BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings opens the second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball slate at Central Washington Thursday at 7 p.m. and then at Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m., Saturday, to close out a four-match road trip. The Yellowjackets stand at 2-16 on the year and 2-7 in league play.
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is senior Jennifer Boe who leads the team with 195 kills. She also leads the team with 209 digs. Junior setter Brooke Tolman leads the team with 510 assists and a .221 attack percentage. Junior Melissa Porter is second in attack percentage at a .149 clip and is third in kills with 114. Sophomore Hannah Johnson is second in kills with 115.
Defensively, Porter leads the team with 16 solo blocks and 54 total blocks. As a team, the Jackets are hitting .104 on the year in 18 matches. They have 631 kills with 400 errors and 582 assists.
The opponents are hitting .230 with 884 kills, 353 errors and 818 assists.
Central Washington (7-7, 5-4 GNAC), enters the match looking to snap a two-match skid as it had won five-straight prior, including a 3-0 win over MSUB in Billings Sept. 18. Leading the way for the Wildcats this season is Kady Try who leads the team with 205 kills. She is hitting .209 on the year which is good for fourth on the team. She also leads the team with 104 digs and is third in total blocks with 29.
As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .183 on the year with 538 kills, 235 errors and 500 assists. Their opponents are hitting .162 with 567 kills, 291 errors and 533 assists.
Central Washington leads the all-time series 8-2. The Wildcats own a 3-1 record in Ellensburg as the Yellowjackets posted their first win Nov. 12, 2009, there. CWU leads 4-1 in Billings and 1-0 in neutral site contests.
Northwest Nazarene (5-10, 5-5 GNAC) hosts nationally ranked Seattle Pacific Thursday before the Yellowjackets come to town Saturday. The Crusaders have lost five of their last seven matches since pulling out a 3-2 victory over MSUB in Billings Sept. 16. In that match, the Crusaders jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the conference opener for MSUB only to see the Yellowjackets battle back to tie the match and force a decisive fifth set. NNU held on for a 15-13 victory in the fifth set. Boe led the match with a then- season-high 26 kills, while Tolman rattled off 52 assists.
The Crusaders are led by Reisa Fessler who leads the team with 120 kills. Becky Flores is second on the team with 116 kills and Carly Dranginis has 108 kills. Briana Claassen leads the team with 282 assists and Laticia Lehman has 129 assists. Claassen also leads the team in attack percentage at a .216 clip among everyday starters.
Defensively, NNU is led by Flores who leads the team with 50 total blocks. She is second behind Haley Abbott with five solo blocks, while Abbott has eight solo rejections. Haley Hevern leads the squad with 290 digs, while Kailey Trautman is second with 166.
As a team, the Crusaders are hitting .122 on the year with 569 kills and 509 assists. Conversely, the opponents are hitting .168 with 721 kills and 674 assists.
NNU leads the all-time series 9-3, including 4-0 in Nampa. The Crusaders lead 4-1 in Billings, while MSUB leads 2-1 on neutral courts. NNU has won six-straight in the series as the last two matches have gone to five games. Prior to the 6-0 streak by the Crusaders, MSUB had won three of five.
MSUB then returns home to host Western Oregon and Saint Martin's, Oct. 21 and 23, respectively, at 7 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium.
