BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team hosts its first match of the 2012 season inside Alterowitz Gymnasium against Seattle Pacific University Saturday.

After falling in their first five matches of the season, the Yellowjackets (4-6, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) enter the Saturday's meeting with SPU as winners of four of their past five contests. MSUB grabbed three of its four victories at the Colorado State-Pueblo Classic. MSU-Billings is riding into weekend after a sweep at Simon Fraser.

When it comes to the matchup with Seattle Pacific, it's the Falcons that have the advantage of streaks against Montana State Billings. SPU has won the last four meetings versus the Yellowjackets, including a sweep in the last matchup in Billings on Nov. 12, 2011.

Seattle Pacific ended MSUB's season last year with a 3-0 sweep on Senior Night in Alterowitz Gymnasium. No. 25 SPU was led in their attack by Lindsey Wodrich and Paige Hoffman with 14 and 10 kills respectively, as the Falcons hit .244 as a team compared to the Yellowjackets' .120. Montana State Billings' Monica Grimsrud and Taylor Adams led the Yellowjacket attack with 10 kills each.

The Falcons have won five of the past seven meetings, with all five wins coming in sweeps. MSUB took both matchups in 2009. The Yellowjackets last win over SPU was in four sets on Oct. 29, 2009. In a series that dates back to 1988, Seattle Pacific has won 22 of the 29 all-time meetings. SPU won the first 14 all-time matches against Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets have won four of the 11 all-time matches against the SPU in Billings.

The Falcons have logged more than 7,600 miles either in the air or on the road since leaving for Hawaii on Aug. 28, to open their season in the same tournament MSUB began its season. At the Honolulu Invitational, SPU and the Yellowjackets both played the same four teams. Seattle Pacific split those four matches, while MSU-Billings fell in its quartet of matches.

In a matchup between two very similar teams, the 2012 meeting in Billings could go down to a fifth set. Seattle Pacific and the Yellowjackets are next to each other in five of the major statistical categories in the GNAC, including digs per game where SPU is No. 2 and Montana State Billings is No. 3.

“I think it's going to be a good match,” Montana State Billings' head coach Lisa Axel said. “We're very close in statistical categories and our records are pretty similar. I think this will be a great chance to see how we stack up in the conference. Really, our team is just excited to be home. It's been a very long road trip for us.”

The Falcons' Shelby Swanson eclipsed the 3,000-assist plateau after recording 50 assists in a win over Simon Fraser last week. The senior is eighth all-time in the GNAC in assists in a career. Sophomore libero Brianne Leenders is No. 54 in digs per game at 4.78, while Cailin Fellows is 58th in kills per game at 3.56.

Grimsrud has a team-high 119 kills, an average of 3.31 per game (No. 6 in the GNAC), and hits .176 for Montana State Billings. Jody Lutz has 27 total blocks, including six solos. She also is the leading hitter for the Yellowjackets at .317 (No. 10 in the conference), having hammered 71 kills with just 18 errors on 167 attacks.

Montana State Billings has won seven of its past 10 home openers, including last year's five-set thriller over Saint Martin's. That 3-2 win over the Saints came on Sept. 22, the same date as this season's home opener. The 2006 season, MSU-Billings also grabbed a home-opening win on Sept. 22, over Dallas Baptist.

Saturday's matchup between Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific features a live free video stream and live stats from Stretch Internet, the new webcast home for the GNAC. Links for the video stream and stats can be found at www.MSUBSports.com. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT.