Repeat: Skylights sweep Argos, again

If there was any possibility that the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team was going to have a letdown in its rematch with the University of Great Falls, or look past the Argos and towards Saturday's showdown with Lewis-Clark State, the Skylights squashed those ideas quickly.

Thursday night in Great Falls, Northern swept the Argos for the second time in seven days, winning by scores of 25-20, 27-25 and 25-12. It was Northern's first win in the McLaughlin Center in eight years, and the victory boosted MSU-N's Frontier Conference leading record to 9-0 heading into Saturday's huge match in Lewiston, Idaho.

"To win on the road in this league is big, no matter where you play," Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. "But to win tonight, in a building we haven't had any success in since I've been here is great. We knew this was going to be a tough road trip and we started it exactly the way we wanted to. So I'm just really proud of the girls for coming in here focused and ready to play."

The Skylights were indeed focused. After whipping the Argos in three short sets last Thursday, Huebsch was positive UGF would come out a much different team on Thursday night. And though the Argos played better for a time, it mattered little. The Skylights went on serving runs by Kelsey Williams and Holly Cartwright to build a comfortable lead and eventually take the first set, which was key to getting the victory.

"We talked about coming in here and making sure we got off to a good start," Huebsch said. "And we did that. We came out and established some tempo early on, and I thought we played very well in the first set, and that was big because we knew UGF would be pretty fired up."

The Skylights also built a big lead early in the second set, but the Argos made their only true push of the night. UGF took a brief 16-15 lead in the set, but from there, it went back-and-forth until Abby Nicholas finally put UGF away at 26-25. With a 2-0 lead, Northern proved invincible in the third. With Cartwright serving, the Skylights again went on a big point run and quickly dispatched the Argos for the second time this season.

"We were able to build up another nice lead in the second set," Huebsch said. "But then we kind of set back and waited for things to happen. We made some uncharacteristic unforced errors in that set, and we were lucky to hold on and finish it off.

"I think we kind of righted the ship though at the end of that set," he continued. "And that carried over into the third. We came out in the last set and just played a lot more consistently. So it was nice to see the girls kind of regain their composure when things weren't going our way for a while in the second set."

Northern hit .232 for the match and got 15 kills, nine digs and a block from Nicholas. Dayna Jensen had another strong outing against UGF, totaling 10 kills and a block, while Williams chipped in with nine kills and seven digs. Joni Nagy had 27 assists, while Cartwright led the MSU-N defensive effort with 10 digs. MSU-N held the Argos to a dismal .029 hitting percentage, and NO UGF hitter reached double digits in kills.

"It was big to be able to win tonight," Huebsch said. "UGF is a team that has improved by leaps and bounds every single week. And they are going to be a tome that will be very scary to play at the end of the season. So it was big for us to get out of here with a 'W'."

And with yet another road win in hand, the Skylights can turn their attention to the LC State Warriors on Saturday. The Warriors sit a game behind Northern in the Frontier standings, and Saturday's match is the first of back-to-back battles between the two powerhouse programs.

"Now we can focus on the next challenge," Huebsch said. "It's going to be a tough match on Saturday. But we got this trip off to a good start and now we just have to get prepared to play LC on Saturday."

Saturday's match between the Skylights (17-4) and Warriors starts at 2 p.m. in Lewiston, Idaho. Northern returns home to face LCSC next Friday and Montana Tech next Saturday.

Skylights are 9-0 in the Frontier, 17-4 overall; Up Next: at LC State Saturday

Skylights def. Great Falls

25-20, 27-25, 25-12

MSU-N: Kills 39 (Abby Nicholas 15, Dayna Jensen 10, Kelsey Williams 9), Assists 31 (Joni Nagy 27), Aces 1 (Holly Cartwright 1), Digs 44 (Cartwright 10, Nicholas 9, Nagy 9), Blocks 4 (Jensen 1.5).

UGF : Kills 31 (Maddie Wilhelm 9, Becky Kershner 7), Assists 29 (Courtney Godfrey 20, Averi Pasma 7), Aces 2 ( Devon Bogart 1, Jacey Habets 1), Digs 39 (Wilhelm 14, Habets 8), Blocks 7 (Alyssa McEwan 3, Page Woodward 2)..