Box Score

LISA AXEL POST MATCH      MORGAN MOSS POST MATCH       TAYLOR ADAMS POST MATCH

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings volleyball team grabbed its sixth win out of the last seven matches with a five-set victory over Northwest Nazarene University Thursday.

Entering the match, the Yellowjackets (6-6, 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) had won only one of the past 10 matches against NNU. The win avenged a four-set loss to the Crusaders on Dig Pink Night last season in Alterowitz Gymnasium.

“That was a huge win for us,” MSUB volleyball head coach Lisa Axel said. “To battle back in some of those situations to come back and get the five-set win is great here at home. It was just great playing in front of our home crowd. They were a huge help and a lot of support.”

Kyndal Williams led the Yellowjackets with a double-double. The freshman finished with 46 assists and 10 digs. The Helena, Mont. native, reached the 40-assist plateau for the fourth time this season. Three Yellowjackets finished in double-digit kills led by 17 from Monica Grimsrud. Chelsey Walter and Jody Lutz had 11 and 10 kills respectively. Erin Compton had a team-high 15 digs. Grimsrud added six blocks.

The back-and-forth battle featured to very similar teams. NNU finished with a just a slightly higher hitting percentage .123 to .122, while both sides had 53 kills. MSU Billings had a 51-48 assist advantage. The match included 24 ties and eight lead changes.

The Crusaders jumped out to an early 6-1 advantage thanks to solid serving from Elayna Rice. NNU spread its lead to 10-3 after a kill by Cora Christensen. MSUB responded with a 6-1 run. A Rice kill ended a Northwest Nazarene run that stretched the margin back to seven points, 17-10. The Yellowjackets would come as close as three points, but NNU took the set, 25-18.

After the second set opened with four ties, it was the Crusaders that went on a 5-0 run, turning a 6-6 tie, to an 11-6 lead. A 7-2 Yellowjacket run, capped by a Lutz ace, tied the set at 13. MSUB continued its momentum and took a four-point lead, 21-17. Northwest Nazarene closed within two, 21-19, but would come no closer and MSU Billings won the set, 25-20.

Set three was the closest of the match with 10 ties and three lead changes. The Yellowjackets' largest advantage in the set was four points; while NNU's largest lead was two points. Northwest Nazarene used a timeout after falling behind 8-4, but answered with a 4-1 run. A kill by Rice gave the Crusaders a 15-14 lead. NNU also had a 19-18 advantage, but MSUB went on a key 4-0 run. MSU Billings was able to hold on to win the set, 25-23.

The Yellowjackets had the lead only twice in the fourth frame, 4-3 and 5-4, as the set was controlled by Northwest Nazarene. A 5-4 setback changed to a 10-6 lead for the Crusaders. NNU had its largest lead at 23-15 after an attack error by Montana State Billings. Northwest Nazarene won the set, 25-18.

In the final set, MSU Billings took an early 3-1 lead and stretched it to 7-3 after a kill by Julianna Evola. The Crusaders answered with a 4-1 run, cutting the lead to 8-7. The Yellowjackets had their largest lead, 13-8, after an attack error by NNU. A kill by Grimsrud finished the match and gave MSUB a 15-12 win in the set.

Three Crusaders (8-6, 2-3) finished in double digits in kills. Kaitlyn Tuholski had 14, Becky Flores had 11, and Rice had 10. Michelle Terpstra finished with 43 assists, while Linnea Phillips had 20 digs. Tuholski added 12 digs. Tuholski and Flores were both in on six blocks. NNU has dropped five of their last eight matches, after starting 5-1.

Montana State Billings' matchup with Central Washington (9-4, 4-1) Saturday features two of the conference's hottest teams, as CWU enters the week on a four-match win streak. The Wildcats have won 11 of the 13 all-time meetings against MSUB, including the last meeting on Oct. 13, 2011. The five-set back-and-forth thrilling match went to Central.

“Central Washington is a very good team this year,” Axel said. “They have gone out and beat some highly ranked teams and seem to be playing very well. It will be a fun match and hopefully we can get a big crowd to support us.”

Saturday's match features a live free video stream and live stats from Stretch Internet, the webcast home for the GNAC. Links for the video stream and stats can be found at www.MSUBSports.com. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT.