Skylights return home to face the Argonauts

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team is finally back at home at Armory Gymnasium tonight with a match against the University of Providence. The Skylights lost to Rocky Mountain College on the road this past weekend to open Frontier Conference play, but MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner hopes to carry over what they did well in that match and put on a strong show tonight.

"The expectations are that we play really well and build on what we established a little bit even in defeat here this past time out," Wagner said. "I thought we made some headway in the Rocky match and hope to carry over some of those many things that happened well into this match."

While the Argonauts do not have the best record, they should still provide a challenge for the Skylights. So far this fall, the Argos have a 7-12 record and are 0-1 to start Frontier Conference play. Despite the losing record, several Argos are off to strong starts this season.

Jenna Thorne leads the Argos with 63 total kills this season on an attack percentage of .160. Bella Thompson has been integral to the offense with 161 total assists and six service aces this year, so the Skylights will need to watch out for the Providence offense.

"They've always been very good at their serve receive and their serving is very strong. Even though they've had some graduations, that's remained a strength of theirs," Wagner said. "They run a nice tempo to their offense so I'd say offensively, they're a strong team."

The Argos also have some solid defensive players. Taylor Christensen is an experienced player for the Argos as she has 89 total digs so far this season. Zoe Naugle will look to make her presence felt around the net as she leads the team with 27.0 total blocks this year.

The Skylights and Argos faced off in the Preseason Frontier Conference Tournament in Billings earlier this month, but tonight's match will be the first meeting that counts towards the standings. In that preseason match, the Argos defeated the Skylights in four sets. The Skylights were dealing with some injuries in that match, so Wagner hopes the lineup from that match should play better tonight now that they have had more time together.

"The more matches we play with an adjustment to our lineup, the better we are," Wagner said. "We need to bring a few things together and each person has to step up and do that and then we'll be right there."

So far this fall, the Skylights are 8-6 with an 0-1 record in the Frontier Conference. Alana Graves leads the Skylights with 140 total kills on a .244 attack percentage this fall. Jessalyn Chviliceck has also played well with 134 total kills.

Emily Feller is a key player for the Skylights with 319 total assists this fall. She is also dangerous in the serving game with 15 service aces this season. On defense, Kaitlin Murdock leads the team with 217 total digs and Graves leads the Skylights with 52 total blocks this fall.

The Skylights have been on the road the past two weekends with the preseason tournament and their trip to Billings. While the Skylights have played at home already this season, this will be the first time they get to host a Frontier Conference opponent in the friendly confines of Armory Gymnasium.

"That part's always a nice factor to have in your favor," Wagner said about playing at home. "You're comfortable at home and you got a lot of support besides that of your teammates. We'll hope to capitalize on that good feeling."

While the Skylights have a winning record this season, they have faced some adversity lately. Along with going 0-4 in the preseason conference tournament, the Skylights just lost in four sets to Rocky Mountain last weekend. While it was a tough loss, there is plenty that the Skylights can learn from as they get ready for tonight.

"We (have) shore (to) up some of the things that didn't go our way and a lot of those things we have under our own control," Wagner said. "(We have to) learn from those things and try to get better at them."

The MSU-N volleyball team will tip off against Rocky Mountain College tonight at 7 p.m. at Armory Gymnasium.