By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The MSU-Northern volleyball team accomplished two of its goals in the maroon and black scrimmage Friday night. Team intensity was high throughout the match and neither the maroon nor the black lost more than three straight matches.
Even better, the black team overcame a two-game deficit to win two-straight and send the match into five games. The maroon team was the victor in the end.
Im happy with the black team that they came back from two games down, said first-year head coach Lisa Handley. They were really fighting for the match.
Handley said the competitiveness on the court was the best thing she saw in the scrimmage.
Maroon passed the ball well in serve receive and they played tough at the net.
Maroon captain and team co-captain, senior Melanie Baack, agreed with the importance on team passing.
First and foremost, the thing that we needed the most was to pass well and we did it, Baack said. We need to pass well on serve receive.
To keep team intensity high, team huddles and on-court cheering were also important, said Baack.
Our communication and intensity were high, Baack said. We need to keep that high all season.
Baack also cited team unity as being the most important factor for the Skylights this season.
Everybody is working hard together and the cooperation is great, Baack said. The team needs to remember that we can do it. We have to be positive and work hard. Whether its a two hour practice or were there for 10 hours a day. Weve got to work hard.
Junior co-captain and captain of the black team, Connie Fritz, also commended the teamwork she saw.
Weve come a long way, Fritz said. With the team unity, weve got the players stepping up and putting it together.
Fritz said keeping the team together and keeping the enthusiasm up throughout each match are crucial to the Skylights success.
The Skylights, who finished 5-17 last season, travel to Dillon on Saturday, Aug. 28, to play at the Frontier Scrimmage where they will have the opportunity to see all Frontier Conference teams in action.
