Armory Finish: Skylights earn a split

On the final weekend of the Frontier Conference regular season, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights played some good volleyball. They just didn't play well enough to sweep both Lewis and Clark State and Montana Tech.

The Skylights, who were hoping to finish 6-6 in Frontier play, took down LC State Friday night inside the Armory Gymnasium by the scores of 24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 28-29 and 16-14. Northern went for the sweep in the homestand Saturday, which was also senior day, but it fell short. MSU-N lost to Montana Tech in four sets by the scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-20.

"I thought overall, we played some pretty good volleyball," Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. "I think that we have gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season, I just think we need to be a little bit more consistent."

Friday night, the Skylights came out firing in the opening set and built a 24-21 lead. However, after missing out on a set-clinching point three times, the Warriors grabbed the win after scoring the final five points, to take it 26-24.

In the second set, Northern rallied. Timi Severson made her presence felt in the game, contributing to 10 points for the Skylights, who eventually evened the match at 1-1 after a 25-20 victory.

"I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates," Severson said. "They set me up well and thankfully, I was able to put some away."

MSU-N won again in the third set and after building a 24-21 lead again in the set four, it looked like the Skylights were on the brink of victory. Yet, they missed a number of match point opportunities and allowed LC State to close on an 8-3 run to grab the 29-27 win, forcing a fifth set to decide things.

"I think that showed some of our youth," Huebsch said. "We were up 24-21 a couple of times and couldn't put them away."

Northern lost a lead in the first set and responded with a win and did so again this time. The Lights trailed 9-8, but got a some key points to grab the lead and consecutive kills by Severson with the score tied 14-14, ended the match.

"We just stayed together," Severson said. "We are a family out there and when we mess up, we make sure we have each other's backs and we keep fighting. I feel like we pick each other up in those situations."

Cassie Krueger led the way for the Skylights with a match-high 20 kills. Severson finished with 18. Emily Russell also had a big night for MSU-N with 52 assists, 21 digs, three aces and 2.5 blocks. Kennadie Chute had 18 kills to lead the Warriors, while Rachel Gregg finished with 22 digs, 2.5 blocks and three aces.

On Saturday, the Skylights looked to complete the sweep, but ran into a very good Montana Tech team, one that is ranked No. 25 nationally in the NAIA. The Diggers cruised to a 25-18 win in the first set and despite dropping the second set to Northern 25-22, Tech notched 25-19 and 25-20 victories in sets three and four to close things out.

Montana Tech's biggest advantage statistically came in hitting. The Diggers finished with 71 kills compared to 46 for Northern. The Diggers also hit .308 percent. MSU-N ended up at .163.

"Montana Tech is a very good team," Huebsch said. "They have some great players and they just made it tough on us. I thought we played well at times, we just weren't very consistent. When we were our most consistent, we won the second set. We just seemed to lack energy at times and I just felt like every time we got momentum, they would find a way to get it back."

Haley Yoder was a top performer for Northern in the loss to Tech, as she had a team-high 12 kills as well as two blocks and two aces. Russell contributed with 38 assists and two aces. Gena McMillan led the way for Montana Tech with 19 kills. Ballie Cortner also added 15 kills and 3.5 blocks.

The Skylights, who finished the regular season 5-7 in the Frontier and 6-15 overall, will take on the University of Great Falls Friday in Great Falls in the first round of the Frontier Conference Tournament.

Skylights finish 5-7 in Frontier, 5th Place; Next up: vs UGF Friday

MSU-Northern def. Lewis and Clark State

24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 27-29, 16-14

MSU-N - Kills 62 (Cassie Krueger 20, Timi Severson 18); Aces 6 (Emily Russell 3, Jacy Vining 2); Blocks 15 (Mikayla Virostek 7, Russell 2.5, Jillian Nickens 2.5); Assists 57 (Russell 52, Virostek 2); Digs 99 (Amtmann 23, Russell 21).

LC State - Kills 66 (Kennadie Clute 18, Stephanie Qvitz 15); Aces 10 (Rachell Gregg, Amber Hillestad 3); Blocks 12 (Aly Sauer 3.5, Gregg 2.5); Assists 64 (Hillestad 29, Shaelyn Pearson 22); Digs (Gregg 22, Pearson 19).

Tech def. MSU-Northern

25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20

MSU-N - Kills 46 (Haley Yoder 12); Blocks 7 (Emily Russell 2, Yoder 2); Digs 70 (Hammah Amtmann 22); Assists 44 (Russell 38); Aces 4 (Yoder 2).

Tech - Kills 71 (Gena McMillan 19, Bailie Cortner 15, Jordan Danz 14); Blocks 11 (Cortner 3.5, Katie Wiley 3); Digs - 81 (Danz 24), Assists 63 (Makenzie Bauck 55); Aces 4 (Bauck 2).