Skylights hit the road

Life on the road has been tough on the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team. But, the Skylights have two chances this weekend to turn that trend around.

Northern (2-2, 3-9) faces its only back-to-back road trip of the season this weekend, starting with a match at Montana Tech tonight in Butte. MSU-N wraps up the trip with a visit to Lewis-Clark State Saturday afternoon.

And the Skylights, who are perfect 2-0 at home and are right in the middle of the pack in the Frontier, would love nothing more than to carry that Armory Gymnasium magic they’ve had thus far, into their matches in Butte and Lewiston, Idaho.

“The girls know they’re capable of playing at a level where every match is winnable,” Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. “They’ve proven that to themselves in the matches at home the last two weeks. But we have to take that level of play out on the road with us. That’s something we really need to be able to do.”

Indeed. When playing at home, the Skylights have yet to lose a set. And it’s been a total team effort with Cassie Krueger, Timi Severson and Jillian Nickens doing damage offensively, along with the steady play of setter Emily Russell. Defensively, Haley Yoder has helped fortify MSU-N’s block, while Hannah Amtmann has been superb in the back row. The serving of Jacy Vining and Cydney Auzenne have also been key in the Skylights’ wins this season, and if they can do the same on the road, then Northern will instantly become a Frontier title contender.

Of course, playing on the road in the rugged Frontier is never easy, and MSU-N’s two opponents this weekend will be anything but easy.

Despite a 1-3 start to league play, Tech is loaded with talent. Experienced setter Makenzie Bauck (5-7) certainly helps. But Bauck also has three outstanding players to pass the ball to in returning starters Bailie Cortner (6-2), Jordan Danz (6-0) and Nicole Peacock (5-11), and with a strong back row to boot, the Diggers could be one of the most complete teams in the conference.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s visit to No. 25 LC State (2-2, 6-7) will be another difficult challenge. And it all starts with returning All-American Kennadie Clute (6-1), who led the Frontier in hitting a year ago. LCSC does have some fresh faces around Clute, but the likes of Stephanie Ovitz (5-11) and Katie Barton (5-11) have come on strong.

Still, the Skylights enter the weekend ahead of Tech and tied with LCSC in the conference standings, and if they can play like they do in the Armory, it could be a big weekend for MSU-N.

“These are two really good teams we’re going to play,” Huebsch said. “And playing on the road in this conference is very hard. It’s very hard to win on the road. But if we can just find that consistency that we’ve shown the last two weeks, we know we can play with anybody, regardless of what gym where in. For us, it’s all about being more consistent.”

Tonight’s match between MSU-N and Tech starts at 7 in Butte. The Skylights’ match at LC State starts at 2 p.m. Saturday. Northern returns home to host UM-Western next Saturday.