Skylights have two more to go

The final home matches of the year are always emotional for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights. But with so much at stake inside the Armory Gymnasium over the next two nights, emotions are going to be at an all-time high.

The No. 25 Skylights close out the regular season with matches against Dickinson State tonight, and Rocky Mountain College on Friday night. And on the line will be no less than the Frontier Conference regular season championship and the No. 1 seed at next weekend's Frontier tournament in Great Falls.

"We've give ourselves the opportunity to accomplish one of our goals and that was to win the conference championship and get the No. 1 seed in the tournament," Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. Now we have to do something with that opportunity. These girls have had an amazing season and put themselves in a great position. They have a lot of pride and they know what's at stake. Hopefully we'll get two big crowds for these matches and we have an electric atmosphere. Because it's going to be a very special weekend."

Special can best describe the kind of season the Skylights (13-1, 22-5) have had. Northern just suffered its first loss in conference play last Saturday at Westminster in what was a five-set thriller. Before that, the Skylights had ripped off a 15-match winning streak dating all the way back to the end of August, and included in that streak was a road sweep of Dickinson State and Rocky Mountain College.

And while there's no doubt Friday night's match with the second-place Battlin' Bears will be one of the biggest in recent Northern history, the Skylights must get by the Blue Hawks (0-13, 4-24) tonight in order to make it that way. DSU might be winless in Frontier play, but that doesn't mean the Hawks won't present a stern test tonight. DSU has a strong outside hitter in 5-8 senior Melissa Avila, who is third in the Frontier with 342 kills, while freshman Magdelyn Rauser has stepped up of late. Junior libero Natasha Malana is also an outstanding defender and team leader for the Hawks.

"We want to start a new winning streak," Huebsch said. "And that starts with Dickinson (State). You can't have two in a row without one, so we need to go out and play really well against them. They have improved tremendously since September. They have been really competitive against every team in this conference and we expect nothing less than their very best effort and we're expecting a very tough match."

Of course Northern will be a lot for the Blue Hawks to handle tonight. Skylight hitters Abby Nicholas and Kelsey Williams are 1-2 in the Frontier in total kills, while Nicholas is fourth in the NAIA in kills per set and her 450 kills ranks her ninth nationally. Senior setter Joni Nagy leads the Frontier and is 23rd nationally with 1,124 assists, while senior Holly Cartwright is fourth in the league with 438 digs.

While Northern does indeed have a lot of firepower, and will no doubt be a heavy favorite tonight against DSU, the Skylights will need to be firing on all cylinders when the Battlin' Bears (12-2, 20-5) invade the Armory on Friday night, which is also senior night for MSU-N. The match will pit the top two teams in the Frontier against each other, and the Bears will come to Havre with a chance to not only knock off Northern, but get a share of the Frontier's regular season crown.

Rocky will no doubt hungry too. Northern emphatically swept the Bears back in September in Billings, but since that time RMC has lost just once, and will certainly be gunning for the Skylights.

"They (Bears) want a piece of the crown too," Huebsch said. "They are a great opponent. They are talented at every spot on the floor. So we're going to have to be at our very best. We have to be intense right from the start. It's going to be an emotional match being senior night, and with everything that's at stake."

If there is a team which can counter Northern's offensive firepower, it's Rocky. The Bears have two of the best middles in the country in 6-3 Anna DeWald and 6-0 Yang Yang. Yang is second in the conference with 108 blocks, while DeWald is fifth with 90. And the height doesn't stop with the middle of Rocky's front. Ahlea Billis, a 6-2 outside hitter has 202 kills on the season, while 6-0 outside hitter Kylie Nielsen is potent as well. And while RMC is second to Northern in hitting percentage, the Bears have a distinct advantage with their blocking.

"They (Bears) are the No. 3 team in the nation in blocking," Huebsch said. "They have great size at the net. They are long and athletic, and their middles are very, very good. They also play great defense behind their block and their very good on the outside too.

"So for us, that means we have to be very consistent," he continued. "We need to serve extremely well, get them out of their comfort zone and spread the ball around offensively. They will be keying on Abby and Kelsey, so we need to make sure we get players like Dayna (Jensen) and Erin (Jensen) involved. We also need to counter them by presenting a tough block of our own. Haley Russell, Erin (Jensen) and others are going to need to continue to play really well at the net, and then we have to play really solid defense behind them."

Of course playing well is only part of the equation on Friday night. The Skylights, who have been on amazing run the last two seasons, will honor seniors, Nicholas, Williams, Nagy, Cartwright and Russell before the match, so Northern will have to keep those emotions in check once the match starts, and they'll also have to play well in the face of having the chance to claim a Frontier title on their home floor.

But if any team can play well with those emotions, it's the Skylights. MSU-N is a poised, veteran and confident group, and they also have shown a flare for the dramatic in what has been a remarkable two-year run. And that run culminates with these last two matches inside the Armory.

"Considering how far we've come, all the credit goes to these girls for everything they've accomplished and for putting themselves in the position they're in this weekend. Four years ago we finished eighth in this conference, three years ago we finished sixth, last year, third in the regular season. Now we have a chance to do something this program hasn't done in a long time. And all the credit goes to these girls and how hard they've worked. Now they just have to go out and play their best in these two matches, and I believe they will. They've done it all year."

Tonight's match between Northern and Dickinson State will begin at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium. Northern's adopt-a-parents will be honored before the match. Friday night's huge regular season finale between MSU-N and RMC will also get underway at 7 p.m. with MSU-N's seniors being honored before the match.

Note: For a look at MSU-N's remarkable senior class, see Friday's sports pages.