MSU-N spikers home for rematches

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights are over the hump. There's just six matches left in the season and the Skylights are still perfect in Frontier Conference play with four of their last six to be played at home.

But when it comes to clinching the regular season conference championship, the Skylights aren't out of the woods just yet. Northern got over a major hurdle by winning back-to-back matches at Great Falls and Lewis-Clark State last weekend, but now MSU-N must brace for a rematch with the mighty Warriors.

Tonight at 7, the No. 25 Skylights host LC State in a huge Frontier Conference showdown inside the Armory Gymnasium. On Saturday, MSU-N also welcomes in Montana Tech on Pink Night at the Armory.

"It's going to be a huge challenge to turn around and play LC (Warriors) right away," Northern head coach Bill Huebsch, who's team is ranked nationally for the first time in school history, said. "And (Montana) Tech won't be easy either. This will be two very important matches, and as always, we have to defend our home court."

Defending home court hasn't been a problem for the Skylights (10-0, 19-4) thus far. Northern is a perfect 4-0 in home matches this season, and the Skylights have dropped just two sets inside the Armory. But it's winning on the road that has propelled Northern to such great heights, and it's what gives the Skylights even more confidence heading into this weekend's matches.

"Any time you can go and win on the road in this conference, it's big," Huebsch said. "But to go and win in Great Falls and at LC, two places we've never had any success at, that's huge. In my time here, we had never even won a set in LC's gym, so to beat them on their home floor, it's a tremendous accomplishment for this program. And being able to play as well as we have on the road this season, it's certainly a confidence booster for this team."

The Skylights are also confident right now because of the way their playing, no matter the location. In last Saturday's triumph at LCSC, the Skylights fell behind 1-0, but then hit over .400 in the next two games to overtake the Warriors. Defensively, Northern was also spectacular, even out-blocking the much-taller Warriors 9-8.

Defense and improved blocking has been key to the Skylights' success this season, and it will be again tonight. While Abby Nicholas (366) and Kelsey Williams (326) remain 1-2 in kills, and the Skylights continue to lead the league in kills and hitting percentage, Northern's passing and defense have steadily climbed up the charts as well. Joni Nagy is running away with the Frontier's assist title, as she has 912 on the season. But she is also part of a large group of Northern defenders who've really excelled this season. Holly Cartwright is fourth in the league in digs with 374, while Williams has 233 and Nagy 228. Nicholas and Sydney Stolearcius are also over 200 digs on the year.

"I feel like our presence at the net has gotten better as the season has gone on," Huebsch said. "We're not the tallest team by any means, but we're getting the job done. Erin Jensen has done a great job in the middle for us, and we've made a lot of progress with our blocking. And the defense in the back row has been very good all season."

Defense will again be key tonight as the Skylights rematch with the Warriors (8-2, 15-10). LCSC, led by senior hitter Niurka Toribio (6-2), who is third in the Frontier in kills and fourth in blocks, will certainly be hungry for revenge as Northern has beaten LCSC in three of its last four meetings. The Warriors have two of the best middles in the Frontier in Chelsea Strong (6-0) and Keisha Luebbert Kennedy (6-3), while LCSC is also the top serving team in the league.

"They are a very talented team," Huebsch said. "They are long and very athletic. They are very good defensively. And after beating them last week, I expect nothing less than for them to come in here and play their very best. They'll make some adjustments and we'll have to make some adjustments. So it's going to be a very good match, and it's one in which we'll have to be at our very best again."

There's no rest for the league-leading Skylights either. On Saturday, the Montana Tech Orediggers (5-5, 15-8) come to Havre in what is a huge match for the visitors. Tech is currently in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings and an upset win against Northern would go along way for the upstart Diggers'.

Northern won a tough four-setter at Tech earlier this month, and Tech is certainly built to give the Skylights all they can handle. Junior middle blocker Korey Krumm (5-9) leads the Frontier in hitting percentage and has 221 kills and 51 blocks on the year. Being that Tech's a very scrappy defensive team, it's no surprise the Diggers' also have 6-2 Bailie Cortner and 6-1 Haley Druyvestein in the Top 15 in the league in blocks as well, while Kimmy Kavran leads the Frontier with 472 digs.

"They (Orediggers) are very good defensively," Huebsch said. "They really do a good job of getting balls back up and disrupting tempo. The big key for us will be making sure we don't let that happen. We have to be very focused mentally and make sure we get in system so we can play our style of volleyball against them."

And if the Skylights can do that, if they can stay on the pace they're on right now, they'll hold serve at home and take another step towards their goal of securing a coveted league title. It won't be easy with both the Warriors and Orediggers coming into the Armory looking to knock MSU-N off. But so far, 10 have tried and 10 have failed.

"We certainly are pleased with where we're at right now," Huebsch said. "Last weekend was a big step for this program, to win those two road matches. But one thing that amazes me about this team, they're not satisfied with all of the great things they've already accomplished. They are always excited about the next opponent. They have remained very poised and very focused. They still play with a chip on their shoulder. I really like that about this team."

Tonight's match between Northern and LC State will tip off at 7 in the Armory Gymnasium. Saturday night's match between the Skylights and Orediggers, in which fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, starts at 6 p.m.