Skylights back on the road

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team has proven to be unbeatable at home so far this fall. And if the Skylights can take that same type of winning to the road, this season could turn out to be the best in Northern history.

The Skylights are already 2-0 in Frontier Conference road matches this season, but starting tonight in Butte, MSU-N faces its toughest road trip to date.

Tonight, the Skylights (5-0, 13-4) visit a much-improved Montana Tech squad at 7, and Northern follows tonight’s match with a rematch against Carroll College Saturday afternoon in Helena.

Tonight’s meeting with Tech (3-2, 13-) will test the red-hot Skylights, who beat rivals UM-Western and Westminster last weekend in Havre, securing first place in the Frontier standings in the process. The Ordeiggers are off to a strong start, and have really upgraded their offensive production this season. Tech has always been known as a scrappy, defensive and tough-serving program, but this season the Diggers’ are really becoming an offensive power too.

Middle blocker Korey Krumm (5-9) has paced the Diggers’ with 178 kills and 15 blocks. Sidney Norris (5-9, OH), Annie Smoot (5-11, OH) and Jordan Danz (6-0, OH) all have over 100 kills each this season, while Tech’s defense is still led by libero Kimmy Kavran, who leads the Frontier in digs with 356.

And while beating Tech at home won’t be easy, the Skylights will likely walk into a hornet’s nest Saturday at the Carroll P.E. Center in Helena. Northern dusted the Fighting Saints last month in Havre, and Carroll, which started the season nationally-ranked, has had a really rough start to the season.

Still, the Saints (3-2, 10-9) are no less talented and they’ll certainly be out for revenge on Saturday. Northern also took care of Carroll at home last year, only to lose in Helena late in the 2012 season.

The Saints are a tall team, but in the first meeting, where the Skylights won by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-15 and 25-13, MSU-N neutralized Carroll’s block by hitting a gaudy .312 for the match. MSU-N also played better defense than the Saints in last month’s match as the Skylights had 30 more digs than the Saints and they out-blocked Carroll 12-6.

But as well as the Skylights played in Helena, Carroll won’t go quietly in the rematch. Ellie Graff is still one of the most productive middles in the league, and across the board, the Saints play five players who are 6-0 or taller. So Northern will once again have its hands full with a tall Saints’ front line.

But there’s no denying MSU-N should have the upper hand this weekend. The Skylights already swept Rocky Mountain College on the road this season, so they’ve proven they can handle playing away from the Armory Gymnasium. And with Abby Nicholas and Kelsey Williams still leading the Frontier in kills, and increased productivity from young front-line players like Erin Jensen and Alexis Nelson, Northern is proving to be very tough to beat no matter where the matches are held.

The Skylights are also setting out to keep their roll going. MSU-N hasn’t lost a match in nearly a month, and two more wins this weekend could really give the Skylights a stranglehold on the Frontier standings.

Tonight’s match at Montana Tech begins at 7 in Butte. The Skylights match with Carroll College starts at 2 p.m. in Helena. The Skylights return home to host Great Falls next Thursday night.