MSU-N spikers host Frontier powers

A lot of things can happen to and for the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team this weekend.

But one thing's for certain, Friday and Saturday will be the last time Havre sees the Skylights this season.

Northern () is home for the final weekend of the Frontier Conference regular season, and the Skylights start that home stand tonight with a pivotal match against No. 19 Rocky Mountain College. Northern then closes out the regular season with a 2 p.m. match against Carroll College on Saturday.

And with the final home matches and the end of the regular season comes senior day, which will take place on Saturday as MSU-N honors seniors Kaylee Bossert, Brittany Baker, Jordan Merrill, Jenna Frankino, Sheena McInnes and student-assistant coach Liz Richards.

But perhaps more importantly, the Skylights are playing for seeding in the Frontier Conference Tournament, which runs next weekend in Lewiston, Idaho, as well as trying to put a positive end to their best season in five years.

MSU-N comes into tonight's match a half game behind Montana Tech for fifth place, and while Tech is likely to end up with six wins, a sweep this weekend at home would give Northern a tie with the Orediggers, as well as the tiebreaker and a fifth-place finish. But no matter how the Skylights do against the Battlin' Bears and Fighting Saints, MSU-N can finish no worse than sixth in the Frontier, even if UGF sweeps Carroll and Rocky this weekend. The Argos are currently behind Northern in the league standings due to MSU-N also holding those tiebreakers.

"Obviously, we'd like to finish as high as we possibly can," MSU-N second-year head coach Bill Huebsch said. "But the most important thing this weekend is being consistent. We want to play well in both matches no matter the outcome so we can finish the season on a positive note and go into the Frontier tournament with some momentum. We just want to play our best this weekend, and hopefully we're ready to do that."

And to win tonight against the nationally-ranked Bears (), the Skylights will have to be at their best. Rocky has locked up second place in the Frontier and is steam-rolling into the postseason. And the Bears already have a three-game sweep of Northern in their pocket, having beaten the Skylights last month in Billings.

Rocky's strength is up front and the Skylights don't match up size-wise. The Bears are led at the net by 5-11 middle blocker Jessica Overstreet who is also dangerous in the back row. Rocky's size also includes 6-2 outside hitter Jillian Bates and 5-9 outside hitter Sara Brunner who comes into tonight's match with 226 kills on the season. The Bears also rotate in three players over 6-0 and they have an the league's leading setter in Kristi Barot, who has 813 assists.

"There's a reason they are ranked right now," Huebsch said of the Bears. "They are very talented, and their size in the front row really stands out. They have good size at all three positions and they rotate in even more size. And behind a big block, they are also very good on defense. They are just a real solid all-around team.

"For us, the key for us to be very consistent passing the ball," he added. "We have to stay in system so we can attack their block with good swings. And because they play such good defense behind the block, passing is even that much more important for us."

And if a win against the Bears would go a long way towards helping the Skylights finish the season strong, a win over the rival Saints on senior day might be even bigger. Carroll is unranked this week, but is just outside the NAIA Top 25. And with both the Saints and Skylights being without a key player in their meeting last month in Helena, a match Carroll won in four very close games, Huebsch is excited about the rematch on Saturday.

"We were both a player down in Helena (Skylights didn't play Kaylee Bossert that match due to illness)," Huebsch said. "So we're anxious for a rematch with them (Saints).

"They are another very talented team, but we feel like we match up well with them," he added. "And that's why every game in the match we played them in Helena was so close. We had chances in all four games, but we just didn't put them away. So we're excited to play them again. But at the same time, we know they are a very good team, they are very well coached, and we have to play really well to have a chance. Again, our passing has to be very consistent, and we have to be able to attack their block in system because it is very good. I think, because we're so evenly matched, it will come down to who makes less unforced errors."

And while the Bears are big up front, so are the Saints. Middle hitter Haylee Otteson leads the Frontier in both kills (284) and blocks (131). The Saints also have good size up front with Marki Otteson, while they have the top two defenders in the league in libero Maureen Frauenholtz and outside hitter Sammy Priddy, who are 1-2 in the conference in digs. Caitlin Tocci is also an experienced setter who gets the Saints into their offense with consistency.

But the Skylights, who will no doubt be fired up on senior day, have weapons of their own all over the four including four graduating seniors. Bossert is fifth in the conference in hitting percentage and has 235 kills on the season. Baker has 149 kills and Merrill is third in the league in assists with 719. Frankino is an outstanding defender in the back row, while freshman Holly Cartwright leads the Skylights in digs with 161.

But playing with emotion and being fired up for their last home stand will only carry the Skylights so far against the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the conference. Huebsch knows his team needs consistency throughout each set and a some high-powered offense in order to have success on the last weekend of the season.

"Playing at a high level, not just point-to-point, but set-to-set is a must," Huebsch said. "At this point in the season, you need to be very consistent and be able to maintain that high level of play throughout a match.

"We have reached those high levels at times this season," he added. "But we really have been an up and down team, especially from set-to-set. So hopefully this weekend, we can put it all together maintain our level of consistency throughout. If we do that, than we have a chance to be very competitive in both matches."

Tonight's match between the Skylights and Bears will start at 7 at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse. The Skylights and Saints will get underway at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Next up for all of the Frontier will be the conference tournament next Friday and Saturday at Lewis-Clark State.