Skylights aiming to hit hard at Providence

Just take a look at the roster, and one can see the Montana State University-Northern Skylights are by far the youngest volleyball team in the Frontier Conference. So, it stands to reason that, the Skylights are going to go through some growing pains.

And they certainly did as they opened Frontier play with a pair of sweeps at the hands of Lewis-Clark State and Montana Tech last weekend in the Armory Gymnasium. And now, Northern head coach Rose Obunaga's young team will strike out on the road in conference play for the first time when the Skylights (0-2, 1-13) visit archrival, the University of Providence tonight in Great Falls.

"We're playing a lot of freshman and a lot of younger players," Obunaga said after last Saturday's loss to the Orediggers. "We've also got a lot of new girls on the team so it's taking some time for us to gel as a team. But the ladies are working hard, and continuing to improve, and that's what our goal is. To just keep improving, and building for the future."

And there's no better environment to improve in than the Frontier Conference, where no match is easy. And tonight's match at Providence (1-1, 9-5) won't be easy by any means. The Argos are never short on talent and depth, and the Argos won't be again this season. Kelsey Shaver (OH 5-10) and Syndey Andersen (RS 6-3) are two threats on offense, while Isabell Parker (OH 6-0) gives the Argos a strong force in the middle. Paige Jensen (S 5-9) might also be one of the top setters in the Frontier, and with her leading the way, the Argos are once again a very dangerous offensive team.

Of course, the Skylights are trying to become a dangerous team themselves, but to do that, they need to get much better on the attack. The Skylights are hitting just .081 per match, and they average a mere eight kills per set. Freshman Abigail Ellison leads MSU-N with 91 kills, while Jessica Curl has 81. Emily Gutierrez and Jordan O'Connor have combined for 128 kills on the season, while setter McKaylie Tanner has grown more comfortable in the starting setter role. And while Northern has been strong with its blocking, and with Hannah Amtmann anchoring the back row, Obunaga said, for her team to take the next step, the Skylights must hit the ball better.

"We need to hit the ball harder," Obunaga said. "I think with so many young players, we're being too tentative with our hitting. So that's one area, and we need to be strong with our serve-receive."

The Skylights will try and do just that tonight when they take on the Argos at 7 in Great Falls. Northern returns home to host Carroll College Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium.