Another big match for the Skylights

Last Friday night inside the Armory Gymnasium was as big as it gets in Frontier Conference volleyball. For one week that is.

After a thrilling 3-1 victory over Carroll College Friday night in Havre, the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team has to jump right into another huge match tonight. Only this time, the Skylights will do it away from home. Tonight, Northern (11-4, 1-0) is in Billings to face the No. 24 Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears (9-2, 1-0). And there’s already plenty at stake as the two teams battle for the early lead in the conference standings.

“We go from one really big match right to another one,” Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. “We try to look at every match in the conference as being big, but this one really is. This is a match against a team which is naturally ranked. They are off to a good start this season like we are, and we’re playing at their gym, where we’ve never won before. So it certainly is a big match for us, and for Rocky.”

It's not just a big match for the Skylights, but the start of their first conference road trip this season. Northern will wind things up with a trip to last-place Dickinson State Saturday night.

But the focus right now is on the Bears. MSU-N comes into tonight’s match fresh off its thumping of Carroll last Friday night. In that match, the Skylights hit nearly .400 and they bring an offense to Billings which ranks first or second in every category in the conference. Senior Abby Nicholas leads the Frontier with 206 kills and is fifth in the league in hitting percentage. Fellow senior Kelsey Williams is second in the conference in kills with 191, while she sits second in hitting percentage. Joni Nagy also leads the league with 540 assists this season.

Defensively, the Skylights have been good, too. Holly Cartwright is among the league leaders in digs, while MSU-N recorded 12 blocks in its win against the Saints, with youthful middles Erin Jensen and Alexis Nelson really stepping up at the net. However, defense is where the Bears make their living. Rocky is one of the top blocking teams in all of the NAIA, led by 6-3 middle Anna DeWald and 6-0 middle Yang Yang. Together the duo has recorded 77 blocks this season, while DeWald has 141 kills and Yang has 101 this season. As a whole, the Bears will play as many as six players who stand 5-11 or taller tonight, including 6-2 outside hitter Aleah Billis, who also has 91 kills this season. And collectively, that front row will give the MSU-N offense a look at hasn’t seen yet this season.

“Rocky is probably the tallest team we’ll see all season,” Huebsch said. “A lot of their success depends on those tall, athletic players in the front row and their blocking. So we’ve worked really hard with our offense the last couple of days on going up against a really big block. That’s something we’ve really focused on this week.

“I think we also have to serve with the same intensity we did against Carroll,” he added. “Serving tough will be critical because we need to break down their serve-receive and try to neutralize their size and athleticism at the net.”

And playing with intensity will also be key tonight. The Skylights were sky high for their home-opener against Carroll, and that kind of emotional match is usually followed by a letdown of sorts. However, given tonight’s opponent, and the fact the Skylights are on the Bears’ heels in the national rankings, Huebsch isn’t worried about his team falling off emotionally.

“If we were a less mature team on the floor, then I’d be worried about that,” Huebsch said. “But we’ve got a lot of experience on the floor and they have really led the younger players well. So they know what’s at stake in Billings. They know how tough of a team Rocky is, and they know that one of our goals is to keep moving up the rankings and to do that we have to keep winning. We’ve never won at Rocky before, and that’s another goal this season, to win in some places we haven’t had a lot of success before. And we have that opportunity against Rocky.”

While the focus is on tonight’s match, which is a big one for both teams, Northern can’t afford to overlook the Blue Hawks Saturday either. DSU (0-9, 0-1) lost to Rocky last weekend and has yet to win a single Frontier match dating back to last season. However, Huebsch noted that his team must play well, and must play consistent against a DSU squad with nothing to lose.

“I think they (Blue Hawks) are still trying to adjust,” Huebsch said. “They have a new coach again this year. But they do have some nice players, they get after it defensively and they are playing it home, which always makes it tough. What we have to do there is, go out make sure we play the way we want to play. We need to make sure we stay focused and go in there and play our game. Play the type of volleyball we want to play and not let them (Blue Hawks) dictate the tempo.”

And while Northern will certainly make sure it stands up to the challenge Saturday night in Dickinson, N.D., tonight’s match in Billings is the goal. The Skylights split with the Bears a season ago, but fell in straight sets in Billings. So tonight’s match is yet another opportunity for Northern to really make yet another statement to the rest of the league.

“It’s a really close matchup on paper,” Huebsch said. “Both teams are coming in playing really well. Both teams are either one, two, or three in pretty much every stat in the conference. Both teams have really talented players. So it’s going to be a great matchup. This is a big chance for us to really make a push and we know that to be the best you have to beat the best. And right now, in our league, Rocky looks like one of the best. So this is a great opportunity for our team.”

Tonight’s match between the Skylights and Bears begins at 7 inside the Fortin Center in Billings. Northern’s match at DSU begins at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Skylights are home next Thursday to face UM-Western and next Saturday to host Westminster.