FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu November 15, 2016 Volleyball to end 2016 season on the road at WWU and SFU MSUB Volleyball on Facebook | MSUB Volleyball Stack on ISSUU | GNAC Standings Preview interviews with Ashlynn Ward, Stormy Siemion and head coach Casey Williams
Four-year members of the program Ashlynn Ward and Stormy Siemion will play their last two matches this week as Yellowjackets.
MSUB is finishing its 2016 season with big matches on the road against Western Washington and Simon Fraser. BILLINGS, Mont. – The 2016 MSUB volleyball team is closing-out its season with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference road matches. The Yellowjackets are set to challenge No. 18 Western Washington on Thursday, Nov. 17, followed by a trip to Canada to face Simon Fraser on Saturday, Nov. 19. MSU Billings (7-21, 5-13 GNAC) took a pair of hard losses on the road last week at Western Oregon and Concordia (Ore.). The Yellowjackets lost 29-27 in the third set to WOU and lost the match in four to the Wolves. After being down two sets at Concordia, MSUB battled back to even the match and force a fifth set. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Yellowjackets closed the gap to five, 12-7. Down the stretch, CU held off the ‘Jackets to deliver the second five set loss to MSUB by the Cavaliers this season. SEVENTH ALL-TIME: Ashlynn Ward posted 11 kills each at Western Oregon and Concordia (Ore.) last week. The senior outside hitter hit .267 against the Cavaliers adding in two blocks. The native of Rexburg, Idaho, has 1,139 career kills
which makes her only the eighth Yellowjacket in the program’s history to top 1,000. Ward is seventh all-time at MSUB in career kills, needing 38 more to tie No. 6. Ward is second in the GNAC in kills per set at 3.50 and 15th in attack percentage at .249 (381-129-1021). At the net, Ward has 62.0 total blocks this season, moving her career above the 200 mark at 207.0. STORMING THE COURT: Stormy Siemion posted her 14th double-double this season in the match at Western Oregon with 14 kills and 13 digs. For the week, the native of Huntley, Mont., produced 29 kills and 22 digs. Siemion is on a five match streak in double-digit kills. Heading into her final two matches, Siemion has amassed 782 kills and 932 digs. With her career total in digs, Siemion is now 10th all-time at MSUB, surpassing Alexis Sandru at 905. She will need another 26 digs this week to catch No. 9 Erin Compton. In the GNAC, Siemion is fifth in kills per set at 3.41 and 16th in digs with 3.24. FIERCE DEFENSE: It was the MSUB defense in the match at Concordia (Ore.) that brought the Yellowjackets even with wins in the third and fourth frames. Senior Kylee Cornelio and freshman Bre Rodrigues were instrumental in the comeback. Cornelio finished with 18 digs and four assists against the Cav’s with Rodrigues adding eight kills and four blocks. Cornelio posted 15 digs against the Wolves taking her week total to 32. The senior from Hawaii leads the team in digs per set at 3.63. Rodrigues finished with 14 kills and five blocks last week. The first-year Yellowjacket has 68 total kills and 40.0 blocks this season. Freshman Faith Taylor recorded 21 total digs last week and two assists. Casey Rich had five blocks against the Cavaliers and three against the Wolves. The junior leads the team at the net with 98.0 total blocks this season. Rich added 10 kills and four assists last week with seven digs. Mataia Robinson finished with 21 digs last week and four service aces. Robinson tallied all four aces in the match at Western Oregon. She has posted 35 total service aces this year and is seventh in the GNAC with .32 per set. Robinson has 72 career service aces and needs nine more to move onto the MSBU all-time top-10. Miranda McConnell finished with seven kills and three blocks last week taking her season total to 148 kills and 56.0 total blocks. Lexa de Jesus finished with seven kills and two blocks at CU and has 135 kills on the season. FRESHMAN ASSET: Angala Jensen notched her first double-digit match in kills with 10 at Western Oregon. The setter added 37 assists and 14 digs for the team’s first triple-double of the year against the Wolves. At Concordia (Ore.), Jensen added five kills, 35 assists, and 10 digs for a double-double. Jensen is eighth in the GNAC in assists per set at 8.67. She has 945 assists, 81 kills, and 189 digs for the season. At the net, Jensen has 46.0 total blocks, including five from last week’s matches. Thursday – Nov. 17– at Western Washington University Vikings – 7:00 PM PST Whatcom Community College – Bellingham, Wash. – Live Video – Live Stats 2016 Record – 19-7, 15-3 GNAC Head Coach: Diane Flick-Williams Western Washington is entering the week ranked No. 18 in the latest AVCA national poll and is second in the GNAC standings with a record of 15-3 against conference opponents. The Vikings have won 15 of their last 17 matches, including an upset win at the GNAC’s current No. 1 Alaska Anchorage.
WWU leads the GNAC in hitting percentage at .260 which is 11th in NCAA Division II. Abbey Phelps leads the team in kills per set at 2.84 and digs per set at 4.41. Kayleigh Harper is No. 1 in the GNAC in hitting percentage at .372 (267-58-562) and is ninth in blocks at 1.02 per set. Arielle Turner is third in the conference in service aces at .43 per set. The Series: (1-21) Western Washington holds a wide win-margin with a 20 match advantage. MSUB’s lone victory against the Vikings was at home in 2014 in five sets. Last Time Out: MSUB has been defeated in the last four of five matches against the Vikings. The last four matches were handled in straight sets. At home this season, Siemion led the Yellowjacket with nine kills and 10 digs against the Vikings. Ward recorded seven kills and Rich three blocks. Saturday – Nov. 19 – at Simon Fraser University the Clan – 7:00 PM PST West Gym – Burnaby, B.C. – Live Video – Live Stats 2016 Record – 20-6, 13-5 GNAC Head Coach: Gina Schmidt Simon Fraser is entering the week third in the GNAC standings with a conference record of 13-5. The Clan has won five of their last six matches, taking a loss to Central Washington in five sets on the road. SFU is second in the conference with a .151 opponent hitting percentage. The Clan is third in kills at 13.63 per set and in assists with 12.97. Simon Fraser leads the GNAC in digs at 19.73. The Clan’s libero Alison McKay is a big part of that. McKay leads the conference in digs per set at 6.53. Tessa May is fifth in the GNAC in blocks at 1.17 per set. Setter Tamara Nipp is No. 2 in assists with 11.51. The Series: (6-9, 2-5 Away) MSUB has lost its last six matches against the Clan dating back to 2013. The ‘Jackets held a six-match win streak between 2010-13. Four of the last six matches have gone to extra sets. Last Time Out: MSUB dropped a straight sets match against the Clan. Siemion had 13 kills and nine digs. Cornelio recorded 16 digs. --msubsports.com | #JacketNation--