Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – Rallying for a first-set comeback win, the Montana State University Billings volleyball team carried momentum through the rest of the match, downing Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Alaska Fairbanks in three sets Thursday night inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
Facing a tough 23-20 deficit in the first set, MSUB battled back to even the score at 24-24. The 'Jackets continued their push, winning three of the next four points to steal the first set 27-25. After the win in Set 1, MSUB did not trail for the rest of the match, winning Set 2 25-18 and closing out the victory with a 25-17 win in the third.
 
"We came out a little slow tonight and just weren't executing the way we were in the past," said MSUB head coach Lisa Axel. "We had to battle for that first game and that really gave us a confidence boost out there."
 
Kyndal Williams once again proved invaluable as the Yellowjackets' setter, serving up a match-high 41 assists while turning in 11 digs and three kills as well. Monica Grimsrud led all players with 14 kills, and Chelsey Walter and Ashlynn Ward each had three block assists for the 'Jackets. Krista Norris came up one kill shy of a double-double as she had nine kills and 13 digs, and freshman Haley Wells added a dozen digs for the Yellowjackets.
 
"Kyndal was able to spread the ball around, and we worked all week on getting our outsides a little more effective and lowering their errors," Axel said. "For Monica to come in and hit five hundred and only three errors on the night for both her and Krista combined, that was huge for us."
 
MSUB upped its record to 10-8 on the season, and pulled to an even .500 at 5-5 in GNAC play. The Nanooks fell to 3-15 in 2014 and are now 2-8 in conference action.
 
Picking up in the second set where it finished the first, MSUB sprung out to an 11-6 advantage, as Ward and Alaina Gentili combined for a dual block.
 
The 'Jackets maintained their edge through the middle of the second set, moving ahead 18-13. Keeping an even pace to close out the set, MSUB finished with a 7-5 run to move up two sets to none.
 
Refusing to allow an inch of breathing room, the Yellowjackets stormed ahead with four straight points to start Set 3. The Nanooks battled back to move within two points at 8-6, but a 3-0 run by MSUB pushed UAF to burn a timeout with the scoreboard reading 11-6.
 
Fighting for their lives, the Nanooks cut the deficit to two at 16-14. Norris helped keep the Yellowjackets in control however, with a perfectly-placed kill that landed on the sideline. The teams battled back-and-forth to the tune of 18-17, and Williams set up Grimsrud for a kill to push the spread back to two points at 19-17. The putdown sparked a strong rally for the 'Jackets, as MSUB won the next six points – two on kills by Gentili – to seal the match victory.
 
The win gave MSUB the season sweep over Alaska Fairbanks, as the Yellowjackets downed the Nanooks in three sets at the Patty Center in Fairbanks on Sept. 22. "It's always interesting the second time through the conference, because teams are starting to understand tendencies," Axel said. "You have to make changes in the second half.
 
"We just have to come out and play to win," Axel said regarding the team's upcoming match against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. "We need to not be hesitant and to take big swings, and just believe that we can do it. Anchorage is a great team this year, they're very low-error, and we just have to go in and play consistently."
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets get set to face GNAC-leading Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, with first serve set for 7 p.m. inside Alterowitz Gym.