Skylights finish strong in Oregon

Heading into the first tournament of the 2015 season, Montana State University-Northern head volleyball coach Bill Huebsch was excited and optimistic about his new-look Skylights. But, he also knew, that until they got on the floor against other teams, he wasn’t quite sure what he was going to see.

But when the dust settled on a 2-2 weekend at the Eastern Oregon Tournament last Friday and Saturday in LaGrande, Oregon, Huebsch not only remained excited and optimistic, but he was more than happy with what he saw.

“It was a good trip,” Huebsch said. “I’m really happy with how our kids performed. At this point, all you want to see is improvement throughout the weekend, and we saw that. The kids were great all weekend and they gave their absolute best effort.”

And it was easy to see just how much Northern improved as the tournament went along, because the Skylights bounced back from an 0-2 start Friday, with losses to Oregon Tech and No. 6 Eastern Oregon.

On Saturday, Northern returned to the tournament to face Northwest University, a team that was receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches Poll. And in five dramatic sets, the Skylights came away with their first win of the season. Northern won the match by scores of 19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 24-26 and 15-10 in what was the second five-setter of the young season.

“We looked at Saturday as a new day,” Huebsch said. “We made some adjustments and the kids responded well to those adjustments. It was a great match. Northwest is a team that’s for real. So to see our kids wash their hands of the first day and come right back and battle and play so well, that was a very positive sign. That was a big win for us.”

In the victory, Northern racked up 63 kills with Cydney Auzenne and Cassie Krueger each totaling 15. Jessica Wilcox added 12 and Erin Jensen had 11, while Krueger had five aces and Jacy Vining and Emily Russell combined for 39 digs. Russell, who started every game at setter for MSU-N, also had 48 assists and two of MSU-N’s 10 aces.

With their first win in tow, the Skylights finished the tourney by thrashing Corban College in a sweep. Northern won by scores of 25-15, 25-10 and 25-22, getting 10 kills from Jensen, as well as 33 assists from Russell. Northern served tough, too, recording nine aces, with Korrie Stephenson, Krueger and Vining all totaling two each.

“The second day was really good for us,” Huebsch said. “But, I thought our chemistry was great all weekend, and the way the kids bounced back from a tough first day, that’s the sign of a mature team.”

The tough first day in Oregon included a heartbreaking five-set loss to Oregon Tech. In the opening match of the season Friday, the Skylights fell by scores of 28-26, 14-25, 25-12, 21-25 and 16-14.

“It was a great match,” Huebsch said. “It was a match we felt like we could have won, but for the first match of the season, to go 16-14 in the fifth, to see how hard the kids battled, and how they never quit, that was great to see. We saw in that match, right away, a lot of things that worked for us and things we really liked.”

In the grueling opening match, Northern got 15 kills from Auzenne, while Wilcox had nine and Jensen added eight. Russell dished out 40 assists and led the MSU-N defense with 13 digs.

And while the loss to Oregon Tech was tough, MSU-N had to turn right around and play tournament host, and nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon. And while the Skylights lost in a sweep, by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-18, Huebsch again saw some good signs from his club.

“I don’t think the score indicates how close the first two sets were or how well we played,” Huebsch said. “Eastern Oregon is very good, but again, we battled. We were right there with them.”

In the loss to the Mounties, the Skylights eight kills, two aces and eight digs from Krueger, while Stephenson had six kills and an ace. Vining tallied 11 digs, while Russell had 21 assists.

But, as hard as the first day was, the Skylights showed promise on the second day of the tournament, and that has Huebsch looking forward to seeing them take the floor again. That will come when MSU-N travels to Helena for the Big Sky Challenge this Friday and Saturday.

“To finish 2-2 in our first tournament, I couldn’t be happier,” Huebsch said. “We learned a lot about our team and our players. We saw some really good things and some things we need to get better at. But, we also saw how great this team’s chemistry is and how hard they’re will to battle. So it was a really good start, and I’m looking forward to watching us just keep getting better.”

Oregon Tech def. MSU-Northern

28-26, 14-25, 25-12, 21-25, 16-14

MSU-N – Kills 48 (Cydney Auzenne 15), Assists 44 (Emily Russell 40), Aces 7 (Russell 2, Korrie Stephenson 2), Digs 58 (Russell 13), Blocks 6.

Eastern Oregon def. MSU-Northern

25-21, 25-21, 25-18

MSU-N – Kills 28 (Cassie Krueger 8), Assists 25 (Emily Russell 21), Aces 6 (Krueger 2), Digs 49 (Jacy Vining 11), Blocks 4.

MSU-Northern def. Northwest

19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 24-26, 15-10

MSU-N – Kills 63 (Cydney Auzenne 15, Cassie Krueger 15, Jessica Wilcox 12), Assists 58 (Emily Russell 48), Aces 10 (Krueger 5), Digs 74 (Jacy Vining 20, Russell 19), Blocks 6.

MSU-Northern def. Corban

25-15, 25-10, 25-22

MSU-N – Kills 41 (Erin Jensen 10), Assists 39 (Emily Russell 33), Aces 9 (Korrie Stephenson 3), Digs 54 (Emily Russell 13), Blocks 6 (Jessica Wilcox 1).