Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Elissa Lind, MSU-N volleyball

This Saturday will be the final home game and senior day for the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team. The Skylights will honor their seniors before they move on from the program. Senior Elissa Lind expects it to be an emotional day, but she is confident that she and her teammates can handle their emotions as they face Carroll College at Armory Gymnasium.

"I think we'll have it in the bag. We'll definitely have to work hard for it, but I think we'll be excited and ready to win," Lind said.

2020 was originally meant to be her senior season, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lind and all the other seniors got an extra year of eligibility. Lind had been thinking about returning for this semester as a student coach but she was happy to get back on the court for one more season.

"I got the opportunity to play and get better, which is really exciting because I've definitely improved a lot this semester," Lind said.

Lind's final season did not get off on the right note as she missed the first few weeks of the season with an injury. She returned to the rotation in early September and has been a key component of the team ever since. This fall, she has recorded 89 kills, 178 digs and nine service aces.

Lind took a long road to get to the MSU-N volleyball program. She began playing volleyball in fifth grade in Hardin before she attended Western Wyoming Community College where she continued to play. MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner reached out to her and convinced her to return to Montana.

During her time in the program, Lind has enjoyed making friends and memories on the team. She has also learned the value of hard work during her Skylight career. While she has played volleyball at MSU-N, Lind majored in integrated health sciences. Once she is done with college, she plans on going into acupuncture in either Portland or Seattle next fall. However, she plans on eventually returning home to Montana.

The Skylights have two more matches at Armory Gymnasium to end the regular season. On Friday night, they will play Montana Tech and then they will play Carroll College on senior day on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Before she plays in Armory Gymnasium one more time, the Havre Daily News got the chance to ask Lind five questions.

HDN: How has your final season been after returning from injury?

Lind: "I was really excited to get back and play six rotations. Once I started playing six rotations, it was definitely a lot more fun but just winning this year has been really nice. The team dynamic is so much different than the last two years and it's been really enjoyable playing with the girls."

HDN: Who would you credit for helping you become the volleyball player you are now?

Lind: "My high school head coach. She just absolutely helped me fall in love with the game and even still, she just watched our game in Dillon and having her there was nice. Her love for volleyball definitely rubbed off on me."

HDN: What is your approach to the game of volleyball?

Lind: "One thing I really try and pay attention to is just being mentally tough because volleyball is a game of mistakes. If you're the one making mistakes, you just have to go point by point."

HDN: As an outside hitter, what are the challenges and responsibilities of that position?

Lind: "Just being a leader and being able to keep the ball in play and then out of system play when the setter doesn't have second ball. Playing six rotations, you're in the game the whole time so you get a feel of the whole dynamic and everything like that so just communicating and being a leader is important."

HDN: What do you like to do in your free time?

Lind: "After I'm done with school here, I'm going to Bi Sky resort and I'm working there so I get to snowboard and I absolutely love snowboarding so that's pretty exciting. So that, reading and hanging out with friends."