Frontier Conference spotlight: Volleyball 2010

Summer time is about to give way to the volleyball court.

And once again, the Frontier Conference should be a premier power in NAIA women's volleyball.

Last season, Carroll College, Lewis-Clark State and the University of Great Falls tied for the regular season Frontier title, while LC State grabbed the league crown. All three teams advanced to the regional tournament, and all three teams should be at or near the top of the Frontier in 2010.

For the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, the time has finally come where they can say they are a veteran team. Northern has endured several difficult seasons on the court, but the Skylights have been the youngest team in the league for each of the last three years.

But this season could be different.

Under second-year head coach Bill Huebsch, the Skylights are looking to build on a much-improved 2009 season where they won four league matches and seven overall.

The Skylights return senior starters Kaylee Bossert, a two-time all-conference middle hitter, as well as outside hitter Brittany Baker and setter Jordan Merrill. All three players are seniors who have been playing together for four years. MSU-N also added a strong recruiting class, including Havre's Holly Cartwright, to go with returnees like senior defensive specialist Jenna Frankino and junior hitters Tasha Dyrland and Sierra Diehl. So with so much talent and experience, the Skylights are being looked at as the team to watch out for this season.

But the heavy favorites in the Frontier remain LC State and Carroll.

The Warriors won 26 matches a year ago and but lost a pair of all-american players. Still, they average 5-11 across the front so size shouldn't be an issue and 6-2 junior Nicole Graybeal is a beast in the middle.

Carroll won 25 times a year ago and went to the regional tournament. But like the Warriors, the Saints lost key players up front. Still, they return an all-conference performer in senior Sammy Priddy and junior setter Cailtlin Tocci, and with two strong right side hitters, the Saints should still be in the mix come November. Carroll also added former Havre High standout Karla Hellegaard to its roster this season.

Rocky Mountain College was picked to finish third this season. The Bears went 8-6 in league play a year ago and won 20 matches overall, and they were a fairly young team, so it's easy to see why they could challenge for a Frontier title this fall.

Size and hitting will be the Bears' strengths this season. Senior middle blocker Jessica Overstreet leads RMC up front and fellow middle Marni Magnuson is a 6-1 powerhouse, while outside hitter Siobhan Flynn is capable of going on solid scoring runs. The Bears are also very good in the back row, and they should be one of the more balanced teams in the league.

After finishing second or better in the Frontier the last four seasons, UGF is picked to finish just fourth this year. But the Argos have other things in mind. They have been one of the most consistent teams in the Frontier this decade and they are not looking for that to change any time soon. UGF did lose a host of key players to graduation, but they return an all-conference standout in outside hitter in 6-1 Tosha Nunes, who was among the league leaders in hitting a year ago. Kelsey Vanuden (6-2) also returns to anchor a strong block for the Argos, who will be big up front, but inexperienced in the back row.

Westminster College has been somewhat of a mystery in recent years. The Griffins always seem to have plenty of talent and size, but they just haven't finished as high in the standings as most would think. The Griffins are picked to finish fifth in the league this season after going just 9-20 overall a year ago. Westminster has plenty of new faces this season, but the Griffins will rely heavily on outside hitter Ericka Evans to lead the offense.

Montana Tech, a traditional Frontier volleyball power was also a surprise last season in that the Orediggers managed to finish just sixth in the league standings. Winning just 11 times in 2009, Tech is hoping for better things in this fall. Tech added several key transfers to bolster its roster this season, and the Orediggers do return a strong back row, so if the team comes together by conference play, an improved season isn't out of the question.

UM-Western is just five years removed from making a serious run into the NAIA national tournament. But last season the Bulldogs went winless in the Frontier Conference and they are picked to finish last again in 2010. Western was a young team a year ago, and they return players which got plenty of experience, but with a lack of depth and so many good teams in front of them, it could be another difficult year for the Bulldogs.