Skylights feel rejuvenated

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team started its season at the beginning of August. So a bye week last week was a welcome sight for the Skylights.

Now however, it's back to work, and the second half of the Frontier Conference season will be a challenging one Northern (1-4, 9-12), which comes into this weekend's match having beaten UM-Western two weeks ago for its first Frontier Conference win.

Still, the rest and time to regroup was good for the Skylights, according to veteran head coach Bill Huebsch.

"We had been going strong since August," Huebsch said. "I think (bye week) was beneficial for us. It gave us a chance to have a few days off, to get healthy and for the girls to catch up on their school work. I also think it was just as important for them to get a little break mentally, just as much as it was physically. The season is a grind, so it was nice to be able to slow down some. And the girls have come back really rejuvenated."

Rejuvenated is good, especially considering the Skylights play five of their final seven matches on the road. And that starts tonight with MSU-N Taking on No. 6 Rocky Mountain College (5-0, 19-4) in Billings.

The Bears swept Northern last month in Havre, but the match was extremely close all the way, including a thrilling 32-30 third set. And though RMC has a host of dominant and tall players, like Aleah Billis and Mariah Stiffarm, Huebsch said the match in Havre gave his team loads of confidence.

"Our girls know we played well when we played them (Bears) here," Huebsch said. "Every set was very close and we felt like we let a few key points get away. We came up short in that match, but it was a big confidence builder for us, and our girls are excited about playing them again. Their length at the net and their blocking is a big strength for them, but we know if we go out and execute our game plan, we can compete with them again."

And Northern's game plan will be to make sure it plays consistent on both sides of the net. The Skylights have two of the top hitters in the Frontier in Cassie Krueger and Korrie Stephenson, while Erin Jensen and Jessica Wilcox aren't far behind. And while MSU-N will have to block well against the much taller Bears, the Skylights will also need to serve tough, not only tonight, but Saturday night when they meet the University of Great Falls for the first time this season.

Northern is one of the best serving teams in the league, and Huebsch said that will be a focus when the Skylights meet the rival Argos (2-3, 20-7) at McLaughlin Center Saturday night. UGF has a host of strong players, led by Madison Wilhelm, Kelsee Montagna and Devon Bogart, and Huebsch noted that taking the Argos out of their offense with tough serving will be critical.

"Serve-receive is always something we focus on," Huebsch said. "In every match we want to serve well, but I think, against UGF, if we can serve them tough, we can get them back on their heels some. We need to go out against them and apply pressure instead of feel pressure.

"They (Argos) are having a really good year," he continued. "They've played a lot of quality opponents. They have a lot of really good players but I think (Madison) Wilhelm is a big key for us. When she's good, they're usually really good. But it will be an interesting match. It's a big rivalry and we always seem to play really well against each other. So it should be very competitive, and just like the match at Rocky, our girls are really looking forward to it."

Tonight's match between Northern and RMC will start at 7 in Billings. The Skylights and Argos will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday in Great Falls.