BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' volleyball team hosts Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage this week in the final two matches of the first half of conference play.

The Yellowjackets (7-8, 4-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) sit in fifth place in the GNAC, two matches shy of the midway point of the conference schedule. MSUB continues a rollercoaster season as it opened 0-5, then won six of seven, but now has lost two of the last three. MSU Billings is coming off of a weekend road split. The Yellowjackets grabbed a four-set win at Saint Martin's, but then fell in four sets at Western Oregon.

“We got back in the gym this week and really focused on improving in a couple specific areas that will hopefully help us this weekend,” MSUB volleyball head coach Lisa Axel said. “We are looking forward to being at home again and playing in front of our fans.”

Kyndal Williams eclipsed 500 assists this season, amassing 85 assists last week, including a season-high 47 in the win at Saint Martin's. The freshman recorded 23 digs as well, having a double-double in both matches. Williams is fourth in the conference in assists per set, averaging 10.00. The Helena, Mont. native, is one of four players in the GNAC averaging at least 10 assists per set.

“It is always difficult for a setter to come in and start as a freshman,” Axel said. “It is a very demanding position and Kyndal has done a great job making the transition from high school to college. She is really starting to put our hitters in great situations and is improving every week. She is one of the better freshman setters I have seen in Div. 2.

Erin Compton is creeping closer to the MSUB all-time top 10 in total digs. The junior has 706 digs here at MSU Billings, with 325 already this season. She is second in the conference averaging 5.8 digs per set, which is also eighth in NCAA Div. 2.

“Erin does a great job reading hitters and putting herself in the right spot to make some amazing digs,” Axel said. “She is very quick and can cover a lot of the court. She is also a player that provides us with a lot of energy on the floor which is really important for this team.”

Alaska-Fairbanks (3-10, 1-6 GNAC) sits in ninth place currently in the conference standings, with its lone GNAC win coming at home over tenth place Simon Fraser in its latest match last Saturday. UAF is also coming off of a split last week that snapped a 10-match losing streak. The Nanooks have 10 underclassmen on their roster, including eight freshmen.

Megan Morrison, a freshman, tallied 20 kills and hit for a .269 percentage in the split and was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week. In the conference rankings, three Nanooks are in the top 10. Katlyn Mataya is fifth in assists (9.71 aps), Allison Oddy is eighth in digs (4.12 dps) and Sam Harthun is 10th in kills (2.96 kps).

“Fairbanks is a good team this year,” Axel said. “They have been playing well lately and will be a good match for us this weekend. They have some young athletic players on their team that compete very hard.”

The Yellowjackets have won 20 of the 44 all-time meetings against UAF, including four of the last five. MSU Billings grabbed a five-set win in the last meeting between the schools on Oct. 29, 2011, in Billings. Monica Grimsrud tallied 24 kills, while hitting .262.

Montana State Billings welcomes Alaska-Anchorage (10-5, 5-2) Saturday to Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets are 10-33 all-time versus UAA. The Seawolves have won the past four meetings, all in straight sets. The last time MSUB beat Alaska-Anchorage was in four sets in Billings on Sept. 28, 2009. MSU Billings is UAA's second-most common opponent behind Alaska-Fairbanks. The series began in 1980, and is 5-5 since the Yellowjackets joined the GNAC in 2007.

Alaska-Anchorage averages a conference-best 16.89 digs per set. Kimya Jafroudi is 13th in NCAA Div. 2 in assists per set (11.17). Katlynn Zanders is third in the conference with 3.6 kills per set. UAA is coming off of a three-set loss at home to No. 16 Western Washington.

The matchup against the Seawolves will be Dig Pink Night in Alterowitz. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.

Both Yellowjackets' matches will be available with live video streams and live stats on MSUBSports.com. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.