Carroll squeaks by Northern spikers in a five-set marathon

There’s always measuring sticks throughout the course of a season. And Friday night was a big one for the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team — a squad fresh off a huge road win at UGF just one night earlier.

And while the Skylights couldn’t quite pull off a five-set win over the nationally ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints, they certainly proved they’re going to be a team to be reckoned with for the remainder of this season.

In a thriller, Northern fell to the No. 17 Saints by scores of 16-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-17 and 15-8 Friday night inside the Armory Gymnasium. The loss gave Northern a split for the weekend, and left the Skylights at 4-6 in the Frontier Conference.

But more importantly, it left the Skylights’ head coach impressed and proud.

“I told the girls after the match, I was extremely proud of them,” head coach Bill Huebsch said. “They just put together two great days of volleyball, and they have nothing to be ashamed of. They were upset and hurt after this match, but they gave everything they had against a really good Carroll team. How they performed tonight, considering where we were at the last time we played Carroll, it just shows how much our team has grown, how mature they’ve become and how much they’ve improved. Again, I’m just extremely proud of them.”

Carroll was certainly impressed with Northern, too. The Saints came into the Armory sitting alone in first place in the Frontier, but it was Northern that looked like the dominant team early on. With back-to-back kills by Timi Severson, the Skylights ripped off a 5-1 run early in the first set, and when MSU-N went on a run off an Emily Russell tip kill, a Mikayla Virostek block and a Cassie Krueger kill, the Skylights led 18-10. Later, Northern finished off one of its most impressive sets of the season with back-to-back kills from Haley Yoder and Jillian Nickens.

Northern was also looking strong, leading 11-10 in the second set, but, Carroll showed its strength, going to powerful hitter Paige Montogomery time and time again, and while the Skylights staved off three set points, Carroll was still able to even the match at 1-1.

“Carroll played really well,” Huebsch said. “I thought they did a great job of counter-attacking throughout the match. It was just a really well played match all the way around.”

And with two sets I the books, things were just getting interesting.

Northern trailed for a good portion of the critical third set, including being down 10-3 at the start, but a strong serving run by Kylie Pasieka got MSU-N back to even at 19-19. From there, neither team was willing to blink, as the lead changed hands 11 different times. Northern killed a Carroll set point at 24-23, then went ahead 25-24 on an Emily Russell block. Carroll managed to survive that set point, but two straight kills by Krueger gave MSU-N an exciting 2-1 advantage.

“We showed a lot of grit in that third set,” Huebsch said. “We really buckled down there, and again, that speaks to how far we’ve come this season. Early in the year, I don’t think we had the grit to get out of situations like that. But, that third set speaks shows how mature this team has become and how mentally tough they are.”

As tough as the Skylights were, Carroll proved to be just a little more. The Saints never trailed in the fourth set, and while the Skylights started the fifth set with a Krueger kill, a 4-0 Carroll run made the score 7-3 and the Skylights couldn’t catch up.

“I don’t think we passed as well in the last two sets as we did early in the match,” Huebsch said. “And that allowed Carroll to get into system a little more, and when they’re in system, they’re really good. I also thought we were a little tentative on offense, and weren’t nearly as aggressive as we were in the first couple of sets.”

Northern’s aggressiveness pushed the Skylights to 56 kills on the night, including 20 from Krueger and 19 from Severson. And while MSU-N hit .215 for the match, Carroll was too much on the other side. The Saints hit .235 and got a combined 44 kills from Montgomery and Holly Morehouse. Pasieka had a match-high three aces and Northern out-blocked Carroll 7-6 with Virostek and Yoder each coming up with two. But, in the back row, Carroll was outstanding with 102 digs to a very good 92 by the Skylights. Russell finished with 20 digs to go along with 44 assists, while Hannah Amtmann added a team-high 23 digs.

And though the loss was a heartbreaker for the Skylights, who also lost a five-setter at Rocky Mountain College last week, it still showed just how far Northern has come and how dangerous the Skylights are going to be in the final two weeks of this season.

“We’ve just gotten better and better as the year has gone on, and that’s always been the goal,” Huebsch said. “And to play this well, against such a good time like Carroll is, that just shows it. It’s a tough loss. The kids are very disappointed, but again, I couldn’t be more proud of them. They left it all on the floor tonight, their effort was incredible, and that’s all I could ever ask for.”

Northern also gets to stay home for the final two matches the regular season. MSU-N hosts Lewis-Clark State this Friday night and will then celebrate senior night against Montana Tech on Saturday.

job of counter-attacking throughout the match. It was just a really well played match all the way around.”

And with two sets in the books, things were just getting interesting.

Northern trailed for a good portion of the critical third set, including being down 10-3 at the start, but a strong serving run by Kylie Pasieka got MSU-N back to even at 19-19. From there, neither team was willing to blink, as the lead changed hands 11 different times. Northern killed a Carroll set point at 24-23, then went ahead 25-24 on an Emily Russell block. Carroll managed to survive that set point, but two straight kills by Krueger gave MSU-N an exciting 2-1 advantage.

“We showed a lot of grit in that third set,” Huebsch said. “We really buckled down there, and again, that speaks to how far we’ve come this season. Early in the year, I don’t think we had the grit to get out of situations like that. But, that third set shows how mature this team has become and how mentally tough they are.”

As tough as the Skylights were, Carroll proved to be just a little more. The Saints never trailed in the fourth set, and while the Skylights started the fifth set with a Krueger kill, a 4-0 Carroll run made the score 7-3 and the Skylights couldn’t catch up.

“I don’t think we passed as well in the last two sets as we did early in the match,” Huebsch said. “And that allowed Carroll to get into system a little more, and when they’re in system, they’re really good. I also thought we were a little tentative on offense, and weren’t nearly as aggressive as we were in the first couple of sets.”

Northern’s aggressiveness pushed the Skylights to 56 kills on the night, including 20 from Krueger and 19 from Severson. And while MSU-N hit .215 for the match, Carroll was too much on the other side. The Saints hit .235 and got a combined 44 kills from Montgomery and Holly Morehouse. Pasieka had a match-high three aces and Northern out-blocked Carroll 7-6 with Virostek and Yoder each coming up with two. But, in the back row, Carroll was outstanding with 102 digs to a very good 92 by the Skylights. Russell finished with 20 digs to go along with 44 assists, while Hannah Amtmann added a team-high 23 digs.

And though the loss was a heartbreaker for the Skylights, who also lost a five-setter at Rocky Mountain College last week, it still showed just how far Northern has come and how dangerous the Skylights are going to be in the final two weeks of this season.

“We’ve just gotten better and better as the year has gone on, and that’s always been the goal,” Huebsch said. “And to play this well, against such a good time like Carroll is, that just shows it. It’s a tough loss. The kids are very disappointed, but again, I couldn’t be more proud of them. They left it all on the floor tonight, their effort was incredible, and that’s all I could ever ask for.”

Northern also gets to stay home for the final two matches the regular season. MSU-N hosts Lewis-Clark State this Friday night and will then celebrate senior night against Montana Tech on Saturday.

Carroll def. MSU-Northern

16-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-17, 15-8

CC – Kills 75 (Paige Montgomery 23, Holly Morehouse 21), Assists 67 (Johnni Door 56), Aces 5 (Natalie Kassa 2), Digs 102 (Kassa 30, Door 18, Alya Carpenter 14), Blocks 6 (Door 2, Brielle Bumgarner 2).

MSU-N – Kills 56 (Cassie Krueger 20, Timi Severson 19), Assists 53 (Emily Russell 44), Aces 4 (Kylie Pasieka 3), Digs 92 (Hannah Amtmann 23, Russell 20, Cydney Auzenne 16, Jacy Vining 10), Blocks 7 (Mikayla Virostek 2, Haley Yoder 2).