Back on the Floor: Skylights host Bears

Exactly two weeks have passed since the last time the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team played a Frontier Conference match. That match, was a road win at UM-Western.

And while the Frontier Conference bye week might create a little rust, first-year head coach Rose Obunaga says it was a great time for the Skylights to relax, rest and regroup.

"It was good," Obunaga said of the bye week. "We rested, we went back to lifting and working on fundamentals. It was a good break."

Now however, the break is over, and the Skylights (3-4, 9-12) are embarking on the final stretch of the 2017 season - a stretch that begins tonight with the first of two straight home matches. Northern hosts Frontier powerhouse Rocky Mountain College at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium.

"It's the time of year when everybody is hungry for wins," Obunaga said. "Rocky is second in our conference and they're playing really well. But we're hungry to win, too, and we're going to go out and give it our all."

The Battlin' Bears are indeed playing well. They come to Havre ranked No. 21 in the latest NAIA Coaches Poll, and they're sporting a 6-1 record in Frontier Conference play. They also have a three-game sweep over the Skylights back in September, and a roster full of weapons.

Olivia Li'Ami has had a breakout season for the Bears, and she leads the Frontier with 268 kills. Daniella Russel and veteran Hailey Copinga also have over 200 kills each, while setter Natalie Hilderman leads the Frontier averaging 10 assists per set. Offensively, Rocky hits .213 as a team, has 112 aces and is first in the conference in digs with 1,636. Simply put, the Bears are really good.

"Rocky has a really fast offense," Obunaga said. "They're very quick. They are tall, too, and their blocking is really good, but it's how fast they play that can be very hard to adjust to."

Northern has a very good offense, too. The Skylights have had hitting slumps this season, but Cassie Krueger, Timi Severson and Haley Yoder have all been outstanding when Northern's offense is clicking with freshman setter Shania Neubauer.

But one area MSU-N has really improved this season has been its defensive presence at the net. Northern is fourth in the Frontier in blocks, with Severson and Mikayla Virostek leading the charge. And that blocking has really helped Northern's back row, as Hannah Amtmann, Kylie Pasieka and Ashley Ponce have all been strong on defense.

"I'm really happy with our blocking," Obunaga said. "We moved some girls around and it's made us a much better blocking team. Size matters sometimes, but blocking is also about effort and hard work, and our girls have been doing that. It's been one of our strengths this season."

And Northern will have to play really good defense to slow down the Bears and take advantage of playing at home. The Skylights, who sit in fourth place in the Frontier standings, have just two home matches left, before finishing the regular season with three straight on the road.

"The main thing for us, playing our game," Obunaga said. "When we played Rocky the first time, we didn't play well at all. We didn't play our game. So we never had a chance to adjust to what they were doing. So the big thing is making sure we play our best on our side of the net.

"We're in a good position right now," she continued. "And we are playing at home. We need to make sure we take advantage of playing at home, and we need to make sure we're playing our best so that we can then make the adjustments we need to."

Tonight's match between the Skylights and Battlin' Bears starts at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium. Northern is also home for senior night next Thursday when the Skylights battle arch rival the University of Providence.