Skylights sweep Bulldogs to remain perfect in Frontier

If the UM-Western Bulldogs were a road test for the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team, then the Skylights passed with flying colors.

Thursday night in Dillon, the Skylights romped to a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-20. The win pushed Northern’s record to 13-0 in the Frontier Conference and 22-4 overall. MSU-N has a two-game lead over Rocky Mountain College in the Frontier standings with only three matches left in the season.

Northern had a little trouble with the athletic Bulldogs in a four-game win back in September in Havre, and Western took the Skylights to the brink in a five-set marathon last year in Dillon. But from the get-go, Thursday night’s match was no contest.

The Skylights came out swinging, with Abby Nicholas and Kelsey Williams combining for 11 kills in the first set. From there, MSU-N was rarely challenged. Western caught Northern at 16-16 in the second set, but again MSU-N pulled away. In the third set, Northern was determined to get out of Dillon with a sweep, as Williams, Nicholas and Erin Jensen all had kills in Northern’s final run.

“The team played well,” MSU-N head coach Bill Huebsch said. “Offensively we played well and we served very aggressively and never really allowed Western to get into any kind of rhythm offensively. Our block was good and our back row defense was outstanding.”

As a team, the Skylights hit a solid .245 for the match, totaling 49 kills. Northern also was solid on defense with 56 digs, while the Skylights held Western to just .154 hitting for the night. Abby Nicholas paced the Skylights with 15 kills and two blocks. Kelsey Williams added 12 kills and 11 digs, while Joni Nagy handed out 43 assists.

MSU-N has just one road match left this season, a showdown with fourth-place Westminster College Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City. The Skylights close out the regular season with home matches next weekend against Dickinson State and Rocky Mountain College.

Skylights def. Montana Western

25-17, 25-20, 25-20

Montana State-Northern – Kills 48 (Abby Nicholas 15), Assists 48 (Joni Nagy 43), Aces 2, Digs 56 (Kelsey Williams 11), Blocks 4 (Nicholas 2).

Montana Western – Kills 31 (Breanna Kelley 9), Assists 29 (Paige Latimer 20), Aces 1 (Kendra Mendicino), Digs 46 (Mendicino 13), blocks 3 (Charelle Minor 2).