Argos sink Skylights in a thriller

Volleyball is a sport of momentum and emotion. And, in their final home match of the season, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights ran the gamut of those emotions. However, at the end of a long, intense night in the Armory Gymnasium, it was the UGF Argos who left on a high note.

On Northern's senior night Saturday night, the Skylights and Argos waged another epic battle in their long-standing rivalry, but it was UGF which came away with a 3-2 win. The Argos downed the Skylights by scores of 22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 20-25 and 15-10, which put Northern at 2-10 at the end of the 2015 regular season.

And while the Skylights saw the intense match end not how they were hoping for, Northern head coach Bill Huebsch was more than happy with the effort and the fight his Skylights gave against their biggest rival.

"I told the girls in the locker room, I am completely proud of them," Huebsch said. "They have nothing to hang their heads about. The effort was great tonight, and after not playing well on Thursday night in Butte, I thought they did a complete 180 tonight. They really turned it around and played really well. I couldn't be happier with these kids and what they gave tonight. They left it out all out there."

From the start of the match, it was clear the Skylights were going to leave it all on their home floor. They fell behind the power-hitting Argos 7-3 in the first set, but quickly knotted it up at 8-8. The Argos went back in front by as many as five points, before the Skylights again caught them at 16-16. From there, the lead changed five teams, but Erin Jensen put Northern ahead 22-20 on a thunderous kill, and three points later, Korrie Stephenson finished the set with a kill up the left side.

Northern again battled in the second set, too. Down 8-2 early, Jensen and fellow senior Jessica Wilcox rallied the Skylights, and after a block by Mikayla Virostek, MSU-N found itself with a set point at 24-23. But, momentum changed again, and UGF won three of the next four points to pull even at 1-1.

And the match would continue to be a match of huge momentum swings from there. The Skylights and Argos traded leads six times in the latter stages of the third set, with Cassie Krueger giving MSU-N a 20-19 lead with one of her five kills in the set. From there, UGF ripped off a 4-1 run though, and eventually closed out the set to lead 2-1.

Still, the Skylights showed heart and toughness, and there was no way they were going down without a serious fight.

"UGF is a very good team, and they have beaten some of the top teams in our conference," Huebsch said. "And we went to-to-toe with them tonight. We battled every step of the way, and as a coach, that's all you can ask for."

The battle in the fourth set, one Northern had to win to stay alive, was another intense one. Northern made some great defensive plays early to keep things close, and for most of the set, neither team led by more than one point. But at 17-17, Virostek and Stephenson had back-to-back kills, and later, a huge block by Jensen gave the Skylights a 20-19 edge. Jensen would another kill later in the set, and fittingly, Wilcox finished the Argos off with a kill, and an ace on set point, and all of a sudden, Northern had forced a fifth set.

But again, momentum is so big in volleyball, and the Argos quickly seized it in the decisive fifth set. Trailing 1-0, UGF rattled off seven of the next eight points, before Stephenson stopped the bleeding with a spike. But, it was a little too late for the Skylights, and despite three more kills from Wilcox down the stretch, UGF put the match on ice with a kill from Madison Wilhelm.

"The fifth set, that's tough," Huebsch said. "We came out and dug ourselves a hole, and you can't do that in a game to 15, and you can't do that against a really good team like UGF. There's just not enough room to get yourself out of trouble in the fifth set."

Nevertheless, the Skylights proved once again that they can play to the end with the top teams in the Frontier, which UGF is, as the Argos go into the Frontier tournament as the No. 4 seed. Northern finished the match with 57 kills, with Stephenson totaling 13, and Krueger, Wilcox and Jensen each scoring 12. Wilcox finished a big night with 17 digs, while Jensen totaled two of Northern's 11 blocks. Emily Russell had 46 assists and 17 digs, while Jacy Vining led the back row with 37 digs. On the flip side, UGF's powerful front row finished with 73 kills and six blocks. Wilhelm led all hitters with 19 kills, while the Argos also served up six aces.

Still, as tough as UGF was in Northern's gym, the Skylights played well and stood tall, and that's what Huebsch is excited about as his team turns its attention to the conference tournament.

"We certainly would have liked to win tonight, and send our seniors out on a high note," Huebsch said. "But, we played really well, against very good team. That's a big positive we can take away from tonight. So I'm really proud of these girls."

The Skylights will be the No. 6 seed in the Frontier tourney and take on third-seeded Lewis-Clark State Friday in the opening round. The 2015 Frontier tournament runs Friday and Saturday in Helena.

Skylights finish 2-10 in Frontier, 10-18 overall; Next Up: vs LC State at Frontier Tourney

UGF def. MSU-Northern

22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 15-10

UGF - (kills-aces-blocks) Kennedy Chadwick 0-3-0; Dani Norling 1-0-0; Jacey Habets 1-1-0; Kelsee Montagna 12-0-1; Tiffany Marks 12-0-4; Madison Wilhelm 19-0-0; Devon Bogart 15-1-0; Gabby Bienkowski 0-0-0; Kateri Blodgette-Baker 8-0-3; Korie Milan 0-0-0; Keva Robinson 5-0-0; Josee Pendleton 0-1-0; Josie Anderson 0-0-0; Paige Jensen 0-0-0; Tymerie Vincelli 0-0-0; Faith Bauer 0-0-0; Maya Kiruluta 0-0-0; Bree Fregeau 0-0-0; Bree Davis 0-0-0. Totals 73-6-6.0

MSU-N - (kills-aces-blocks) Mikayla Virostek 5-0-2; Kylie Pasieka 0-0-0; Cydney Auzenne 1-0-0; Emily Russell 2-0-4; Korrie Stephenson 13-0-1; Jessica Wilcox 12-0-1; Jacy Vining 0-2-0; Erin Jensen 12-0-6; Cassie Krueger 12-0-3Totals 57-2-11.0.