Sweep: Skylights win last two at home

Few teams in the Frontier Conference needed to win their last home matches more than the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team did. And the Skylights showed they didn’t just need to win, they wanted to win.

Northern closed out its 2014 home schedule with a pair of impressive victories over the weekend at the Armory Gymnasium. The Skylights toppled Westminster College in five thrilling sets Friday night, then returned to sweep the UM-Western Bulldogs on senior night Saturday.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Dayna Jensen, MSU-N’s lone senior who led the Skylights Saturday night. “We wanted these matches pretty bad. We have worked so hard all season long, but we kept not getting over that hump. But it really came together for us this weekend. It was an important weekend for us, and for me, and it means a lot to me to go win these two matches.

“Credit to these kids,” added head coach Bill Huebsch. “This weekend was a testament to their character and to their resiliency. It’s been a hard season. There’s been disappointment at times. And a lot of teams in our position might have given up by this point. But these kids have kept on working hard. They never quit, and this weekend was a testament to that. I’ve very proud of all of them.”

The Skylights were especially proud of Friday night’s win over the Griffins, who swept Northern last month in Salt Lake City. And thought it took a lot of hard work, determination and grit, the Skylights turned the tables on the Griffins in Havre. Northern dropped the first set of the match 22-25, then rallied to win the second 26-24. But the Skylights fell behind again, losing the third set 22-25 before rebounding to even the match at 2-2 with a 25-22 fourth-set win. From there, MSU-N rallied one more time, erasing an early deficit to win the fifth set, 15-11.

“Westminster is a very solid volleyball team,” Huebsch said. “They are young, but very talented and they have beaten some good teams recently. So this weekend really started with that win. It was a tight match all the way, and earlier in the year, I don’t think we would have came back and won a match like that. But these kids have come a long way, and they showed some real toughness, and they fought through that match.”

In the opening set of the match, Westminster took an early 8-5 lead before the Skylights rallied and thanks to a kill by Jessica Wilcox, Northern tied the score at 10-10. The Griffins responded with a 7-3 run that was capped with an ace by Taylor Gustafson to give Westminster a 17-13 advantage.

Northern would get back within two at 21-19 after another kill by Wilcox and following a pair of hitting errors by the Griffins, MSU-N trailed by one at 23-22. But, kills by Alexis Aalona and Gustafson clinched the 25-22 win to give Westminster a 1-0 lead.

Needing a win to avoid an 0-2 start to the match, the Skylights came out firing in game two and built a 9-3 lead. However, the Griffins answered with an 8-4 run that included three kills and an ace by Aalona to trim the deficit to 13-11.

Westminster went on a 7-1 run later in the set and that allowed the Griffins to grab a 19-17 edge. But two Griffin hitting errors and an ace by Sarah Stringfellow put Northern back ahead 20-19. The two teams exchanged points until it was tied at 24-24, then kills by Jaden Lynch and Taylor Woolman sealed the game for Northern 26-24.

The third game was another close one between the Skylights and the Griffins and after some back and forth the two teams were tied up at 10-10. Westminster managed to grab a 14-12 but after back-to-back kills by Erin Jensen, MSU-N tied things up 14-14. Unfortunately, hitting errors would be the Skylights undoing, and Westminster would go on to win the game 25-22.

In game four, the Skylights played with a sense of urgency and despite falling behind 10-8, MSU-N built a 21-18 lead after a kill by Dayna Jensen. Then, later in the set with Northern leading 24-22, Dayna Jensen scored another kill to force a fifth and deciding game.

In the win-or-go home set, the Griffins jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Northern battled with a 7-2 run and a kill by Erin Jensen gave the Skylights a 7-6 lead. Westminster would eventually pull even at 10-10 but Wilcox notched a huge kill that put Northern back in the lead at 11-10. Wilcox nailed another kill moments later with the score 13-11 to put the Skylights up three and a hitting error from Westminster sealed the deal giving MSU-N a 15-11 win for the set and the match.

“It was big for them (Skylights) to come back from an earli deficit in the fifth set,” Huebsch noted. “I think the way we won that match, it really gave us a lot of confidence, and that carried over into Saturday night.”

Dayna Jensen led the way for the Skylights with 14 kills and 18 digs, while Woolman and Wilcox each added nine kills apiece in the win. Stringfellow pitched in with 20 digs and Jaden Lynch also contributed with 24 assists.

Aalona had a game-high 24 kills in the loss for the Griffins. Alyse Horton added 10 kills for Westminster and Megan Gallegos also pitched in with 33 digs.

Northern did look confident against the Bulldogs, who rolled into Havre having won three of their last four, including sweeping UGF Friday night in Great Falls. And Dayna Jensen was extremely confident as she had one of her best matches of the season, on the final night she will ever play in the Armory Gymnasium.

Jensen, the former Lewistown star, totaled match-high’s in kills (18) and digs (19), while also serving one ace and rising up for one of Northern’s 10 blocks as the Skylights beat Western by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-15.

“This match wasn’t about individuals,” Jensen said. “We played great as a team. It felt really good for me, going out there and playing free and loose, just playing volleyball. But it was because we had such great teamwork tonight. Our passing was great, we had good passes and good sets, and we just played really well together.”

Like on Friday night, Northern would have to overcome some early adversity, and the energized Skylights did just that. Western stayed in front of a tight first set for much of the way, but late in the game, Jensen, and sister Erin Jensen, got Northern on a roll. With her team trailing 18-16, Dayna Jensen had back-to-back kills to even things up. Then Erin got into the act as Northern took the lead at 20-19. Then, with the set tied at 21-21, freshman Taylor Woolman stepped up big with two kills of her own, and later, Dayna Jensen finished the set with a cross-court bomb.

The second set was close throughout too, but this time, MSU-N was in the lead most of the way. And with things knotted at 16-16, Woolman came up clutch again, with a kill to push Northern ahead. On the next play, Erin Jensen and Janelle Hoff teamed up for a block, and up 18-16, the Skylights never trailed again. And once again, Dayna Jensen put the set away with another bomb.

“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked in the first two sets,” Huebsch said. “We were a little inconsistent. But I thought our energy and our fight was great, and that’s the way we kept things close. Western deserves a lot of credit too. They are very much improved, and they played really tough in the first two sets.

“But as the match went on, I thought we got more, and more consistent,” he continued. “Our serve-receive was really good tonight, we were in system a lot, and as time went on, we started to make much more intelligent swings. Then, our block also got rolling, and from there, we started to really click.”

And by the time the third set arrived, Northern was clicking as well as the Skylights have in weeks. Five kills between the Jensen sisters spurred an early 6-0 run, and Northern was in front 11-3. From there, the Skylights were dominant. They hit a match-high 229, while Western’s production dropped drastically. And fittingly, it was Dayna Jensen who provided the final point, as the Skylights beat the Bulldogs for the second time this season.

“It was a great match for us,” Huebsch said. “It really felt like we just kept getting better and better as the match went on, and that’s what we’ve been looking for, that consistency from start to finish. Western is a tough team, they have improved so much from when we played them in Dillon. But we’ve improved too, and the kids showed that tonight.”

To go along with Dayna Jensen’s big night, Woolman totaled six kills and a block, while Erin Jensen also had six kills and a block. Hoff totaled 28 assists and a block as well. Northern was outstanding defensively in the back row. The Skylights had 76 digs, with Sarah Stringfellow tallying 15, while Kylie Pasieka had 11 and Hoff added 10. Western got 12 kills and two blocks from Emily Erickson in the loss.

The weekend also saw the Skylights win back-to-back matches in the Frontier for the first time this season. Northern improved to 3-10 in league play and 7-19 overall. The Skylights finish the regular season this Saturday at UGF and Huebsch is excited about the direction his team is headed.

“These were two very important wins,” Huebsch said. “Not only did they get us out of sort of slump, but they also allow us to sort of be in control of our own destiny going into the conference tournament. We built up some good momentum this weekend.

“And we’re not done,” he added. “These kids have worked really hard all season, and the goal is to be playing our best volleyball at the end. And that’s what we’re going to try and do, just keep playing better and better, and now that starts with the last match against Great Falls. But I’m really happy for these kids and excited for them, because they played great this weekend.”

Skylights are 3-10 in the Frontier, 7-19 overall; Next Up: at UGF

MSU-Northern def. Westminster

22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11

WM – Kills 57 (Alexa Aalona 24, Alyse Horton 10, Amara Culpepper 8); Assists 57 (Taylor Gustafson 44); Aces 10 (Alexis Aalona 2, Jaden Green 2, Jacey Saunders 2, Taylor Gustafson 2); Digs 94 (Megan Gallegos 33, Alexis Aalona 15, Taylor Gustafson 14); Blocks 6 (Amara Culpepper 2, Jaden Green 1, Alexis Aalona 1).

MSU-N – Kills 48 (Dayna Jensen 14, Taylor Woolman 9, Jessica Wilcox 9); Assists 45 (Jaden Lynch 24, Janelle Hoff 15); Aces 7 (Dayna Jensen 2, Sarah Stringfellow 2); Digs 80 (Sarah Stringfellow 20, Dayna Jensen 18, Sydney Stolearcius 13); Blocks 7 (Jaden Lynch 2);

MSU-Northern def. UM-Western

25-21, 25-21, 25-15

UM-W – Kills 30 (Emily Erickson 12), Assists 30 (Paige Latimer 25), Aces 4 (Kendra Mendicino 2), Digs 79 (Breanna DeCock 17), Blocks 10 (Joanna Avery 2, Paige Latimer 2).

MSU-N – Kills 39 (Dayna Jensen 18, Taylor Woolman 6, Erin Jensen 6), Assists 36 (Janelle Hoff 28), Aces 2 (D. Jensen 1, Jessica Wilcox 1), Digs 76 (D. Jensen 19, Sarah Stringfellow 15), Blocks 10 (E. Jensen 2, Carlie Haefner 2).