Skylights face Frontier powers on the road

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team was trying for a fresh start last weekend at home. And while the Skylights played much, much better, they still came away from their latest home stand empty-handed.

Now, things get even more difficult for Northern (1-8, 5-17) as the Skylights take to the road for two daunting matches. Tonight, MSU-N is in Billings to face the No. 1 team in all of NAIA, the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears. MSU-N then travels to Helena for a match against the rival Carroll College Fighting Saints Saturday night.

Northern comes into its final two-match road swing of the season off a heartbreaking weekend at home. Last Friday night, the Skylights played perhaps their best volleyball of the season but fell to powerful Lewis-Clark State in a five-set marathon. The following night, Northern started strong, but slumped late in a four-set loss to Montana Tech.

Now comes the rematch with the Bears (9-0, 20-2), who haven’t lost a match in nine weeks. Rocky has run through the Frontier Conference this season, and included in the streak was a three-set dismantling of the Skylights back in September in Havre. It’s no secret, the Bears are very good, and they have perhaps the NAIA Player of the Year in senior middle blocker Yang Yang, who totaled 21 kills against MSU-N last time out. RMC also has height, talent and defense, and the Bears have barely been challenged in the Frontier so far this season.

And although the Fighting Saints have been up-and-down at times this season, Saturday night’s match in Helena won’t be any easier for Northern. Carroll (5-4, 13-10) beat MSU-N in four sets last month in Havre, and Northern has only won once in Helena in the last seven seasons. That win came last year when the Skylights were on their way to the Frontier regular season title. Like RMC, the Saints are big up front, with Kathleen Mulligan and Crystal Schmidt leading the charge from the middle, while Sarah Roshak and Callie Prestwood give the Saints a potent attack on the outside.

On the other side of the net, Northern has indeed shown marked improvement from the beginning of conference play until now. The Skylights, especially in blocking, where Northern is No. 4 in the Frontier. But finishing sets and matches has been an Achille’s heel for the Skylights, and that comes on the offensive end. MSU-N is last in the Frontier in kills and hitting percentage, and that’s an area Northern needs to be better if it is to hang with the Bears and Saints this weekend, as well as be prepared to make a run in the Frontier tournament in three weeks.

And getting better is what it’s all about according to veteran head coach Bill Huebsch.

“I think we've figured a lot out since the beginning of conference play," Huebsch said. "Everybody in the league has improved through seven matches, but I think we can go out and show we've improved, too. I think we're going to keep improving throughout the rest of the season.”

The Skylights face top-ranked Rocky Mountain College tonight at 7 at Fortin Center in Billings. Northern’s match at Carroll, which stands fourth in the Frontier, is set for 6 p.m. Saturday. The Skylights play their final home matches of the season next weekend when they host Westminster College next Friday and UM-Western next Saturday.