BILLINGS, Mont. – After upsetting the country's 22nd-ranked team last week, the Montana State University Billings' volleyball team has the opportunity to beat the hottest team in the conference Thursday.

The Yellowjackets (9-11, 6-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) knocked off Central Washington on the road last Thursday, and a week later welcomes Western Oregon to Billings. The Wolves have the conference's longest winning streak at five matches currently.

With three weeks left in the regular season, six matches for MSUB, the conference's 10 members are fighting for positions in the postseason. Western Washington currently leads the GNAC, 1.5 matches ahead of Western Oregon and Alaska Anchorage. Central Washington is two matches behind the top spot. Seattle Pacific is a match ahead of MSU Billings for fifth.

The Yellowjackets' Erin Compton shared the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week title Monday. The junior recorded 60 digs in last week's matches, breaking a 14-year old school record in the process. Compton now has 444 digs this season, which breaks Diane Vargo's 440-mark set in 1998. Compton had 36 digs in the upset win at No. 22 Central Washington Thursday; the total was the seventh-highest in a single match in program history. It was also a career-high for Compton and the second highest total this season in the GNAC. The Billings native remains second in the conference and eighth in NCAA Div. II in digs per set at 5.92.

Kyndal Williams is fourth in the conference in assists per set. The freshman is averaging just under 10 per set at 9.95. Monica Grimsrud's 3.44 kills per set is fifth in the GNAC.

Western Oregon (16-5, 9-3 GNAC) was named the conference's team of the week after upsetting then-No. 12 Western Washington in straight sets and sweeping Simon Fraser. WOU has won 15 of the last 17 sets it has played, including the last nine consecutive.

““We have been playing very well of late,” WOU coach Brad Saindon told the conference office Monday.  “We finally have all our parts working ... I believe that we are playing as well as anyone right now.”

Danielle Reese had team highs of 17 kills and 15 digs to power the Wolves to a 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Western Washington. The senior added 13 kills more against the Simon Fraser. Reese was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after becoming the 30th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 kills, increasing her career total 1,019.

As a team, the Wolves are 13th in NCAA Div. II in blocks per set (2.44) and 26th in hitting percentage (.246). Krissi Kemper leads the WOU attack with a .404 hitting percentage, which is eighth in the country. Becky Blees' 1.30 blocks per set is 12th in the nation. Blees is the only player in GNAC history that has a career average for assisted blocks of more the 1.00. Her current average is 1.05. She leads the GNAC.

Western Oregon won a four-set match over MSU Billings on Oct. 6. Samantha Ward led the Wolves with 15 kills and 15 digs. WOU, which hit .305 in the match, also received help from LesLyne Satele's 23 assists. Kemper and Reese added 14 and 11 kills respectively. Jordin Ramos finished with 19 assists and Megan Triggs had 14 digs. Blees had five blocks. Western Oregon held MSUB to a .132 hitting percentage. The Wolves finished with a 53-43 kills advantage, while MSU Billings had a 67 digs to WOU's 53.

Grimsrud led MSU Billings with 15 kills. Williams had a double-double with a match-high 38 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, Compton chipped in 22 digs and Taylor Adams had two blocks. The Yellowjackets are 4-11 all-time against WOU, and 1-4 in the last five matchups.

On Saturday, Saint Martin's (6-12, 3-9) comes to Alterowitz Gymnasium where it is 0-6 all-time. The Saints began a six-match skid with a four-set loss in Billings to the Yellowjackets on Oct. 4. SMU responded by winning two of its last three matches, including last weekend's split at home. The Saints swept Simon Fraser last Thursday, before falling to Western Washington in four sets. Kristyn Ross and Carrie Starbuck each had 16 kills and Teilissa Tua had 14 kills and hit for a .370 percentage last week for SMU.

In the match earlier this season, MSUB won for the 10th time in the 13 all-time meetings with the Saints. Williams finished with a double-double of 47 assists and 13 digs, while Compton had 29 digs. Grimsrud and Chelsey Walter both finished with 13 kills, while Jody Lutz had 11. Morgan Moss and Adrienne Kelso chipped in 14 and 13 digs respectively. Lutz, Grimsrud, and Adams were all in on three blocks.

As a team, Montana State Billings outhit the Saints, .219 to .095, and held a slim 51-49 kill advantage. The Yellowjackets finished with 50 assists to SMU's 45. Defensively, MSUB had 91-75 dig advantage.

Ross finished with 14 kills and a team-high 19 digs. Starbuck added 13 kills and 14 digs. Cymbree Decosta also had a double-double with 17 assists and 12 digs. Halee Hernandez led the Saints with 25 assists. Kristin Okamura contributed 13 digs.

The matches on Thursday and Saturday both will feature live video and stats on MSUBSports.com. Both matches will also begin at 7 p.m.