Local Sports Briefs

Northern volleyball team honored

With a new season about to begin, the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team just received an exciting honor for last season.

The Skylights, under the direction of head coach Bill Huebsch, received an AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2015-16 season. Northern was one of 54 NAIA programs to receive the award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. 

The Skylights are just a week away from starting the 2016 season. They open the regular season with four matches at the Big Sky Challenge Aug. 26-27 in Butte.

Co-Ed Tourney hits Havre

The Milk Rover Co-Ed Softball Tournament is being held this weekend at the Havre Softball Complex. The tournament is a double-elimination event, with concessions and beer onsite. There will be at least 12 teams in the field, including teams from Havre, Rocky Boy, Browning, Great Falls, Fort Belknap and Box Elder. The tourney starts each day at 8 a.m.

Legendary Lady Griz coach retires

The University of Montana announced on Wednesday that head women’s basketball coach Robin Selvig has retired. Selvig coached the Lady Griz for an incredible 38 years and won a remarkable 865 games. His teams produced 36 winning seasons, 31 20-win campaigns, 24 Big Sky Conference conference championships and 21 NCAA tournament appearances. Twenty-one times Selvig was voted by his peers as his conference's coach of the year. Playing in front of some of the nation's most dedicated fans, Montana went 511-61 (.893) at Dahlberg Arena with Selvig as coach. Winning begat a following, which led to more success, which produced an ever larger fan base. It was a mutual love affair, the result the envy of nearly every opposing team.

"I've been extremely fortunate to experience the things I have with the people I have. I've been blessed," Selvig said in a press release. "Your lives become intertwined, and that's what makes it a family. You're invested not only in coaching them, you're invested in them when lots of things are going on in their lives.”

The MSU-Northern Skylights are set to play the Lady Griz this season in an exhibition game in Missoula in November.