BILLINGS, Mont. – After losing a hard-fought battle last Saturday against Seattle Pacific, MSU Billings is regrouping this week before heading to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.
 
Montana State University Billings is now 9-6, 4-3 in the GNAC.
 
After playing six matches in two weeks, MSUB had only one match last week. The Yellowjackets played SPU on Saturday and for the fourth-straight time at home this season, the match went the distance. MSUB traded the first four sets before falling short in the final set 15-11.
 
MSUB's Alaina Gentili more than doubled her career-high in match kills, set a new career-high in digs, and led her team in block assists in the tough loss to SPU on Saturday. Gentili had 10 kills and led the team with a .261 attack percentage.
 
MSU Billings had a better attack percentage with 10 more kills and 19 more digs than the Falcons, but couldn't capitalize on its opportunities. This week the team will take its first road trip in two weeks, as MSUB heads first to Central Washington on Thursday, before a match against Northwest Nazarene the following Saturday.
 
No. 23 Central Washington University is 10-5, 3-4 in the GNAC.
 
Having lost two conference matches last week, Central Washington fell from No. 18 to No. 23 this week in the national poll. The Wildcats are on a three match losing streak, having fallen in four sets to then No. 11 Western Washington and in straight sets to Simon Fraser last week.
 
No. 23 Central Washington is leading the conference in attack percentage with a team .215. CWU is No. 2 in blocks with 2.25 per set.
 
Offensively, senior Linden Firethorne is No. 3 in the GNAC in kills with 3.58 per set and No. 12 in hitting percentage with .238. Kaitlin Quirk is No. 4 in the GNAC in blocks with 1.04 per set.
 
CWU's Catie Fry is No. 4 in assists in the conference with 10.38 per set.
 
Defensive specialist Kaely Kight in ranked No. 3 in the GNAC in digs per set with 5.09. The senior is now ranked sixth all-time in the GNAC in digs with 1,716. 
 
MSU Billings is 4-13 all-time against the Crusaders, but 2-1 in the last three meetings. The last time the two teams met, MSUB got the better of CWU winning the match 3-2.
 
"The team is excited to get back on the court this weekend and take on two nationally ranked teams," MSUB head coach Lisa Axel said. "There are no easy matches in the GNAC this year and it is a battle each time we step on the court. It is nice to get back into our normal conference routine after such a crazy first couple of weeks of the season."
 
No. 18 Northwest Nazarene is 13-2, 6-1 in the GNAC and second in the conference standings behind Alaska Anchorage (7-1, GNAC).
 
The Crusaders had their 12-match win-streak snapped last Saturday by then No. 11 Western Washington in Bellingham, Wash. NNU won its match against Simon Fraser on Thursday, but lost to the Vikings in four sets.
 
Despite the loss, the Crusaders moved up from No. 19 last week to No. 18 in this week's national poll.
 
No. 23 Northwest Nazarene leads the conference in four of the seven major categories: assists (12.40/set), kills (13.49/set), blocks (2.65/set), and digs (20.69/set).
 
In the nation, the Crusaders are No. 1 in blocks, No. 4 in team attacks, and No. 3 in digs.
 
Michelle Terpstra is No. 1 in the GNAC in assists with 10.75 per set. The senior setter has seven double-doubles and one triple-double this season.
 
Andrea Terpstra is No. 1 in the conference and No. 11 in the nation in blocks with 1.28 per set and leads NNU in kills per set with 2.85. Elayna Rice is hitting .181 on the season. The senior is No. 11 in the GNAC in digs (3.42/set).
 
Taylor Roberts of Northwest Nazarene is seventh in the nation with a 6.29 digs per set average.
 
MSU Billings is 5-14 against Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets are on a three match losing streak, the last loss coming at home last season 3-1.
 
Montana State University Billing is 9-6, 4-3 GNAC.
 
With the loss last week to Seattle Pacific, the Yellowjackets dropped to sixth in the conference standings.
 
Senior outside hitter Chelsey Walter is No. 1 in the GNAC in attack percentage with a .364. In last week's match, Walter led the team with 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Walter is also No. 7 in kills in the conference with a 3.18 per set average.
 
Sophomore Ashlynn Ward is No. 2 for the Yellowjackets in attack percentage with .208. Senior outside hitter Monica Grimsrud is No. 12 in the GNAC in kills with 3.02 per set. Against Seattle Pacific, Grimsrud tied Walter with a team-high 16 kills.
 
Setter Kyndal Williams is No. 3 in the GNAC in assists with 10.40 per set. Williams had a double-double in the match against Seattle Pacific with a match-high 53 assists to go along with 11 digs.
 
Montana State University Billings is set to play No. 23 Central Washington University on Thursday Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. PT. The Yellowjackets then travel to face-off against No. 18 Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday, Oct. 9. That contest is also slated to start at 7 p.m.
 
Live video and live stats for both contests will be available at msubsports.com.
 
GNAC VOLLEYBALL        CONF    PCT      O       PCT      H        A           N          STREAK
Alaska Anchorage            7-1       .875      13-3      .813      7-1       4-1       2-1       W3
No. 18 NW Nazarene       6-1       .857      13-2      .867      3-0       4-2       6-0       L1
No. 10 W Washington      5-2       .714      12-4      .750      5-1       1-2       6-1       W2
Seattle Pacific                  4-3       .571      10-5      .667      5-3       3-1       2-1       W1
Simon Fraser                   4-3       .571      10-5      .667      6-2       2-2       2-1       W1
Mont. State Billings       4-3       .571      9-6        .600     7-2        1-2       1-2       L1
No. 23 C Washington      3-4       .429      10-5      .667      5-1       3-3       2-1       L3
Alaska Fairbanks            2-6       .250      2-14      .125      2-6       0-6       0-2       W2
Saint Martin's                  1-6       .143      4-14      .222      1-4       1-5       2-5       L2
Western Oregon              0-7       .000      2-13      .133      0-3       2-4       0-6       L7