BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' volleyball team begins a two-week road trip that opens the second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule at Seattle Pacific University Saturday.

The Yellowjackets (8-9, 5-4 GNAC) sit in fifth place in the conference standings at the midway point of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule. MSUB and Seattle Pacific both are 5-4 in conference play, but Montana State Billings won a four-set decision at home over the Falcons on Sept. 22. The Yellowjackets were picked seventh in the conference preseason poll, while Seattle Pacific was selected fourth.

After losing three straight contests, including the match in Billings, SPU has won four of its last five and enter the second half of the GNAC schedule with momentum and confidence.

“Seattle Pacific is playing really well the past couple of weeks,” MSU Billings volleyball head coach Lisa Axel said. “It should be a great match on Saturday. Our main goal still is to get better every time we step on the court and learn from our mistakes.”

The Falcons (8-10, 5-4) are hosting their third straight match at home. Last week, SPU pushed Alaska Anchorage to five sets before falling Thursday. Two nights later, Seattle Pacific dominated the final two games in a four-set win over Alaska Fairbanks. The Falcons' Cailin Fellows ranks 24th in NCAA Div. 2 in kills per set (3.88). As a team, SPU is fourth in the conference in kills per set (12.66) and assists per set (11.74).

Seattle Pacific owns the all-time series, 22-8, with the first meeting in 1988. SPU won the first 14 all-time matches against Montana State Billings. MSUB has won just three of the 14 meetings in Seattle against the Falcons. But, it was the Yellowjackets that won the four-set match earlier this season. In that match, Monica Grimsrud (13 kills, .300 hitting), Jody Lutz (12 kills, .455 hitting) and Taylor Adams (11 kills, .588 hitting) dominated at the net for MSU Billings. Seattle Pacific hit a solid .258, but the Yellowjackets were even better at .328.

Montana State Billings is coming off of a four-set loss to Alaska Anchorage, and is 2-3 in its last five matches after opening the conference slate at 3-1. Grimsrud is currently fifth in the GNAC averaging 3.38 kills per set, while Lutz is eighth in the conference with a .304 hitting percentage. Kyndal Williams' 9.89 assists per set is fourth in the GNAC. Erin Compton remains second in the conference and eighth in the nation with 5.84 digs per set.

In another key matchup in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this week, No. 21 Central Washington travels to No. 15 Western Washington Thursday. Both teams are tied atop the conference standings with 8-1 GNAC records. CWU defeated then-ranked No. 13 Western Washington in four sets on Sept. 22. 

The MSUB and Seattle Pacific match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday. Live video and stats will be available on MSUBSports.com.