News you can use

They win the close ones too

Perfect Northern spikers beat LC State and Tech in dramatic five-setters at the Armory Gymnasium

Even when you're as good as the Montana State University-Northern Skylights are, volleyball is a game of momentum, and things can't possibly go your way every single night. But it's how teams respond when the chips are down which makes them great.

And after five grueling sets in the first of two tough home matches this weekend at the Armory Gymnasium, the Skylights certainly showed how great they are when backed into a corner.

Northern upended the Lewis-Clark State Warriors by scores of 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 23-25 and 15-9 Friday night in front of a raucous crowd in the Armory. The win was the first of another home sweep for MSU-N, which also beat Montana Tech Saturday night in another grueling five-setter.

And the weekend sweep, which pushed the 25th-ranked Skylights to an 11-0 record in the Frontier Conference, and an astounding 20-4 on the season, didn't come easy. In fact, it was downright difficult because the Warriors, who Northern beat just six days earlier in the Lewiston, Idaho, made it that way.

After going up a commanding 2-0, the Skylights played cautiously according to head coach Bill Huebsch, while LCSC started to heat up on both sides of the night. And two sets later, MSU-N found itself in a fifth set for only the second time in conference play this season.

"I just thought we played really careful in the third and fourth sets," Huebsch said. "We didn't block very well and we weren't as aggressive with our serving. And LC defended us really well the whole match. We hit almost 200 points below our season average, so that shows just how well LC defended.

"But we did make a nice little run in the fourth set, even though it might have already been out of reach," he continued. "So going into that fifth set, I felt better about how we were playing. I thought we kind of pushed momentum back to our side a little at the end of that fourth set, and then in the fifth, we really started to play better. We blocked better, we served tough and we passed better. It was just a really tough match, one we had to really grind out tonight, and luckily we did."

The fifth set did indeed belong to Northern. It started with an Alexis Nelson block, as the freshman totaled three solo blocks on the night and really gave Northern a boost late in the match. Then, leading 5-4, the Skylights went on a 7-1 run, with Abby Nicholas and Dayna Jensen getting key smashes on the outside, while Nelson wound up with two more blocks. From there, LC really didn't have an answer and Kelsey Williams gave Northern a match point with a kill right down the middle, while Nicholas finished the night off with a kill.

"This team doesn't give up," senior libero Holly Cartwright said after Northern defeated the powerhouse Warriors for the fourth time in the last five meetings. "It's because we all love each other, and because we play for each other out there. Yes, we got down a few times tonight, but we always pick each other up, and we did that tonight. We just are always there for each other and that made all the difference tonight."

The Skylights certainly did get down, as they saw a 2-0 lead slip away. Both teams came out firing on all cylinders in the first set as there were 14 lead changes throughout. Neither team built a lead bigger than two points in the set, while Williams and LCSC star Niurka Toribio traded huge kills throughout the exciting set. However, trailing 21-19 MSU-N responded with back-to-back kills by Erin Jensen and Nicholas. Dayna Jensen then capped off a 6-0 run with a smash on the outside, and Nicholas finished the Warriors off with a putaway in the middle.

The tight first set seemed to give Northern confidence, because in the second MSU-N dominated. Northern took the lead at 14-13, ripped off a 8-0 run and never looked back en route to a commanding 2-0 lead.

"The first set was a battle," Huebsch said. "It was a continuation of the fourth set against them last week at their place where we just went back-and-forth, point-for-point. So as well as well as we were playing, we felt lucky just to win that first set. Give LC a lot of credit because they came out swinging, they really forced the issue on us a little bit, but I thought we responded pretty well to their good start. I think the girls were ready for it because we knew this match was not going to be easy by any means."

And it wasn't. Down 2-0, it was LC's turn to respond. In the third set, the Warriors took the lead at 6-5 and never trailed again, while in the fourth set, they ran off an 8-0 run to lead 18-11, and had seized all the momentum. And though good teams like Northern and LCSC will put away sets when ahead by margins like the one the warriors had in the fourth, MSU-N chipped away at that lead with service aces by Dayna Jensen and a nice run of kills by herself, Nicholas and Williams. And by the time Erin Jensen stuffed a block, the Skylights had rallied to only trail 24-23. And while LCSC managed to hang on and win the set, the Skylights seemed to be the team playing better, and playing more aggressively, and that momentum carried over into the decisive fifth set.

"I feel like this was good for us," Cartwright said. "This is a really good team we beat in five tonight. They (Warriors) do everything really sound, so this win shows us we can win this way. Now we know we can push through and win matches like this where the other team is playing really well. This win will really help us, and I'm just really happy we were able to pull through tonight."

Though neither team hit for an outstanding percentage, the stars certainly shown bright. Nicholas totaled 23 kills nine digs and two blocks, while Williams added 17 kills 10 digs and an ace. Dayna Jensen chipped in with 10 kills and two aces, while Joni Nagy totaled 48 assists and 15 digs. Defensively, the Skylights were stellar, holding LC to just .146 hitting and out-blocking the Warriors 15-10. Carwright led the way with 15 digs, while Sydney Stolearcius added 10. Like Nelson, Dayna Jensen had three blocks, as did Erin Jensen.

"It was a battle and we expected it to be," Huebsch said. "It just shows you absolutely can't float through this league. What a tough match. LC came in here and really played well, but I'm really proud of our kids for hanging in there tonight. We got some nice contributions. Alexis Nelson did a great job, and I thought Joni (Nagy) was really outstanding tonight. She really kind of held us together through those tough stretches.

"But overall, the girls just showed a lot of heart and toughness," he continued. "It was a tough one, but a great win none-the-less."

Another Battle

If Friday night's win was emotionally and physically draining for the Skylights, it turns out Montana Tech didn't care. And to get a win on Saturday night, MSU-N had to play from behind, which the Skylights did, winning by scores of 24-26, 25-20, 26-28, 25-21 and 15-10.

"I thought we played flat today," Huebsch said. "Maybe it was the emotional win we had last night when we went five, but those take a lot out of you. That was a big win against LC because they are chasing us, so we put a lot of effort and energy into that win last night. Tech has improved so much, they play hard and they make it hard to put the ball down. They played us very aggressive and held us below what we are used to hitting as an average."

The Skylights may have had to scrape and claw their way to a win Saturday night, but when it mattered most, they once again got the job done.

Trailing 2-1, Northern got rolling after the fourth set was tied early at 9-9. MSU-N went on two solid point runs to put that set away, and it was on to a fifth set for the second straight night. The decisive set was again back-and-forth early, but with her team holing a slim 8-7 lead, Erin Jensen spurned a Northern run with five kills and a block as the Skylights outscored the Orediggers 7-3 the rest of the way. Nicholas dropped the final kill for MSU-N, and Northern's unbeaten record in the Frontier play was still intact.

"I think what changed was we were more aggressive," Huebsch said of the final two sets. "I think we blocked a lot better in the fourth and fifth set than in the previous sets, but we were just a lot more aggressive. Erin Jensen had a huge fifth set both hitting and defending, and she really showed up for us. Defensively we also worked a little bit harder, not saying that we didn't work hard all night, but we just seemed to be running in quick sand at times early."

The Skylights won the war Saturday night, but Tech certainly made it a battle. The Orediggers came out swinging and led 7-3 in the first set. A Sydney Stolearcius ace gave MSU-N a brief 17-16 lead, but the Diggers' broke a 23-23 tie by scoring the last three points of the set, striking first blood.

Northern bounced right back, behind strong offense from Williams, and a final kill by Haley Russell, the Skylights were able to even the match at 1-1. However, in a wild third set, Tech prevailed. MSU-N led 11-6 early on, but the Diggers' fought back. There were six straight ties late in the set, but two smashes by Tech's Annie Smoot sent the Diggers' into the fourth set with a 2-1 lead, forcing MSU-N to pull off a come-from-behind win.

Nicholas paced the Skylights with 27 kills and 18 digs, while Williams had 24 kills and 10 digs. Nagy had astounding 65 assists to go along with 18 digs and two blocks, while Dayna Jensen had 13 kills and Cartwright had a team-high 23 digs. Northern hit .274 for the match, which was up from Friday night, but the Diggers' out-blocked MSU-N 11-9.

Still, no matter how the job got done, it got done. The Skylights are still perfect at home, and they are two matches clear of Rocky Mountain College in the Frontier standings. MSU-N has four regular season matches left, including Thursday night's visit to UM-Western and its road finale Saturday afternoon at Westminster.

"They showed a lot of character through last night and tonight," Huebsch said. "We get into those fifth sets, and those can get tense, but we showed a lot more composure. We just weren't ourselves today, but it is hard to play back to back matches like we did.

"We are happy to continue the roll that we are on," he added. "Every time we play somebody for the second time it is going to be a lot harder. Everybody is improving, but everybody also wants to be the first team to beat us."

Note: Havre Daily News sports writer Daniel Horton contributed to this story.

Skylights are 12-0 in the Frontier, 21-4 overall; Up Next: at UM-Western Thursday

Skylights def. LC State

25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 15-9

LC – Kills 55 (Treneisha Doyle 14, Niurka Toribio 13, Keisha Lubbert-Kennedy 10), Assists 52 (Naomi Hernandez 27), Aces 1 (Hernandez 1), Digs 74 (Kelsey Ross 12), Blocks 10 (Toribio 2).

MSU-N – Kills 56 (Abby Nicholas 23, Kelsey Williams 17, Dayna Jensen 10), Assists 51 (Joni Nagy 48), Aces 6 (Jensen 2), Digs 74 (Holly Cartwright 18, Nagy 15, Williams 10, Sydney Stolearcius 10), Blocks 15 (D. Jensen 3, Alexis Nelson 3).

Skylights def. Montana Tech

24-26, 25-20, 26-28, 25-21, 15-10

TECH – Kills 70 (Sydney Norris 21, Haley Druyvestein 13, Annie Smoot 12), Assists 69 (Mackenzie Bauck 34, Alkison Lunde 29), Aces 5 (5 with one each), Digs 85 (Kimmy Kavran 39), Blocks 11 (Smoot 2, Bailie Cortner 2).

MSU-N – Kills 79 (Abby Nicholas 27, Kelsey Williams 24, Dayna Jensen 13), Assists 77 (Joni Nagy 65), Aces 3 (3 with one each), Digs 86 (Holly Cartwright 23, Nicholas 19, Nagy 18), Blocks 9 (Nagy 2, Erin Jensen 2).

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 02/27/2024 05:38