Skylights fall short at Frontier Preview Tournament

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team got its first look at the rest of the Frontier Conference this past weekend with the Frontier Preview Tournament in Billings.

And, after four matches, the Skylights found out just how good the league is going to be this fall.

On Friday, the Skylights were swept by No. 20 Montana Tech. The Skylights lost in three sets (16-25, 19-25, and 12-25.). The Skylights were led by Alana Graves, who tallied eight kills hitting a percentage of .069. Kaitlin Murdock led the team in digs with 14. Macee Murphy led the team in assists with nine.

Northern also fell Friday night to Carroll College. The Skylights lost to the Fighting Saints in four sets (26-24, 24-26, 21-25, and 17-25). The Skylights were led by Jessalyn Chvilicek, who tallied 14 kills with a hitting percentage of .286. Graves and Alyssa Pretty Weasel each added 12 kills. Murdock led the team in digs with 28. Emily Feller led the team in assists with 28.

On Saturday morning, Northern lost its third straight as the Skylights were swept by Western (23-25, 17-25, and 22-25). The Skylights were led by Graves, who tallied seven kills with a hitting percentage of .174. Pretty Weasel, Murphy, and Chvilicek each added six kills. Murdock led the team in digs with 21. Feller led the team in assists with 23. Northern ended the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Providence Saturday afternoon, (25-22, 23-25, 17-25, and 12-25). The Skylights were led by Chvilicek, who tallied 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .125. Pretty Weasel added 10 kills. Murdock led the team in digs with 19. Feller led the team in assists with 28.

The four non-conference losses dropped MSU-N to 8-5 on the season. The Skylights will return to Billings on Friday night for the conference-opener against Rocky Mountain College.