BILLINGS, Mont. – MSUB volleyball opens its 2016 home schedule this week with two matches. The Yellowjackets are welcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents Simon Fraser and Western Washington to Alterowitz this Friday and Saturday with both matches scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.
 
Montana State University Billings (1-8) played a match at Rocky Mountain College on Monday after travelling to tournaments in Hawaii and California for the start of the regular season. After winning their first match of the season against BYU-Hawaii, the 'Jackets have fallen short in the last eight contests.

 

DOUBLE-DIGITS: Senior Ashlynn Ward has amassed double-digit kills in all nine of MSUB's opening matches. The outside hitter was the GNAC's Offensive Player of the Week to open the season and with 140 kills this season has accumulated 898 total career kills for No. 9 on the MSUB all-time list. Ward needs 53 additional kills to move into No. 8 on the list. Ward is No. 10 in the conference in hitting percentage at .289 (140-39-150) and No. 4 in kills per set at 3.59.
 
STORMING THE COURT: Stormy Siemion is ranked second in the GNAC in kills per set at 3.85 and 22nd in Division II with 11.60 attacks per set. The senior outside hitter has also accumulated double-digit kills in all of MSUB's matches this year, including a career-high 28 against San Francisco State. Siemion posted her fifth double-double this season in the match at Rocky with 13 kills and 18 digs. At 10.0 in the first two weeks of competition, Siemion has already completed more total blocks than during any of her other seasons as a Yellowjacket.
 
FRESHMAN ASSET: Freshman setter Angala Jensen has now posted one match with 50 or more assists and four with 40-plus. She is ranked seventh in the GNAC with 9.31 assists per set and 27th in Division II with 322 total assists. Jensen has posted two assist/dig double-doubles this season with a total of 70 digs on the year.
 

UP AT THE NET: Junior Casey Rich is leading the team in blocks. The middle has 26.0 total blocks this year, posting 24 block assists and one solo. Rich posted a season-high nine kills against Rocky and has two matches on the year with six total blocks. The transfer from Northwest College has played in every match for MSUB this season and is averaging .76 blocks per set. Freshman Bre Rodrigues posted a season-high six kills against Rocky with four digs. Rodrigues has 10.0 total blocks this year, averaging .53 blocks per set.
 
16's: Mataia Robinson entered the week tied for 16th in Division II with 16 total service aces this year. The junior is third for the Yellowjackets in digs per set with 2.21 and third in assists.
 
DEFENSIVE COURT: Kylee Cornelio recorded a season-high 28 digs in the match at Rocky on Monday. The senior added three assists and an ace in the match at the Fortin Center. Cornelio leads the team with 3.30 digs per set and a total of 117 on the season. Freshman Faith Taylor tied her season-best this year with 12 digs against RMC. The native of Huntley, Mont., has 67 digs this year and is averaging 1.72 per set.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS: MSUB is hitting .205 as a team and entered the week ranked 20th in Division II with 427 total kills, 32nd with 384 team assists and 27th with 1,160 team attacks.
 


Friday – Sept. 16 – vs Simon Fraser University the Clan – 7:00 PM
Alterowitz Gymnasium – Billings, MT – Live Video – Live Stats
2016 Record – 7-1
Head Coach: Gina Schmidt, 3^rd season
2015 Record: 15-13, 11-9 GNAC, 5^th
 
Simon Fraser is off to a 7-1 start for the 2016 season. The Clan had one hiccup against host Concordia Irvine during the Labor Day Classic, but have been extremely efficient otherwise, with five of their seven wins coming in straight sets. Last week, SFU finished 4-0 in their pod of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase hosted by San Francisco State.
 
The Clan earned two spots on the All-Tournament team with junior libero Alison McKay (6.43 digs per set, tournament-high 30 digs against Fresno Pacific) and setter Tamara Nipp (143 total assists, averaging 10.21 per set). McKay is second in the GNAC and eighth in Division II with 6.29 digs per set. Nipp is third in the GNAC with 10.04 assists per set and .57 services aces per set.
 
Simon Fraser enters the week third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .141. Sophomore middle blocker Tessa May is sixth in the GNAC in blocks with 1.07 per set and seventh in hitting percentage at .294. Emma Jennings leads the team in kills per set with 2.96.
 
The Series: (6-8, 4-2 Home) MSUB has lost its last five matches against the Clan dating back to 2013. The 'Jackets held a six-match win streak between 2010-13. Four of the last five match have gone to extra sets.
 
Last Time Out: Last season MSUB lost in four sets at home and in straight sets in Burnaby.
 
Saturday – Sept. 17 – vs Western Washington University Vikings – 7:00 PM
Alterowitz Gymnasium – Billings, MT – Live Video – Live Stats
2016 Record – 4-4
Head Coach: Diane Flick-Williams
2015 Record: 27-6, 17-3 GNAC, 1^st
 
A Final Four team last year, Western Washington enters the week ranked No. 19 in Division II. The Vikings are 4-4 this season, but opened with a tough pre-conference schedule. All four losses were against nationally-ranked opponents: two losses against the No. 1 team in the country, Concordia St. Paul, one to No. 10 Northern State, and last week against No. 13 Cal State San Bernardino. The Vikings finished with a 3-1 record in the CSUSB-hosted pod of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase in California.
 
Western Washington leads the GNAC in hitting percentage at .245 (396-136-1063) which is 29^th in Division II. The Vikings were picked to win the conference this season, but do have a young squad with 14 players on the roster either freshman or sophomores.
 
Kayleigh Harper is second in the GNAC in hitting percentage at .369 (70-15-149). Abby Phelps is seventh in the conference in kills per set with 3.50 and eighth in digs per set with 4.28. Sophomore setter Brette Boesel is ninth in the league in assists per set with 6.75.
 
The Series: (1-20, 1-8) Western Washington holds a wide win-margin with a 19 match advantage. MSUB's lone victory against the Vikings was at home in 2014 in five sets.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB has been defeated in the last three of four matches against the Vikings. The last three matches were handled in straight sets.
 
Live coverage for all of the matches in Alterowitz this season will feature stats, video, and commentary provided by Aaron Like and Hannah Baley, which can be found on the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal here.