BILLINGS – After winning nine of 10 matches entering the week, SFU has now lost its last two, dropping a 3-1 decision to Montana State Billing in a rare noon start in Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball action.
 
Set scores were: 21-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-19.
 
The loss leaves SFU with a 11-6 record in conference play, 17-7 overall, with a full slate of GNAC games to be played later Saturday. The two losses this week has created a log-jam of teams trying to earn their way into the NCAA post-season, with Central Washingon, Seattle Pacific and Alaska Anchorage all with 10-5 records entering play Saturday.
 
Western Washington (15-1), which hosts SFU in the regular season finale on Nov. 20 in Bellingham, has clinched the GNAC Championship. The regional rankings will ultimately determine which teams will make the field for the NCAA Division II Championship. The field will be announced via a selection show on NCAA.com on Monday, November 22. In this week's regional rankings Western Washington leads the way at No. 2 while Simon Fraser is No. 3. Central Washington is No. 6 and Alaska Anchorage is at No. 8.
 
In Saturday's game, SFU hit at a .184 percentage while the Yellowjackets hit at a .262 clip inside Alterowitz Gymnasium. SFU opened the first set with a 10-9 lead and then went on an 8-4 run to take control. MSUB closed to within two points, 19-17, but SFU was able to pull away.
 
In Set 2, MSUB jumped out to an 8-1 lead before SFU closed the margin and pushed ahead 15-13. A 7-2 run by the Yellowjackets secured the win.
 
Set 3 was close and SFU held a 22-16 advantage. But MSUB went on a 6-1 run to pull to within 1 point, 23-22. SFU held set point at 24-22 but couldn't close. The teams were tied at 25, 26 and 27 before MSUB emerged with the win.
 
In Set 4, the teams were tied 8-8 and SFU was within two points, 18-16, but the Yellowjackets went on a 7-3 run for the win.
 
SFU was led by 20 kills from Camryn Vosloh and 17 kills from Jocelyn Sherman, who hit at a .262 attack percentage.  Brooke Dexter had 13 kills and hit .200 percent on 45 attempts while Abby Willett had 7 kills on 13 attempts.
 
SFU also received a 56-assist performance from senior Julia Tays, SFU's career leader in assists. It was the second most assists in a match this season for Tays, who registered a season-high 62 in a five-set match against Northwest Nazarene. The GNAC individual record for assists in a 4-set match is 73.
 
SFU had a 62-59 edge in kills, 88-78 edge in digs and a 59-56 advantage in assists.