Northern spikers enter Frontier postseason with momentum

After finishing a season that was pushed to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team will be playing in the Frontier Conference postseason tournament for the first time since the 2019 fall semester. The Skylights will begin postseason play on the road tonight at Carroll College.

The Skylights head into the postseason after finishing last in the Frontier Conference with a record of 2-18. They are on a four-match losing streak heading into the postseason but defeated Carroll the last time they played them on March 20. Despite the last-place finish, MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner believes his team is playing at their best.

"I feel very good about my team and how hard we're going to play," Wagner said. "I feel like everybody's on the same page, and I think we're going to be as ready as a team coming in there to start a playoff can be on the road."

The Saints are 10-9 this season, finishing third in the conference. However, they are on a four-match losing streak heading into the postseason that started with a loss to MSU-N. The matchup tonight will be the fifth match between the Skylights and Saints this season. In the regular season, Carroll won three out of their four matches. If the Skylights are going to get their second win over the Saints this season, they will need to be playing their best.

"If we can get comfortable, we're going to be very formidable," Wagner said.

If the Skylights want to defeat Carroll again this season, they will need their players to step up. One player is Rylee Burmester, who is fourth in the conference with 218 total kills on the season. She will need help from Emily Feller, who is third in the conference with 620 total assists. Shania Neubauer will also need to help the Skylights on defense as she is fifth in the conference with 334 total digs.

The Skylights will also need to shut down Carroll's impact players such as Taelyr Krantz, who leads the conference with a 29.4 hitting percentage and is third in the conference with 235 total kills on the season. There is also Ali Williams, who is sixth in the conference with 536 total assists, and Julia Carr, who is third in the Frontier with 381 total digs.

"They have experience in some very good places and they'll be at home," Wagner said.

The team statistics reflect their standings in the conference. MSU-N is last in the conference with a 10.3 hitting percentage and Carroll is fourth in the Frontier with a 15.7 hitting percentage. Carroll is third in the conference with 881 kills on the season and MSU-N is fifth with 776 kills. However, Wagner believes that the teams play at a similar pace which will give his team a chance.

"The tempo that they execute their offense and ours is similar so our opportunities in the gym are more beneficial," Wagner said.

MSU-N has not made a run in the Frontier Conference tournament since 2013, where they finished as the tournament's runner-up after losing to Rocky Mountain College in the championship game. Wagner believes his team can make a Cinderella run this postseason, but he knows that won't be possible without a win over Carroll tonight.

"We're as good as anybody to make a run if we can get over the first one," Wagner said.

MSU-N and Carroll will play tonight at 7 p.m. in Helena. The semifinals are Thursday and the Frontier championship match will be Saturday.