Skylights to host back-to-back matches this weekend

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team has won two matches in a row and will look to keep rolling with another pair of matches this weekend at home. At Armory Gymnasium, the Skylights will play Carroll College Friday night before playing Montana Tech Saturday night. With their recent success, MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner believes the Skylights are ready for this weekend.

"Expectations are high. We've found a little bit of something that's working," Wagner said. "We want to carry that good feeling into this one and I like our chances in both of them."

Carroll College comes into the weekend with a 9-10 record and a 1-2 mark in the Frontier Conference. The Fighting Saints have lost two in a row, so they will be looking to rectify that this weekend against the Skylights. In the Preseason Frontier Conference Tournament last month in Billings, the Saints defeated the Skylights in four sets.

The Saints have many players who can give the Skylights trouble, but the main one to watch out for is Elizabeth Heuiser. In the middle, she has 252 total kills this season, 3.19 sets a kill and an attack percentage of .248. While the Saints have other players, Heuiser will be the main focus on defense for Northern this Friday.

"She's very good and has a lot of offensive ability," Wagner said. "I think they got a pretty good offense and that's something we need to face.'

Tech is off to a strong start with a 15-6 record and a 3-0 record in conference play. In the preseason conference tournament, the Orediggers defeated the Skylights in three sets.

The Orediggers have many experienced players who have led them to success this year. On offense, Maureen Jessop leads the team with 273 total kills on 3.69 kills a set this season. She is also a strong server with 28 service aces this season.

On defense, Jelena Jablanov leads the team with 274 total digs this season. At the net, Taylor Henley should be a problem as she has 105.0 total blocks this year. With the experienced Orediggers coming to town right after Carroll, the Skylights will have their hands full on defense.

"They're the most veteran team," Wagner said about Tech. "We're probably facing the two best offensive teams in the conference this weekend."

The Skylights are 10-6 with a 2-1 start to Frontier Conference competition. Jessalyn Chvilicek will look to keep her strong season going as she leads the Skylights with 159 total kills. Alana Graves is also having a strong offensive season with 154 total kills this fall. Graves also has 103 total blocks this season.

Emily Feller will look to play well at home this weekend as she leads the team with 19 service aces and 393 total assists. Kaitlin Murdock has also played well on defense with 256 digs this season.

After going winless in the preseason conference tournament and losing their conference opener, the Skylights have won two in a row over the past week and a half. As they look to continue to play well this weekend, Wagner believes the team's chemistry will be key to victory this weekend.

"We've just always been able to come together and be strong," Wagner said. "We have good unity on this team and an approach to practice so I think we'll be in a good spot."

The MSU-N volleyball team will first play Carroll College at Armory Gymnasium this Friday at 7 p.m. The Skylights will then play Montana Tech at home this Saturday at 6 p.m.