Skylights lose five-set heartbreaker at RMC

In two matches against arch rival Rocky Mountain College this season, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights have played very well.

Unfortunately for the Skylights, they will have to settle for a season split with the Battlin’ Bears.

Northern returned from the annual Frontier Conference bye week, for a rematch with RMC Friday night in Billings, and after having already swept Rocky last month in Havre, the Skylights nearly knocked the Bears off again.

Instead, Rocky stormed back to win in a five-set thriller, as the Bears beat the Skylights by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 23-25 and 15-11, in a match where both teams played extremely well.

“The kids gave it everything they had,” Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. “I wasn’t disappointed at all. We were way down in the first set and came back and won, and we came back from 2-1 down to force a fifth set. So the kids showed so much grit and character in that match, and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Northern got off to a great start, winning its fourth straight set off the Bears this season, after overcoming a 19-11 deficit. But, after three sets, the Skylights found themselves fighting to stay in the match. And they responded, as MSU-N battled back to force a fifth set, before losing that hard fought battle by four points.

“We just made some mistakes at really inopportune times,” Huebsch said. “But it was a really close match and I thought we played really well for the most part. The kids showed a lot of resolve in that match, and that’s all you can ask out of them as a coach.”

Statistically, the Skylights were outstanding, as they racked up 64 kills and hit .200 for the match. Timi Severson led the way with a match-high 19 kills, but Cassie Krueger was right there with 15. Haley Yoder had 11 kills to go with two solo blocks, while Jillian Nickens finished with 10 kills, and Emily Russell had 52 assists.

And while Northern kept pace with RMC offensively, with the Bears getting 17 kills from Kylie Hadley, the Bears out-did the Skylights defensively, though not by much. Rocky posted 15 blocks to just seven by MSU-N, while the Bears had 80 digs to Northern’s 72. Hannah Amtmann had 18 digs and Jacy Vining had 17 to go with two of MSU-N’s five aces. Russell also tallied 14 digs and Kylie Pasieka had 10.

The loss was a tough one for Northern, but the Skylights, who fell to 3-5 in the Frontier Conference, have chances to make up ground. After traveling to arch rival UGF on Thursday night, the Skylights play their final three matches at home, starting with a match against first-place Carroll College this Friday in the Armory Gymnasium.

Rocky Mountain def. MSU-Northern

23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 15-11

MSU-N – Kills 64 (Timi Severson 19, Cassie Krueger 15, Haley Yoder 11, Jillian Nickens 10), Assists 57 (Emily Russell 52), Aces 5 (Jacy Vining 2), Digs 72 (Hannah Amtmann 18, Vining 17), Blocks 7 (Yoder 2).

RMC – Kills 65 (Kylie Hadley 17), Assists 54 (Haley Copinga 28), Aces 2 (Copinga 1, D. Russell 1), Digs 80 (Holland Ferguson 21), Blocks 15 (Hadley 2, Naomi Bad Bear 2).