BILLINGS, Mont. -Thursday kicks off a 5-match home stand for the MSUB volleyball team. This week, the Yellowjackets host conference opponents Western Oregon, and new this season, Concordia (Ore.).
 
MSU Billings (3-13, 2-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) is coming off a road week split, completing a straight set win over Saint Martin's, before falling in four to Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

 

"We went out and battled hard against Saint Martin's," head coach Lisa Axel said. "Any time you are on the road in the GNAC it's not easy. We were able to play fairly consistently, and then in the third set we were able to really click a little better, play a little better defense and we were really able to put the ball away. Audri Marrs had a great match. She's really been working on mixing up her shots and it paid off in that match."
 
MSUB is hitting .165 as a team. In the conference, the Yellowjackets are seventh in both assists (11.05 per set) and kills (11.75 per set).
 
MARRS ACHIEVES 100: Senior Audri Marrs completed her 100^th kill on the season in the match against Saint Martin's. The middle blocker produced 10 kills on 15 attempts with just one error for a match-leading .600 attack percentage. Marrs also finished with seven blocks in the two matches and now has 36.0 on the season. Continuing to align herself in the Yellowjacket offensive system, Marrs is becoming a reliable go-to for setter Kyndal Williams.
 
SETTING AND SERVING UP: Williams is holding steady at 9.71 assists per set and now has 18 service aces this season, placing her at No. 11 in the GNAC.
 
WARD CLIMBS TO 200: Also a consistent presence for MSUB this season, junior Ashlynn Ward is at an even 200 kills this year. The outside hitter is fourth in the conference in kills per set with 3.39, and 14^th in hitting percentage at .246 (200-69-533).

"This week we are really working on our defense," Axel said. "We want to be able to take second and third opportunities to take a swing. We weren't really getting that in the Seattle Pacific match, so that has been our main focus this week and then going just going out there and battling. It will be nice to be at home these next two weeks; it's always a little bit easier when you can sleep in your own bed."
 
THREE IN THE TOP-30: This week MSUB has three players in the GNAC's top-30 in digs. Junior Kimmy Kirk leads the group averaging 3.71 digs per set, with Taylor Sherman at 2.86 and Stormy Siemion with 2.39.  
 
Thursday's match against Western Oregon is Girl Scout Night. Local troops have been invited and will be attendance wearing their vests. On Saturday, is MSUB's annual Think Pink match. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and fans are invited to wear pink in support of the cause.
 Prizes and giveaways will be awarded during both nights. St. Vincent Healthcare and the EVA Project are sponsoring Saturday's match as fans are encouraged to pack the gym in pink.
 
Thursday, Oct. 15 - 7:00 p.m.
Alterowitz Gymnasium - Girl Scout Night
Western Oregon University Wolves
2015 Record: 3-15, 1-8 GNAC
 
Western Oregon has struggled this season on the court. The Wolves won a conference match against Alaska Fairbanks during the opening week of GNAC action, but has since dropped the last seven contests.
 
On Tuesday, WOU played a close match against Concordia (Ore.), but couldn't string together the rallies needed, falling in four to the Cavaliers.
 
Western Oregon is hitting .177 as a team.  
 
Libero Christie Colasurdo is first in the conference in digs at 5.91. Colasurdo collected 33 in the loss on Tuesday. Amanda Short put-down a team-high 13 terminations while the assists were split with Leila Holt picking up 26 and Maddie Mehciz adding 13.
 
Sydney Blakenship leads the Wolves in attack percentage and is fifth in the conference at .292 (80-22-195) while Kelsey Paige is No. 15 at .244 (86-33-217).
 
The Series: (6-14, (H) 4-4) Western Oregon may hold the overall winning record against MSU Billings, but the Yellowjackets won both contests last season in straight sets, stopping a 5-match streak by WOU.
 
Saturday, Oct. 17 - 7:00 p.m.
Alterowitz Gymnasium - Think Pink Night
Concordia (Ore.) University Cavaliers
2015 Record: 12-5, 4-5 GNAC
 
Concordia (Ore.) is holding strong during its season of conference play in the GNAC. Entering their last match to the halfway mark of play, the newest member to the conference sits at 4-5 against GNAC opponents. CU pulled out wins its last two outings, 3-1 against WOU, and then a big turnaround match winning 3-2 on the road against Simon Fraser.
 
The Cavailers took both NNU and CWU to five sets and with the long 5-set match against SFU, have shown they can play tough on the road.
 
Four players tallied kills in the double-figures in Tuesday's win with Brenna Huwe and Dorsey Lindsey leading the charge with 15 apiece. Setter Taylor Jenessa recorded 51 assists and Vicky Gajda provided 21 digs.
 
The team is hitting .195 on the season, and is second in the conference behind Alaska Anchorage in limiting opponent hitting percentage at .145.  
 
 
The Series: This is the first meeting between the two programs. Concordia (Ore.) joined the GNAC this season.