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BILLINGS, Mont. – Up 2-0 in sets but down 23-19 in the third set, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team rallied back for a 26-24 win to avoid sending the match into a fourth set as the Yellowjackets fended off the Clan of Simon Fraser 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24) inside the friendly confines of Alterowitz Gymnasium Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The win snapped a three-match losing skid for the Yellowjackets and pushed them back above .500 at 9-8 overall (3-5 GNAC) while the Clan falls to 0-13 overall and 0-9 in league play.
 
“To get a win and snap that skid is certainly good and it says a lot about this group that they were able to grind through some rough patches and come back to win it,” said head coach Steve Smith. “Both teams played erratically, especially in the third set, and we really expect to play better regardless of who we are playing. I felt like we played defense better against Western Washington and our serve receives were better, then tonight we took a step back. But I was very proud of the way Amanda Berry came in and got those points back for us in that third set to get the win.”
 
The Yellowjackets claimed the first two sets without much fight from the Clan, but after intermission, both teams came back unable to find an advantage.
 
SFU eventually established a lead that it would build up to 23-19, appearing to have the upper hand and poised to send the match into a fourth set. However, MSUB was not ready to raise the white flag as the Yellowjackets rallied back, bringing the home crowd to its feet cheering as MSUB fought back to end the match in three sets, capped off by a Monica Grimsrud solo block to seal the win.
 
Grimsrud recorded a match-high-tying 11 kills while hitting .308 (11-3-26) to go along with two solo blocks and another block assist. Taylor Adams recorded five kills and four block assists while Melissa Porter tallied two solo blocks and five more block assists to go along with her six terminations.
 
Brooke Tolman netted 29 assists in the win over the Clan.
 
Kristjana Fridfinnson was the leading kill-producer for SFU as she recorded 11 terminations but was relegated to hitting just .182 (11-7-22).
 
MSUB dominated the net tallying 11 total blocks to SFU's three and the Yellowjackets recorded seven service aces.
 
The Yellowjackets will remain at home for two more GNAC matches next week. On Thursday, Oct. 13 Central Washington will cruise into town before MSUB hosts their annual “Dig Pink Night” on Saturday, Oct. 15 with a GNAC match against Northwest Nazarene. Both matches will commence at about 7 p.m.