Skylights fall in Frontier opener at LC State

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights went through the 2013 Frontier Conference season nearly unscathed. Included in that 15-1 run a year ago, was two wins over rival Lewis-Clark State.

And, dating back to the 2012 Frontier Conference tournament, the Skylights had beaten LCSC in five of their last ssix meetings. But the Warriors got some revenge Thursday night. Playing in Lewiston, Idaho, in the Frontier opener for both teams, the Skylights were blitzed by the Warriors in a three-game sweep. LC State won by scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-13.

Northern, which dropped to an 0-1 start in conference play, started off just fine. The Skylights stayed with the Warriors in the first set, matching them point-for-point. But overall, hit .000 for the match and that, combined with a huge 10 blocks by LCSC doomed MSU-N’s chances.

LCSC went a short run to put away the first set, and the Warriors never looked back as Northern fell behind quickly in each of the next two sets and couldn’t catch up.

MSU-N totaled just 17 kills to LCSC’s 44, while the Warriors out-blocked the Skylights 10-3 and hit four aces to MSU-N’s none. Dayna Jensen led with six kills, while Erin Jensen had five. Jessica Wilcox added four kills, while Janelle Hoff had 15 assists and 11 digs. Sydney Stolearcius paced the MSU-N defense with 15 digs.

LCSC, which improved to 1-0 in the conference with Thursday night’s win, got a match-high 12 kills by Treneisha Doyle, while Russia Robinson had 15 digs and three aces.

Northern (4-10) will try and rebound when the Skylights visit Montana Tech Saturday afternoon. MSU-N makes its home debut next Friday against No.1-ranked Rocky Mountain College, while the Skylights also host Carroll College next Saturday.

LC State def. MSU-Northern

25-19, 25-12, 25-13

MSU-N – Kills 17 (Dayna Jensen 6, Erin Jensen 5), Assists 16 (Janelle Hoff 15), Aces 0, Digs 35 (Sydney Stolearcius 14, Hoff 11), Blocks 3.

LCSC – Kills 44 (Treneisha Doyle 12, Chelsea Strong 10), Assists 42 (Robyn Schirmer 36), Aces 4 (Russia Robinson 3), Digs 43 (Robinson 15), Blocks 10 (Desiree Nelson 4).