Skylights home for the last time

The last home matches are always an emotional time for the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team. But the last home matches of the 2014 season are about a lot more than emotion, honor and good byes.

Simply put, the Skylights (1-10, 5-19) have a golden opportunity to use their home court to get themselves out of the cellar of the Frontier Conference, and into a positive direction heading into the Frontier tournament in two weeks.

Northern will try to do just that when it hosts Westminster College (4-6, 10-13) tonight at 7 inside the Armory Gymnasium. The Skylights will close out their home schedule with a match against the UM-Western Bulldogs (2-8, 10-12) Saturday night.

“It’s not just about these being our last home matches,” Northern head coach Bill Huebsch said. “We have a chance to win two at home, and improve our seeding for the conference tournament. If we can win on our home floor, we won’t have to play No. 1 Rocky in the first round. And I think everybody would like to avoid that.

“For us, we need to come out with a lot more energy and intensity than we did last weekend on the road,” Huebsch added. “That’s where it starts. And then we need to find that consistency we’ve been looking for. Those two things are key for us.”

Northern is needing consistency. The Skylights are last in the Frontier in hitting percentage, kills and kills per set, and those offensive struggles have led to just one win in conference play. However, MSU-N has been a tough serving team, and a much-improved blocking team as the season has gone on, and if those things continue to show up this weekend, the Skylights will give the Griffins and Warriors all they can handle.

“Against both teams, we just have to be more consistent offensively,” Huebsch said. “We’ve had our moments this season, and I know we’re capable of it. But inconsistency with our hitting has haunted us all year long, and it’s time for that to go away. It’s time to put our best foot forward.”

Individually, Northern is led by veteran Dayna Jensen, who has 231 kills and 234 digs this fall. Jensen, a Lewistown native, is a junior on the roster, but she’ll be honored as Northern’s lone senior Saturday night, as she will graduate from MSU-N this spring.

“Dayna has been a big part of helping turn this program around the last few years,” Huebsch said. “She’s a very big reason why we’ve had the success we have in her time here. We’re going to miss what she brings to the floor, we’ll miss her experience next season. She’s been one of those players you really enjoy coaching. I’ve really enjoyed the last few years with her, and this program is really going to miss her.”

Younger sister Erin Jensen has also had a solid season for the Skylights, and she will certainly miss playing alongside her sister. She has totaled 177 kills and 26 blocks so far this season, while Jessica Wilcox has 156 kills and 56 blocks. Sydney Stolearcius leads the MSU-N defense with 277 digs, while Sarah Stringfellow has a team-high 23 aces.

But for Northern to be successful this weekend, the Skylights will need a total team effort, and two matches in which they play their best volleyball of the season.

Tonight’s match features a Westminster team that swept the Skylights in Salt Lake City earlier in the season, and the Griffins have played well at times. They also have one of the most dangerous players in the Frontier in senior Alexis Aalona (6-0). The star outside hitter has 291 kills, 235 digs and 49 blocks on the season, and she has won the last two Frontier Conference Player of the Week awards.

Aalona is surrounded by a young but talented Griffin squad, who has been tough at home, but hasn’t played as well on the road. Freshman middle blocker Amara Culpepper (6-0) leads the Griffins with 80 blocks, while junior Jessica Chellsen (6-2) gives Westminster another big outside hitter. The Griffins are strong on offense, but also with their block, and Northern knows it will have to execute very well tonight.

“They (Griffins) are youthful, like us,” Huebsch said. “They are definitely led by Aalona, but they have athletic, talented players around her. They have won some good matches this season. Like everyone else in this league, they are very good, so we’ll see what happens on Friday night.”

After Westminster, the Skylights can turn their attention to the Bulldogs, who they beat in four sets earlier this season in Dillon. The win was Northern’s only conference win, but Western has knocked off Carroll College and Westminster over the last two weeks, and will come to Havre playing its best volleyball in quite some time. The Bulldogs are paced by outside hitter Emily Erickson’s (5-10) 241 kills as well as Breanne Kelly’s 189 kills on the other side. Western isn’t as big as many of the Frontier teams, but the Dawgs do play defense, with libero Kendra Mendicino leading the Frontier with 438 digs, while setter Paige Latimer leads the league with 694 assists.

“Western is playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Huebsch said. “They have had some big wins the last two weeks, and they’ve jumped ahead of us in the standings. They are very athletic and talented and are playing really well. So the fact that we beat them in Dillon doesn’t mean a lot now. We’re going to have to play very well to do it again.”

And that’s the goal. The Skylights want to just play as well as they can and as hard as they can for the next two nights. Northern is much better than its record indicates, and improving has been the goal all season long. But with the Frontier tourney a mere two weeks away, time to get better is running out.

“That’s the hope, just be better than we were last weekend,” Huebsch said. “We’ve been improving all year, but now we want to turn those improvements into consistent play. And there’s a lot riding on this weekend. We have a chance to improve our standing in the conference, and we also want to keep getting better so we’re playing our best when we get to Butte. So this is a big weekend for us, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Tonight’s match between Northern and Westminster starts at 7. Saturday night’s match with UM-Western will start at 6 at the Armory Gymnasium. MSU-N finishes the regular season next Saturday night at UGF.