BILLINGS, Mont. – After a tough road-trip where MSUB lost both matches, the Yellowjackets are home to host Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage this Thursday and Saturday Oct. 16, and 18.
 
This week MSUB starts the second half of its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.
 
Last week MSU Billings dropped matches to No. 23 Central Washington and No. 18 Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets handled some good rallies during the matches, but couldn't play with enough consistency to sustain their scoring chances.
 
MSUB freshman Alaina Gentili continues to climb the ranks. The middle blocker had 21 kills and six blocks in the two matches. Gentili had a team-leading, and new career-high, 14 kills against the No. 18 Crusaders.
 
Senior middle/outside hitter Chelsey Walter is maintaining her presence in the middle and outside slots. Walter had double-digit kills against both opponents last week, including hitting .435 with 13 kills against No. 23 Central Washington.
 
Thursday, October 16 – 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gymnasium
Live stats/video: msubsports.com
University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks
2014 Record: 2-15, 2-7 GNAC
Head Coach: Mallory Larranaga, 4^th season
2013 GNAC Finish: 10th (4-25, 3-15 GNAC)
 
Alaska Fairbanks played only one match last week against rival Alaska Anchorage. The Nanooks lost in straight sets in Anchorage, but won both matches the week before at home against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's University.
 
Junior Sam Harthun is second in the conference in kills per set with 3.85. The outside hitter was just shy of a double-double in the loss against Anchorage; Harthun finished with 13 kills and nine digs.
 
Freshman Riley Podowicz is making an impact on the court. The middle blocker had only two blocks against Anchorage last week, but was the previous GNAC co-Player of the Week after the Nanooks' two wins at home. Podowicz had 14 kills and tallied eight total blocks while making just two errors.
 
Another freshman making a good debut for Alaska Fairbanks is Brooke Mattice. The outside hitter has had nine matches with kills in the double-digits and in the Anchorage match was one of only three players to put down more than 10 kills. Mattice is No. 11 in the GNAC in kills per set with 3.09.
 
Setter Miranda Grieser is a junior college transfer who has started every match this season for Fairbanks. The 5' 7" junior is averaging 7.30 assists per set which is No. 9 in the conference.
 
Last Match: This season MSUB beat the Nanooks in straight sets in Fairbanks, back on Sept. 22. MSUB: Chelsey Walter and Monica Grimsrud each had 11 kills for the Yellowjackets. Walter set a new single-match record at MSUB with a .786 hitting percentage (10 or more attempts). Walter had 11 kills on 14 attempts with no errors. Libero Haley Wells led all players with 18 digs. Fairbanks: Brooke Mattice had a match-high of 12 kills on the night. Harthun finished with nine kills and a team-high 12 digs.
 
The Series: MSU Billings is 23-26 all-time against Alaska Fairbanks. The Yellowjackets are 17-11 at home and have won five of the last six contests overall. Last season MSUB split its conference matches with the Nanooks, losing in five in Fairbanks, but winning in five at home.
 
Saturday, October 18 – 7 p.m. Alterowitz Gymnasium
Live stats/video: msubsports.com
University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
2014 Record: 14-3, 8-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Chris Green, 6^th season
2013 GNAC Finish: 2nd (21-10, 15-3 GNAC)
 
After winning its one match last week, Alaska Anchorage is tied for first in the conference standings with a 14-3, 8-1 GNAC record. The Seawolves are on a four-match win streak. The team's one conference loss this season has been to nationally-ranked Northwest Nazarene in Idaho.
 
Outside hitter Erin Braun is No. 2 in the GNAC in hitting percentage with .337. Braun is also tied for No. 6 in blocks averaging one per set.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Kayla McGlathery is right behind her teammate with a .315 hitting percentage – which is good enough for third overall in the conference. McGlathery is also ranked in the top-15 in blocks with 0.88 per set.
 
Junior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders is leading her team in kills. She is No. 5 in the GNAC with 3.44 per set. Zanders is also ranked No. 1 in service aces in the GNAC, she has 0.41 per set. Julia Mackey is also top-10 in kills, she has 3.15 per set which is No. 9 in the GNAC.
 
Morgan Hooe leads her team in assists. She is averaging 8.70 per set and is ranked No. 6 in the conference. For the Seawolves, libero Quinn Barker is averaging 4.94 digs per set.
 
Last Match: The Yellowjackets lost in four sets in Anchorage during the team's first conference match of the season on Sept. 20. MSUB: Grimsrud produced 13 kills while Walter added 10. The team only had one block to the Seawolves seven. Wells and Mataia Roderick split the defense. Wells had 15 digs while Roderick scooped up 12. Anchorage: Mackey led the team against MSUB coming up with 13 kills while Braun added 10. The Seawolves outhit MSUB .309 to .156. Barker led all players with 17 digs.
 
The Series: MSU Billings is 10-38 all-time against Alaska Anchorage. MSUB is 6-19 at home. The Yellowjackets have lost nine consecutive matches to the Seawolves.
 
MSUB's Walter continues to lead the GNAC in hitting percentage. The senior has a .361 with 216 kills on the season. That amounts to a 3.22 kills per set average which is No. 8 in the conference. Grimsrud is No. 12 in the GNAC with 2.93 kills per set.
 
Gentili has moved up to No. 10 in the GNAC with a .248 hitting percentage. The freshman is also No. 14 in the conference in blocks with 0.87 per set.
 
Setter Kyndal Williams continues to keep her assist average above 10 per set. She is currently ranked No. 4 in the GNAC averaging 10.56 per set. Libero Haley Wells is No. 7 in the conference averaging 4.28 digs per set.
 
"The team is very excited to be back at home this weekend after a long road trip," head coach Lisa Axel commented. "After going through our first round of the conference schedule we are really looking to play at a much more consistent level throughout the remainder of our season.
 
"Our middles have been doing a great job for us the past couple of weeks" Axel continued. "We are looking to get our outside hitters back on track this weekend."
 
Montana State University Billings will host the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., followed by the University of Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Oct. 18, also at 7 p.m. Both matches will have live video and live stats available at msubsports.com.
 
 
2014 GNAC VB               CONF    PCT      ALL       PCT      H          A          N     STREAK
Northwest Nazarene       8-1       .889      15-2      .882      5-0       4-2       6-0       W2
Alaska Anchorage          8-1       .889      14-3      .824      8-1       4-1       2-1       W4
Western Washington      7-2       .778      14-4      .778      6-1       2-2       6-1       W4
Simon Fraser                  6-3       .667      12-5      .706      6-2       4-2       2-1       W3
Central Washington        5-4       .556      12-5      .706      7-1       3-3       2-1       W1
Seattle Pacific                4-5       .444      10-7      .588      5-3       3-3       2-1       L2
Montana St. Billings     4-5       .444     9-8         .529     7-2       1-4       1-2       L3
Alaska                             2-7       .222      2-15      .118      2-6       0-7       0-2       L1
Saint Martin's                  1-8       .111      4-16      .200      1-5       1-6       2-5       L4
Western Oregon              0-9       .000      2-15      .117      0-5       2-4       0-6       L9