BILLINGS, Mont. – The Yellowjacket volleyball team is headed out for Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches at Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's. MSU Billings takes on the Falcons on Thursday, Oct. 6, followed by a match against the Saints on Saturday, Oct. 8.
 
At home last week, MSUB earned its first GNAC win of the season with a 25-20, 25-17, 27-25 sweep of the visiting Alaska Nanooks. The 'Jackets fought hard against No. 9 Alaska Anchorage the following night, falling in three sets to the nationally-ranked Seawolves.
 
This week, Montana State University Billings (2-13, 1-5 GNAC) will make a push to keep its momentum and high-level of play flowing with two GNAC road matches. In the conference standings, MSUB and its opponents Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's are all tied with a 1-5 GNAC record. With four teams locked at the 1-5 record, MSUB has the opportunity to move up the conference standings with wins on the road.
 
MCCONNELL IN THE MIDDLE: Miranda McConnell posted a match-high 10 kills in the win against Alaska. The sophomore middle blocker hit .588 (10-0-17) against the Nanooks, finishing as the only player with double-digit kills and not committing an error in the process. McConnell also had four blocks in the two matches at home, taking her season total to 28.0.
 
ROBINSON'S RESULTS: Mataia Robinson added her second career double-double with a 15 assist, 10 dig performance against UAA. Robinson knocked down four service aces in one rotation against Alaska Anchorage, taking her total to 22 on the season. The junior is eighth in the GNAC in service aces per set at .39.
 

BACK COURT ANCHOR: Senior Kylee Cornelio recorded 16 digs against Alaska and 17 in the match against Alaska Anchorage. The starting libero in the last four matches, Cornelio has played a key role in anchoring the Yellowjacket defense. She leads the team and is 12^th in the conference in digs per set with 3.49. Cornelio is about to reach the 200 season mark in digs, finishing last week with a cumulative total of 199.
 
OPPOSITE SIDE: Junior Lexa de Jesus led the team in attack percentage against Alaska Anchorage. The right side hitter finished with 13 kills across the two matches and hit .231 against the Seawolves. The native of Puerto Rico is growing into her role on the opposite side, adding in two blocks against the Alaska schools. De Jesus is third on the team in kills with 84 on the season.
 
STORMING THE COURT: Senior Stormy Siemion is nearing the 200 mark in kills this season with 189. The outside hitter is ranked eleventh in the nation in total attempts and is fourth in the GNAC in kills per set with 3.60. Siemion added 16 kills to her total last week. On defense, Siemion had 11 digs against Alaska and 16 against Alaska Anchorage. The native of Huntley, Mont., has 205 kills on the season and is closing in on 200 digs with 175 recorded this year.
 
NO. 8 ALL-TIME: Senior outside hitter Ashlynn Ward tallied 16 kills and five blocks last week. Ward is fifth in the GNAC in kills per set at 3.47 and leads the team in attack percentage at .247. With 956 career kills, the native of Rexburg, Idaho, moved to No. 8 on the MSUB all-time list.
 
FRESHMAN ASSET: Against the Nanooks and Seawolves, setter Angala Jensen combined for 23 assists, taking her season total to 484 for MSUB. Jensen added seven block assists in last week's matches, including a season-high six against Alaska. She has 27.0 blocks this season.
 
DEFENSIVE COURT: Casey Rich posted a season-high seven block assists in the match against Alaska. The junior middle blocker has 47.0 blocks on the year to lead the team, averaging .90 per set. Rich also has 52 kills this season. Faith Taylor recorded 14 digs last week and has surpassed the 100 digs mark this season at 105.
 
Thursday – Oct. 6 – at Seattle Pacific University Falcons – 7:00 PM PST
Broughham Pavilion – Seattle, WA – Live Video – Live Stats
2016 Record – 5-9, 1-5 GNAC
Head Coach: Chris Johnson, 11^th season
2015 Record: 7-21, 5-15, T8th GNAC
 
The Falcons picked-up a conference win against Western Oregon at home in straight sets, but have since dropped three straight. Heading into the week, although Seattle Pacific is riding a 3-match losing streak, the Falcons took all three competitions to five sets, just barely falling to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington on the road.
 
Seattle Pacific is hitting .138 as a team, but defensively are fourth in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .169. SPU is third in the GNAC in blocks with 2.47 and fourth in service aces with 1.55 per set.
 
Gabby Oddo is sixth in the GNAC in kills per set at 3.38. Symone Tran positions the offense, leading the team and ranks No. 6 in the league in assists with 9.59 per set.
 
Two players for SPU are ranked in the GNAC's top-10 in blocks. Shaun Crespi is second at 1.45 per set joined by Nicole Tchabanov at 10^th with 1.00 per set. In the back court, Amanda Ganete holds the fifth-best conference average in digs at 4.68 per set.
 
The Series: (10-27, 4-14 Away) The Yellowjackets are behind overall in total meetings, but have defeated the Falcons in the last two of four matches. MSUB split its series with SPU last season, taking a lost in four sets on the road, but winning in three sets at home.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB claimed a straight win over the Falcons at home.
 
Saturday – Oct. 8 – at Saint Martin's University Saints – 7:00 PM PST
Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, WA – Live Video – Live Stats
2016 Record – 5-5, 1-5 GNAC
Head Coach: Jon Killingbeck, 1^st season
2015 Record: 2-24, 1-19 GNAC, 11^th
 
The Saint Martin's program is under new leadership with first-year head coach Jon Killingbeck. Last week, SMU was swept on the road at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. The Saints have played two of their six conference matches to five sets this season, winning against Alaska, and falling at home against Western Oregon.
 
Megan Vernoy is hitting .237 (81-34-198) while Rebecca Mitchell is averaging 2.81 kills per set. Nicolette Nesbitt is averaging 5.41 assists per set while Cassidey Aspo is 10^th in the GNAC in digs at 3.73 per set.
 
Saint Martin's is sixth in the GNAC in hitting percentage at .204 and fifth in service aces with 1.41 per set.
 
The Series: (16-4, 6-3 Away) The Yellowjacket hold a 12-mtach overall lead against Saint Martin's, but are 6-3 on the road. MSUB has won the last five matches against the Saints, last falling on Oct. 16, 2013.
 
Last Time Out: MSU Billings won the match at home in four sets.