Northern spikers fall in five-set thriller

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team took on the Montana Western Bulldogs Saturday in the Armory Gymnasium.

Unfortunately for the Skylights, they fell to the Bulldogs in a five-set thriller by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20 and 15-8.Montana Western and Northern put on a great performance on both sides, but one had to come out on top in the end.

MSU-Northern head coach Jerry Wagner was proud of his team for putting forth the effort on the court.

"There's a couple things that we're still working on," said Wagner. "But, I think we passed the ball for the most part. We didn't serve the ball very well."

The Skylights had a great start to the match, though. Northern was behind often in the first set, but kills from junior Rylee Burmester and senior Katia Michelotti, alongside a kill by junior Shania Neubauer helped the Skylights come back. A block by Michelotti and another by senior Hailey Warren late in the set helped propel Northern to a win and a 1-0 lead. It was the first set the Skylights had taken in a conference match this season.

But the second set was Western's time to shine. After the Skylights pulled ahead in a 5-3 lead, the Bulldogs went off. Multiple runs throughout the early and middles parts of the set gave Western a comfortable lead. Northern was not able to take the lead back, as the Bulldogs' junior Abbee Croninger made multiple blocks and kills throughout the set to keep Western ahead, and tie the match at 1-1.

"We haven't gotten used to winning a set for a little while, we maybe played a little way too tentative for what I'd like to play," Wagner said.

In the third set, Northern worked to take back the lead in the match.

Two kills by Burmester helped the Skylights take the lead early and blocks by Michelotti, junior Tammy Maddock and Neubauer kept the team moving forward. Western attempted to take the lead many times by getting sideouts, but later in the set, two consecutive aces from Maddock, a Neubauer kill and a Michelotti kill led to another set win. Northern took back the lead in the match 2-1.

Unfortunately, the fourth set saw a repeat of the second, with the Skylights making multiple errors. Throughout the match, both sides would score on either offensive plays or errors, making the score close often. When the match was tied up at 16-16, Northern found the ball being hit out-of-bounds too often, leading to the Bulldogs taking the lead and staying there.

Northern went on a 3-0 run to try to thin Western's lead, but the Bulldogs scored their last point when the Skylights made a error on their side of the court.

Still the Skylights were in the driver's seat in the decisive fifth set, and Northern looked to stop the Bulldogs from taking the match. But their objective did not go as planned.

Western went on a 3-0 run early in the match to take the lead, 7-2. The Skylights tried to answer back as much as possible, but similar mistakes on their side led to a 4-0 run by the Bulldogs. Western maintained the lead for the rest of the fifth set, finding victory for the first time in conference play.

Despite the loss, Wagner was happy to see his team put forth a strong effort throughout the match.

"We had a great will," said Wagner. "They want to do well. It's a natural mistake to try to end things too early and get ahead of yourselves. But what did go well is that they wanted it and they can taste it. We're getting closer to maybe tasting a different result."

Burmester had a huge match for Northern, with 23 kills and 22 digs, while Neubauer added 11 and 16 digs. Maddock, Elissa Lind, Warren and Burmester each had two aces, as well, as the Skylights fell to 0-6 in the Frontier.

Another tough loss is painful for MSU-Northern, but the team will look to move forward at home. The Skylights (6-13) will have tough opponents next in the Montana Tech Orediggers and Lewis-Clark State Warriors.

MSU-Northern hits the court against Montana Tech Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium, then against Lewis-Clark State Friday at 7 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium.

Western def. MSU-Northern

21-25, 25-21, 21-25-, 25-20, 15-8

MSUN – Kills 56 (Rylee Burmester 23, Shania Neubauer 11, Elissa Lind 10, Katia Michelotti 07, Tammy Maddock 03, Hailey Warren 02) Assists 54 (Hailey Warren 50, Shania Neubauer 02, Elissa Lind 01, Rylee Burmester 01), Digs 97 (Rylee Burmester 22, Elissa Lind 20, Kaitlin Murdock 19, Shania Neubauer 16, Hailey Warren 16, Tammy Maddock 03, Katia Michelotti 01), Blocks 08, Aces 08 (Tammy Maddock 02, Elissa Lind 02, Hailey Warren 02, Rylee Burmester 02)

MW – Kills 56 (Emmah Peterson 14, Morgan Stenger 09, Abby Morgan 09, Abbee Croninger 09, Cady Siemion 05, Jessie Weber 04, Kaitlyn White 04, Madison Richtmyer 01, Morgan Kirch 01), Assists 50 (Madison Richtmyer 24, McKenna Fink 22, Tannah Sellers 03, Jessie Weber 01), Digs 99 (Tannah Sellers 26, Cady Siemion 18, Morgan Kirch 13, Madison Richtmyer 10, McKenna Fink 09, Jessie Weber 06, Abby Morgan 06, Emmah Peterson 05, Abbee Croninger 02, Morgan Stenger 02, Talyn Pitcher 01, Kaitlyn White 01), Blocks 12, Aces 05 (Madison Richtmyer 03, Jessie Weber 01, Talyn Pitcher 01).