Skylights host Argos on senior night

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights fought hard in a loss at Montana Tech Thursday night, but it won’t be long before the Skylights get one last chance to make amends.

In what will be an emotional farewell to captains Jessica Wilcox and Erin Jensen, the Skylights will close out the regular season Saturday night against the arch rival University of Great Falls Argos in the Armory Gymnasium.

It will be the last home match for both Wilcox, a native of Las Vegas, and Jensen, who came to Northern from Lewistown. Jensen is only a red-shirt junior, but upon graduating this year, she’ll be moving on from volleyball after this season.

“Both have them have been very important to this program,” Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. “They are both captains this year, they’re both really good team leaders. But more importantly, they are both just really good kids, and I have really enjoyed coaching them. We’re really going to miss having them around. They have really led this team. They’ve been a source of strength for this team in what has been a tough year.”

Senior night is always emotional, but add in the fact the Skylights are playing the Argos, and Saturday night’s match should be an exciting one.

UGF (5-5, 23-9) is a tall, athletic team led by All-American candidate Madison Wilhelm (6-2), who has 364 kills and 64 blocks, and who is one of the leading hitters in the Frontier. But Wilhelm has plenty of help too. Kelsee Montagna (5-10) and Devon Bogart (6-0) are two more strong players at the net, while Dani Norling (5-8) and Bree Davis (6-0) are both accomplished setters. UGF also has plenty of depth, and back row talent, led by defensive specialist Kennedy Chadwick (5-3).

Northern knows it can match the Argos. The Skylights lost in four sets to UGF last month in Great Falls, and in three of the four sets, Northern had the lead at one point or another. So, there’s no doubt, the Skylights will be fired up to play in their home and regular season finale Saturday night.

“We have an opportunity to gain some ground and improve our seeding in the conference tournament,” Huebsch said. “But more importantly, we have a chance to build some good momentum before we get to Helena. And especially playing at home Saturday night, hopefully, we go out and make the most out of that opportunity.”

Northern was hoping to make up some of that ground Thursday night against the Orediggers. But, Tech proved too much, and beat the Skylights by scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-11. The win gave the Orediggers the season sweep of the Skylights.

Northern struggled early with Tech’s taller offense, but in the second set, the Skylights rallied from down 19-10 to close the gap. However, the Diggers, who hit .286 compared to Northern’s .081, put the second set away, and then dominated the final set with their powerful hitting.

MSU-N finished the match with 27 kills, getting six each from Jensen and Cassie Krueger. Wilcox finished with five kills, while Krueger had two aces. Jacy Vining finished with a team-high 13 digs for Northern, while Tech got a match-high 20 kills from Syndey Norris and five service aces from Angie Pancost.

With the loss in Butte, Northern fell to 2-9 in the Frontier Conference and 10-17 overall. The Skylights will finish the regular season with their senior night match against the Argos, which will start at 7 p.m. Saturday night in the Armory Gymnasium.

Montana Tech def. MSU-Northern

25-16, 25-21, 25-11

MSU-N – Kills 25 (Erin Jensen 6, Cassie Krueger 6), Assists 21 (Emily Russell 21), Aces 2 (Krueger 2), Digs 37 (Jacy Vining 13), Blocks 4.

MT – Kills 47 (Sydney Norris 20), Assists 44 (Mackenzie Bauck 41), Aces 8 (Angie Pancost 5), Digs 52 (Brianna Nabbout 17), Blocks 5.