Northern spikers look for more improvements this season

The dogs days of August rage on. But, fall is also right around the corner, and with that comes another season of Montana State University-Northern volleyball.

Under longtime head coach Jerry Wagner, the Skylights are excited to continue their journey to climb the ladder in the Frontier Conference and beyond.

Northern opens its season this weekend with a trip to Valley City for matches against Valley City State and Bemidji State, before coming back to the Armory Gymnasium for a scrimmage this Saturday.

And Wagner, who led the Skylights to a 16-14 record last season, as well as a run to the Frontier semifinals, said his team is making great progress so far this summer.

"Training camp has progressed well and we seem to be making progress," Wagner said. "The team is giving their best effort on a daily basis and we have excellent chemistry among the returning and new players. We are becoming a very tight and cohesive team."

Northern has had to rebound so to speak this season, after the Skylights graduated a slew of veterans from last year's squad. All-Conference star hitter Rylee Burmester, as well as Elissa Lind and five-year starter Shania Neubauer have all moved on, but the cupboard is by no means bare.

Northern returned All-Conference middle Alana Graves, as well as starting center Emily Feller. Middle Marlee Bender is also back, as is libero Katie Murdock, and talented hitter Alyssa Pretty Weasel. Former Havre Blue Pony Jessa Chvilicek is another returner with experience for MSU-N, while Wagner will also look to youngsters like DS Haile George, DS Baily Egan, setter Macee Murphy, OH/DS Josie Hasler and middle Maddison Underdog to contribute as well.

"Besides the returning players,  I believe you will see all of our freshman class contributing and making a impact," Wagner noted.

And the Skylights as a whole will would like to make an impact in the Frontier again this season. Graves will be a huge key offensive for a Northern squad that was last in hitting percentage a year ago. Northern however, was an extremely strong defensive team last season, and with Graves and Bender in the middle, and a strong back row, as well as good serving, Wagner expects his squad to be tough on defense again.

"The team's strengths will center on our team ball control and team defense," he said.

While Northern will be strong in key areas this season, the Skylights also know just how tough it is to make headway in the Frontier. Defending champion Providence, as well as Montana Tech, Carroll College and Rocky Mountain College are always perennial powers in the Frontier, so MSU-N will also ways have its work cut out for it if the Skylights want to contend for a Frontier championship - something that is a goal for every team at the start of a brand new season.

"The Frontier Conference will once again be strong with two of our teams, (Providence and Tech), ranked in the preseason Top 25 poll," Wagner said. "Our expectations and outlook is to improve upon last year's final standing by improving daily. We want to continue to improve our conference standing, and not limit what this year's team is capable of attaining. We believe we will get the attention of the teams we compete against in preseason and in the conference."

Competition starts this week for Northern, which plays exhibition matches against Valley City, Bemidji State and Medicine Hat College. Northern's match against Medicine Hat will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Armory Gymnasium. The Skylights then head to the Ouaz Volleyball Tournament Aug. 26-27 in Phoenix, before returning home to host the Frontier/North Star Conference Challenge Sept. 9-10. The preseason concludes with the Frontier Preseason Tournament Sept. 16-17 in Billings.