BILLINGS, Mont. – The 2017 volleyball season is nearly in the books as the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets (8-20, 4-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are in Alaska to face the University of Alaska Anchorage (19-9, 14-5 GNAC) and the University of Alaska (11-17, 4-15 GNAC). MSUB will face Anchorage on Thursday at 9 p.m. Mountain time and finish with Alaska on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mountain time.
 
The Alaska schools faced off on Tuesday with Seawolves defeating the Nanooks in 3-1 fashion in Anchorage. With the win, the Seawolves earned a sweep of the Nannoks this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Last week the Yellowjackets fell in a pair of 3-0 losses at Northwest Nazarene University (24-2, 16-2 GNAC) and Central Washington University (19-7, 14-4 GNAC). Izela Alvarez continued to produce at the libero spot as she tallied 34 digs in the two contests. MSUB was led by Bayli Monck's 21 kills over the two matches as the Yellowjacket attack used a more balanced approach against two of the nation's top defenses.
 
NUMBERS AND NOTES
 
MORE DIGGING TO DO: Izela Alvarez is now just 15 digs away from recording the most digs in a single season in MSUB program history with 578. She has been a force for the 'Jackets all season long, leading the conference in digs for all but one week. Currently, the freshman ranks 22nd in the nation with her 5.69 digs per set average and 45th nationally with 563 total digs. Adding to her excellence, Alvarez is fifth in the GNAC with a 0.34 ace per set pace and 34 aces this season.
 
EHRESMANN ON THE RISE: Freshman middle blocker Hali Ehresmann has strung together her four best offensive performances heading into this weekend. Ehresmann has averaged 11 kills over the past four matches while hitting .259 and adding 14 blocks on the defensive side. She posted a hitting percentage above .300 in each of last week's matches and recorded a season high 14 kills against Western Oregon in the first match of her current four game stretch.
 
300 IN EACH: Maddi Vigil topped the 300 mark in both kills and digs last week. The outside hitter now has 301 kills and 302 digs in her first season with the 'Jackets. She leads the team in kills and is second on the team in digs as she has developed into a versatile player for the Yellowjackets. Stormy Siemeon accomplished the feat last season as the first player to break the 300 threshold in each category since Jennifer Boe in 2010.
 
McCONNELL'S MARK: Miranda McConnell will look to improve on her individual season bests if she can record 18 kills and two blocks in this weekend's contests. She is currently fourth on the team with 140 kills this season and a 1.44 average and second in blocks with 58. The junior captain set her season mark in both categories last year when she totaled 158 kills and 60 blocks as a sophomore.
 
FILL IN THE RANK: Alvarez continues lead the conference with 5.69 digs per set and is now fifth in the GNAC with .34 aces per set. Vigil is 10th in the conference with 3.19 kills per set and 19th with an average of 3.21 digs. She also ranks 13th with 3.52 points per set. Clarke and Smythe each rank in the top-10 for assists per set, Clarke ranks sixth with 8.66 assists per set followed by Smythe's 7.00 pace in eighth. Clarke also ranks 16th with 0.25 aces per set this season. The Yellowjackets are the only team in the GNAC to have more than two freshman ranked in any statistical category this season.
 
GNAC PACK: The Yellowjackets faced two of the conference's top teams last week as No. 13 Northwest Nazarene is second in the GNAC with Central Washington sitting in third. No. 5 Western Washington is atop the conference with a 23-3 record. Thursday's opponent, Alaska Anchorage, is fourth in the conference while Alaska is currently 10th. The Yellowjackets are currently ninth in the GNAC.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW
 
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: The Seawolves have had a successful season as they're one win away from recording their fifth consecutive 20-win season. Four of their five losses in conference have come on the road this season with Western Washington being the only GNAC team to defeat them in the Alaska Airlines Center. The Seawolves earned a 3-1 win over the Yellowjackets when visiting Billings in September of this season.
 
Anchorage has relied on a stout defense this season as they rank fourth in the conference with 2.09 blocks per set. The Seawolves also have the most dangerous serve in the GNAC with Keala Kaio-Perez and Leah Swiss ranking first and second with 0.49 and 0.46 aces per set respectively.
 
Junior Tara Melton leads the team with 1.02 blocks per set and ranks 10th. Swiss averages 3.31 kills per set as the Seawolves' top attacker followed by sophomore Chrisalyn Johnson with 3.07. Kaio-Perez is third in the conference with a 5.32 dig per set average and has totaled 606 digs this season.
 
Anchorage is coached by ninth-year head coach Chris Green. Green was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading the Seawolves to their second consecutive GNAC title. Under his leadership UAA has seven NCAA tournament appearances and a 212-81 record with one championship appearance.   
 
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA NANOOKS: The Nanooks are coming off of a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Seawolves on Tuesday. UA snapped a five match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Western Oregon in their last home game before visiting Anchorage. Their 11 wins marks the first season since 2009 that the Nanooks have eclipsed the 10 win mark.
 
The Yellowjackets secured a 3-2 win over the Nanooks in their conference opener when Alaska visited Alterowitz Gym in September. Monck led the team with 19 kills followed by 18 from Vigil and Alvarez recorded 35 digs in the match.
 
Alaska features a young roster with nine underclassmen led by four seniors. Freshman Lahra Weber leads the team with 287.5 points while senior Maddie Davis leads the Nanooks with 249 kills this season. Markie Miller is the third offensive threat with more than 200 kills for UA as the redshirt freshman has 228 on the season.
 
Alaska ranks sixth in the conference with 12.61 kills per set and is second with 1.58 aces per set. Sophomore Kim Wong leads the Nanook attack with a .316 hitting percentage on 185 kills this season. Cate Whiting is seventh in the GNAC as she averages 0.32 aces per set in her freshman season in Alaska.
 
Brian Scott is in his first season as the head coach in Fairbanks, Alaska, he was previously an assistant at his alma mater Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. 
 
FOLLOW LIVE: Live video and statistics will be available for all MSUB home matches and all GNAC road contests throughout the 2017 season, through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal.