Skylights claim outright Frontier title for the first time in 22 years

There were moments of trepidation. Moments of uncertainty. But the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team is was simply too good and too poised not to win the Frontier Conference regular season title on its home floor. The No. 25 Skylights topped the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears 3-1 Friday night in front of a record crowd at the Armory Gymnasium.

The Skylights beat the bears by scores of 25-12, 23-25, 28-26 and 25-21 to finish a remarkable 15-1 in conference play. The win didn't just give MSU-N the outright regular season championship, but it also cemented the Skylights as the top seed in next week's Frontier tourney in Great Falls.

After a rousing start, the Skylights got Rocky's best shot. The Bears squeaked out a second-set win, and had solid leads at different times in the third. But senior Kelsey Williams bombed four straight kills to close out the third, and Northern followed with a dominant performance in the fourth set.

Williams and fellow senior Abby Nicholas each had 19 kills while Williams totaled 15 digs and two aces. Nicholas also had 13 digs an ace and three solo blocks, while sisters Erin and Dayna Jensen combined for 27 more kills.

Northern, which won in front of perhaps the largest crowd to ever see a volleyball match in Havre, will play either UM-Western or Dickinson State in the first round of the Frontier tournament Friday at 12 p.m. in Great Falls.

For full coverage, see Monday's Havre Daily News.