Battlin' Bears spike the Skylights in Billings

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights were in search of their first Frontier Conference win when they went to Billings Saturday afternoon, but that was going to be a tall order against the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears.

And Rocky, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA, wound up easily sweeping the Skylights by scores of 25-8, 25-15 and 25-15. The loss dropped Northern to 0-5 in the Frontier, while Rocky moved to a perfect 5-0.

From the start, the Bears were in control of the match. They allowed just eight points to Northern in the first set, and that set the tone for a dominant performance. Rocky would go on to hit a sizzling .265, while Northern hit just .030 and had just 23 kills to Rocky’s 35. RMC also had 51 digs, served five aces, and finished with a commanding seven blocks.

Offensively, Northern was led by eight kills from freshman Emily Gutierrez, while Jordan O’Connor added seven. McKaylie Tanner finished with 18 assists, while Hannah Amtmann had a match-high 16 digs..

Northern (1-16) will now look for its first conference when in 2018 when the Skylights travel to Dillon to face UM-Western this Saturday.

RMC def. MSU-Northern

25-8, 25-15, 25-15

MSU-N - (kills-aces-blocks) Hailey Warren 0-0-0; Hannah Amtmann 0-0-0; Katia Michelotti 0-0-0; Ashley Ponce 0-0-0; Shania Neubauer 1-0-0; Emily Gutierrez 8-0-0; Breanna Brickey 0-0-0; Jessica Curl 3-0-1; Jordan O'Connor 7-0-1; Abigail Ellison 4-0-0; Mckaylie Tanner 0-0-1. Totals 23-0-2.0.

RMC - (kills-aces-blocks) Kaytlyn Heaslip 0-2-0; Krista Judisch 0-0-0; Hailey Copinga 11-0-3; Daniella Russell 3-0-0; Ruby Kallenbach 0-1-0; Annie Cooke 1-0-0; Monique Rodriguez 1-0-0; Natalie Hilderman 0-2-3; Miranda Gallagher 9-0-5; Maranda Koch 2-0-0; Naomi Bad Bear 2-0-0; Olivia L'Ami 6-0-0. Totals 35-5-7.0.