Bears battle past Skylights in the Armory

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team didn't have the return to home the Skylights were looking for Friday night when they took on Rocky Mountain College.

The match between the Skylights and the No. 23 Battlin' Bears had some ups and downs, but in the end, Northern fell to RMC in a 3-0 sweep. The Skylights lost by scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-11 inside the Armory Gymnasium.

Despite the loss, the Skylights did their best against the top team in the Frontier Conference and MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner was proud of his team.

"A lot of things went right," said Wagner. "I cannot be more satisfied with the amount of effort, attitude and the stick-to-it-iveness that this group is showing."

The first set of the match showed off talent on both sides of the net, with the opening moments being close in score. RMC and Northern exchanged similar experiences. Both teams scored kills, hit the ball out and made other mistakes in the beginning. The scoreboard was close early on 7-5 with the Skylights in the lead.

The repetition continued and Northern pushed the lead ahead with a 3-0 run, until the Battlin' Bears answered with a 7-0 run, swiping the lead from the Skylights 17-12. Northern attempted to reclaim the lead but fell on an RMC 6-0 run to end the first set, the match in favor of the Battlin' Bears 1-0.

After a tough first set, the Skylights aimed to stay in the match and the second set looked very promising for Northern, too.

Senior Katia Michelotti opened the second set for the Skylights with a kill and a shared block. Along with an ace from junior Elissa Lind and a mistake by RMC, Northern went on a 4-0 run to take the lead early. The Battlin' Bears responded as much as they could but struggled under a dominant performance by Northern.

The Skylights followed a bit after with multiple 3-0 run, a 4-0 run and a great lead. Senior Hailey Warren had racked up a few kills on RMC, Lind added to the list of kills with some of her own, junior Rylee Burmester put up an ace and a few kills, Michelotti and junior Shania Neubauer made key blocks to keep Northern ahead. With the Battlin' Bears close behind, the Skylights aimed to end the match quickly with the score at 24-21.

Unfortunately, Rocky Mountain College had other plans and made fast work of MSU-N. The Battlin' Bears went on a 6-0 run to upset the Skylight's consistent lead throughout the set, winning the second 26-24 and lead the match 2-0.

The third and final set of the match was all RMC.

The Skylights did their best to respond, but after getting burnt out in the second set, Northern had no answer for the Battlin' Bears.

Much of the struggle for the Skylights was RMC attacking them in spots that left Northern hitting the ball out-of-bounds. On top of that, senior Miranda Gallagher put up a couple of kills for RMC, and along with junior Monique Rodriguez, who put up a block and kill to open the set, the Skylights could not keep up with the Battlin' Bears.

MSU-N was swept by Rocky Mountain College 3-0, another tough loss for the Skylights.

The Skylights still put up some good stats for the match. Neubauer racked up eight kills for Northern, Warren put up 23 assists and seven digs, Burmester ended the night with 28 total attacking attempts, and Lind lead the team with 18. The Skylights also totaled three team blocks.

Wagner was glad to see his team give the Battlin' Bears a little scare in their match and is looking positive moving forward in the rest of the season.

"We have a lot left to give," Wagner said. "I feel optimistic that we're still heading in a good direction."

Northern may have fell short against the top team in the conference in RMC, but the team still put up a commendable and valiant showcase. Wagner knows that the season goes by one game at-a-time and his team will have to move forward, putting even more effort in their next match.

MSU-N has another tough opponent to face next, the University of Montana Western Bulldogs. The Skylights play another conference game that will test their tenacity after a tough 0-7 losing streak. Northern will look to upset the Bulldogs and claim a win at home.

The Skylights (0-5, 6-12) will get a break this week, but Northern will step on the court against the Bulldogs Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium. The match is part of a four-game home stretch for the Skylights.

RMC def. MSU-Northern

25-16, 26-24, 25-11

MSU-N – Kills 29 (Shania Neubauer 08, Rylee Burmester 07, Katia Michelotti 05, Elissa Lind 05, Tammy Maddock 02, Hailey Warren 02), Assists 29 (Hailey Warren 23, Shania Neubauer 03, Kaitlin Murdock 02, Elissa Lind 01), Digs 61 (Elissa Lind 18, Rylee Burmester 15, Kaitlin Murdock 14, Hailey Warren 07, Shania Neubauer 05, Tammy Maddock 02), Blocks 03, Aces 05 (Rylee Burmester 02, Tammy Maddock 01, Elissa Lind 01, Kaitlin Murdock 01).

RMC – Kills 35 (Morgan Allen 12, Daniella Russell 07, Miranda Gallagher 06, Monique Rodriguez 04, Natalie Hilderman 04, Maranda Koch 01, Madison Stoddard 01), Assists 33 (Natalie Hilderman 28, Annie Cooke 02, Monique Rodriguez 01, Miranda Gallagher 01, Ayla Embry 01), Digs 58 (Ayla Embry 22, Annie Cooke 09, Natalie Hilderman 07, Addy Valdez 07, Monique Rodriguez 04, Miranda Gallagher 03, Kailey Thomson 03, Daniella Russell 02, Madison Stoddard 01), Blocks 08, Aces 07 (Annie Cooke 02, Natalie Hilderman 02, Monique Rodriguez 01, Miranda Gallagher 01, Ayla Embry 01).