Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' volleyball team dropped a three-set match at Seattle Pacific to begin the second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Saturday.

The Falcons (9-10, 6-4 GNAC) avenged a loss to MSUB earlier this season in Billings. Montana State Billings took a four-set match on Sept. 22. Cailin Fellows and Jessica Miller both finished with 10 kills for SPU Saturday. Brianna Leenders had a team-high 14 digs, while Madi Cavell added 10 digs. Shelby Swanson's 32 assists were a match-high. Jackie Arnold finished with eight assisted blocks.

Seattle Pacific had 22 blocks in the match. SPU also held MSU Billings to .010 hitting, while it finished with a .352 hitting percentage. The Falcons had a 39-24 kill advantage, and had eight attack errors, compared to the Yellowjackets' 23.

The first set had four ties, all early in the set, before the Falcons turned a 5-5 score into a 10-6 advantage. SPU continued its run with 12 unanswered points, changing a 10-8 score to 22-8, thanks to solid serving from Swanson. The Falcons went on to win the first frame, 25-10.

Seattle Pacific controlled the second set as it never surrendered the lead. The score was tied at 1-1 and 3-3, but the Falcons pulled away in similar fashion. SPU had its largest lead of the set, 19-8, after a MSUB attack error. The Yellowjackets responded with a 6-0 run capped by a Chelsey Walter kill. MSU Billings came within five points two more times, but the Falcons won the set, 25-17.

Set 3 was much of the same for Montana State Billings. A back-and-forth start had the set tied at 5-5. But, SPU slowly pulled away and took an 11-6 lead after a bad set by the Yellowjackets. Seattle Pacific stretched the margin to eight points, and won the set and match on an attack error by MSUB, 25-13.

The Yellowjackets (8-10, 5-5 GNAC) now sit a match behind SPU in the conference standings. Monica Grimsrud led MSUB with nine kills, while Erin Compton had a match-high 15 digs. Kyndal Williams had 20 of Montana State Billings' 22 assists.

MSU Billings remains on the road for the second of three matches during this road stretch. The Yellowjackets are at Central Washington Thursday. The No. 21 Wildcats (15-5, 9-2) picked up a five-set win at Simon Fraser Saturday, after having its nine-match winning streak snapped at No. 15 Western Washington in three sets last Thursday. CWU swept Montana State Billings in Billings on Sept. 29. Thursday's match at Central Washington in Ellensburg, Wash., is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific Time. Live video and stats will be on MSUBSports.com.