BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' volleyball team plays its final two matches of the regular season Thursday and Saturday in Alterowitz Gymnasium.

The Yellowjackets (10-14, 7-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) honor a pair of seniors who will be playing their final collegiate matches Saturday, and put a close to the 2012 season. MSUB welcomes two-different opponents in Simon Fraser University Thursday and Western Washington Saturday. SFU enters the week at the bottom of the conference standings, while No. 15 Western Washington is at the top.

Montana State Billings is coming off a pair of road losses at Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. MSUB picked up only one set win in the seven it played. In those matches, Monica Grimsrud led the way with 26 kills, 19 digs and two service aces. Taylor Adams contributed 18 kills. Other key players included Erin Compton (34 digs), Kyndal Williams (70 assists) and Jody Lutz (14 kills and five total blocks).

Compton remains second in the GNAC and eighth in NCAA Div. II in digs per set averaging 5.90. The junior has more total digs (525) than any other played in the conference. Grimsrud is fourth and fifth in the conference with 3.58 kills per set and 4.00 points per set. Williams is fifth with 9.94 assists per frame and Lutz it 11th with a .281 hitting percentage.

Simon Fraser (4-19, 1-15 GNAC) has dropped six straight matches. The Clan has struggled on the offensive side of the ball this season; ranking 10th in the conference in kills per set (.125), assists per set (9.48), and kills per set (10.25). MSUB leads the all-time series, 4-3, winning the two meetings in Billings. The first matchup came in 1988, and after the Yellowjackets lost the first three meetings, they have won the last four.

In the meeting earlier this season, MSU Billings eased to a three-set victory, 25-10, 25-17, 25-22, in Burnaby, B.C. Lutz had a match-high 11 kills, Williams had a match-high 31 assists, and Compton had a match-high 13 digs. Morgan Moss added 11 digs. MSUB hit .253 in the match and held the Clan to .067. Amanda Renkema led SFU with nine kills, Victoria Senges finished with 16 assists, while Alanna Chan had nine digs.

Simon Fraser has yet to win a true road match this season. Jessica Young leads the Clan averaging 2.80 kills per set, while Renkema is hitting .200. Senges is 10th in the conference in assists per set (4.80). Defensively, Madeline Hait is third in the GNAC averaging 0.99 blocks per frame. Alanna Chan averages 4.02 digs per set which is ninth the conference.

Saturday, the Yellowjackets face the nation's 15th-ranked team in Western Washington (21-3, 14-3). The Vikings already have a share of the GNAC crown, but can clinch sole possession of the conference title and a berth in the NCAA Div. II West Regional with a win at Seattle Pacific Thursday. WWU finished a perfect regular season home record with a three-set win over Simon Fraser last Saturday.

Western Washington's Marlayna Geary and Laurie Yearout have surpassed or are nearing career milestones. Against Simon Fraser, Geary became just the second Viking to reach 1,300 kills. She has 1,303 during her four-year tenure and needs 77 to break the school record of 1,379. Yearout ranks fourth among WWU career leaders with 2,959 assists and is 41 away from 3,000.

Geary ranks eighth among Div. II statistical leaders in points (4.90) and 12th nationally in kills per set (4.26). The senior leads the GNAC in each category, and is third in service aces (0.40), sixth in hitting percentage (.306) and 15th in digs (2.95).Geary also has a GNAC-best 15 double-doubles in kills and digs.

WWU ranks sixth among the top 10 nationally and leads the GNAC in hitting percentage (.275). The Vikings, who are 17th in the country in kills per set (13.90), also top the league in kills (13.90), assists (13.26, 13th nationally) and digs (16.99).

Western Washington has won all 14 meetings against the Yellowjackets all-time, and has only lost two of the 44 sets played against MSUB. The last five matchups have been decided in three sets, including earlier this season in Bellingham, Wash. In the opening match of GNAC play for both teams, WWU picked up the 25-16, 25-20, 25-10 win. Grimsud had 12 kills and Compton finished with a match-high 20 digs. Geary led the Vikings with 10 kills, Samantha Hutchinson had 17 digs, and Yearout led all players with 34 assists.

On Saturday, Lutz and Moss play in their final match as Yellowjackets. The seniors will graduate after this season. Lutz, a Business Marketing and Business Management major, has been named GNAC Academic All-Conference three times and honorable mention All-Conference as well. She has played in 353 sets in her four years at MSUB, and will finish seventh all-time in most sets played in program history. The Dugald, Manitoba native played in 107 sets her freshman season. She is six blocks shy of fifth all-time in program history. Lutz has totaled 283 blocks in her career, recording 108 her freshman season.

Moss, a Special Education and Elementary Education major, has also been named GNAC Academic All-Conference. She is 10th all-time in program history, appearing in 332 sets. Moss' 952 digs is eighth on the career-list at MSU Billings. The Fowler, Colo. native, has recorded over 25 digs in seven matches in her career, including a 40-dig effort at Central Washington on Sept. 17, 2011.

“Morgan and Jody have persevered through many challenges throughout their career from coaching changes to injuries,” MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. “They are both having great senior seasons. Morgan has been one of our most consistent passers on the season and is second on the team in digs. Jody is leading the team in blocks and has the highest hitting percentage of our attackers. They are both great team players always putting the teams' needs first. It has been a pleasure coaching them and they will both be missed next season.”

Both Yellowjackets' matches are schedule for 7 p.m. starts, and both will be available with live video streams and live stats on MSUBSports.com.