Skylights topple Bulldogs

Perhaps no two volleyball teams in the Frontier Conference needed, and wanted, to win as badly as the two teams that faced off Friday night in Dillon. And fortunately for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, they were the team that got that win.

The Skylights had been so close to winning so many times at home the last two weeks, but in their first conference road match of the season, they finally found the success they had been so close to getting.

On Friday night, Northern defeated the UM-Western Bulldogs 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25 and 18-16 in a five-set marathon in Dillon. The win was Northern’s first in conference play, but more importantly, it showed the Skylights that all of their hard work can pay off.

“It was a great match,” MSU-N head coach Bill Huebsch said. “And it was a great win for these girls. They needed it. And they deserved it with all the hard work they’ve put in this season. We had been so close to winning some of these sets and matches this season, so to finally break through, and on the road, I’m just really happy for them.”

Northern’s breakthrough win almost came in a sweep. The Skylights were up 2-0 and battling in the third set, but the much-improved Bulldogs refused to go away. On their home floor, the Bulldogs won the third set, and overcame a 7-1 MSU-N lead to win the fourth as well. But, in what was a wild fifth set, the Skylights came up clutch as Korrie Stephenson had a solo block to break a 16-16 tie, and the Skylights secured the match on the next point.

“We started fast, we played really well in those first two sets,” Huebsch said. “And the next two sets were really close, too. But Western did a great job of battling back. They kept fighting. It was a great match and it was great to see our kids close it out.”

It was a huge match statistically for the Skylights as well. Sophomore Cassie Krueger recorded a whopping 28 kills to go along with 19 digs and two blocks, while the Skylights had 67 kills and hit .202. Stephenson finished with 18 kills of her own, while Erin Jensen added 13 and Emily Russell had 52 assists. MSU-N’s defense was spectacular too. The Skylights had 109 digs with Jacy Vining recording 33 and Cydney Auzenne adding 22, to go along with a season-high 15 blocks.

“It was a total team effort,” Huebsch said. “We had so many great individual performances, and those all added up to a great team win. I thought our serve-receive was outstanding, we had a season-high in blocks, and we just played really well together. Everybody contributed.”

Indeed, it was an impressive road win against a scrappy Western squad that wouldn’t go away. The victory pushed MSU-N to 1-4 in the Frontier and 9-12 overall. It was also a good momentum builder as Northern heads into its bye week.

“It was a huge win for these girls and hopefully, it will lead to us turning a corner,” Huebsch said. “We still have two-thirds of our season left, and we’re only two games out of third place. So we’ll use the bye week to rest up and get ready for the rest of our tough schedule.”

The Skylights will return to action Oct. 15 at Rocky Mountain College. MSU-N doesn’t play at home again until an Oct. 24 rematch with the Bulldogs.

MSU-Northern def. Western

25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 18-16

UM-W – Kills 66 (T. Miller 19, B. Wilson 12), Assists 57 (C. Hanson 52), Aces 4 (S. Cahill 3), Digs 107 (B. DeCock 24), Blocks 14 (M. Ness 2).

MSU-N – Kills 67 (Cassie Krueger 28, Korrie Stephenson 18, Erin Jensen 13), Assists 57 (Emily Russell 52), Aces 1 (Kylie Pasieka 1), Digs 109 (Jacy Vining 33, Cydney Auzenne 22, Krueger 19), Blocks 15 (Krueger 2, Mikayla Virostek 2).