a 16-14 victory in the final set. This week, the Yellowjackets are headed back out on the road after being at home for five straight matches.

“The team is looking forward to getting back on the court this weekend after a strong showing this past week,” MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. “We really had to battle for the win against Fairbanks and found a way to win late in the match. It gave us some much needed confidence going into this second half of the conference schedule. Now we need to find a way to win on the road since three of our last four weeks will be road matches for us.”

Last week, MSU Billings (4-17, 3-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) won its match against conference opponent Alaska Fairbanks in five sets. The win stopped a four match skid, and should be good fuel for this week’s tough contests against Simon Fraser and ranked No. 16 in this week’s AVCA national poll - Western Washington.

BALANCED EFFORT: In the win against the Nanooks, four Yellowjackets recorded kills in the double figures, and three players were above 10 in the dig column.

OUTSIDE HELP: Outside hitter Ashlynn Ward leads the Yellowjackets and is sixth in the conference in kills per set at 3.25. Stormy Siemion (90 kills) and Taylor Sherman (88) both are closing in 100 total kills for the season.

OUT OF THE MIDDLE: Holding strong, Audri Marrs, Taylor Albertson, and Miranda McConnell have been impressive rotating in the middle for MSUB. Marrs is second on the team in total kills (157) while Albertson is Junior Stormy Siemion is averaging 2.56 digs per set. leading the team in attack percentage (.218).

CLOSING IN: Setter Kyndal Williams is just 22 assists away from tying Natalie Bills for No. 2 all-time in assists at MSUB. Williams is fifth in the GNAC in assists (9.91) per set this week and 12th in service aces at .27 per set. The senior leads the team in total aces at 21 and is nine away from entering the career top-10 for the Yellowjackets.

DEFENSIVE PROGRESS: Against Rocky last week, MSUB collected a season-high 80 digs and against Alaska Fairbanks the Yellowjackets scooped up 65 more, both were the highest totals in two weeks and the most since the opening three matches of the season.

THREE’S COMPANY: Three Yellowjackets are listed in the top30 in digs in the conference. Kimmy Kirk (3.57), Sherman (2.97), and Siemion (2.56) are all contributing to the defensive effort in digs per set.

Thursday, Oct. 29 – 7:00 p.m. Pacific time Simon Fraser University the Clan Head coach: Gina Schmidt 2015 Record: 9-11, 5-7 GNAC Senior Kyndal Williams has 3,760 career assists for MSUB.

Starting with a sweep by nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage, Simon Fraser has dropped its last three matches. The Clan lost in five sets to Central Washington and four to Northwest Nazarene last week at home. Tuesday, SFU has a chance to get back in the win column as No. 15 Western Washington is in Burnaby for an early conference match.

Simon Fraser leads the conference in digs per set at 17.49. Alison McKay has 450 total digs on the season and is second in the GNAC at 5.62 digs per set.

Led by freshman middle blocker Tessa May’s .294 (193-54-473), SFU is hitting .134 as a team. At eighth in the GNAC, May is the only attacker listed in the conference top-30, but six of the team’s hitters have more than 100 kills this season as the Clan has used multiple offensive attacks for their matches during the season.

Running a 6-2 this year, Danielle Curtis and Tamara Nipp continue to team-up in assists. Nipp also leads the team in service aces with 20 on the year.

Last Time Out: After MSUB took the first set 25-11, Simon Fraser rallied for the next three (25-18, 25-17, and 25-21) for the win over the Yellowjackets. MSUB hit a steady .208 with Ward (15), Albertson (11, and Marrs (11) all above 10 kills.

The Series: MSUB is now 6-7 against Simon Fraser. On the road, the Yellowjackets are 2-4. MSU Billings has now lost the last four matches against the Clan.

Saturday, Oct. 31 – 7:00 p.m. Pacific time Western Washington University Vikings Head Coach: Diane Flick 2015 Record: 16-4, 10-2 GNAC Western Washington dropped both conference matches last week and consequently fell in the national AVCA poll from No. 11-16 this week. The two losses stopped a 16-match win streak for the Vikings. The first loss to Northwest Nazarene was a straight sets loss and was first home defeat of the season for WWU. The Vikings followed that up with a loss in four sets to Central Washington and are now in a 4-way tie with Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, and Northwest Nazarene for first place in the conference standing as all four schools currently hold a 10-2 record in the GNAC. The No. 16 Vikings are second in the conference in hitting percentage with a .244, but are on top in assists at 12.65 per set and kills with 13.58 per set.

WWU has a trio of players in Jenica McPherson (.303), Rachel Roeder (.290), and Kayleigh Harper (.290) in the top-20 in attack percentage. Roeder is averaging a team-leading 3.29 kills per set, Harper is second in the GNAC in blocks per set with 1.40, and McPherson is ninth in the conference in digs with 3.77 per set.

The Last time out: MSUB lost the match at home in straight sets to the Vikings earlier in the season, but did play closely in each frame, including the second set where the ‘Jackets pushed WWU to extra points. Ward led all players with 19 kills while Williams totaled a match-high 33 assists.

The Series: MSUB is 1-19 all-time against Western Washington. In Bellingham, the Yellowjackets are 0-8.

COMING UP: The matches last week kicked off the second half of the conference schedule for the Yellowjackets. MSUB plays its next six of eight matches on the road. Senior Day for this season for scheduled for Nov. 7 against Saint Martin’s.

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