MSU-N spikers announce 2012 schedule

The start of the season is well over a month away, but the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team already knows the challenges it will face in 2012.

The Skylights and head coach Bill Huebsch recently announced their 2012 schedule, which includes three pre-conference tournaments, as well as a new-look Frontier Schedule.

Northern begins the regular season in Great Falls on Aug. 17-18 with the UGF/Carroll Tournament. The Skylights will get four matches in Great Falls, including a nonconference showdown with the UGF Argos, MSU-N's biggest rival. Doane College of Nebraska also presents a big challenge for Northern on its opening weekend.

MSU-N will then travel to Spokane for five matches against Cascade Conference foes. On Aug. 23-25, the Skylights and several other Frontier teams will compete in the Cascade/Frontier Challenge. In Spokane, Northern will face off against Northwest University, Corban University, Northwest Christian, Eastern Oregon and Evergreen State.

MSU-N then wraps up its nonconference schedule with a trip to Las Vegas for the UGF Tournament there Aug. 31-Sept. 2.

And when the Skylights have been severely challenged by so many good nonconference opponents, it will be time for Frontier play. And it's a brand new Frontier as Dickinson State joins the league, and ultimately changes the schedule and number of regular season matches. DSU creates new volleyball travel partners and moves the number of conference matches from 14 to 16.

The Skylights open league play with Carroll College on Sept. 8, then host DSU and Rocky Mountain College the following weekend. Northern plays five home matches in September and only two on the road, before playing rival UGF in Great Falls on Oct. 4.

The annual Frontier bye week is also gone per the new schedule, and the Skylights start the second half of the season at home with UGF, but play four of their last six matches on the road. MSU-N's final home matches will be Sept. 25 and Sept. 27 against UM-Western and Westminster, respectively.

Interestingly, the new schedule also changes road trips for the Skylights. UGF is still a one-match week, but now Northern must travel to Utah and Idaho on different weekend's. Under the old schedule, the Skylights played at Westminster and Lewis-Clark State on the same trip, but now Montana teams in the Frontier will trip to Western and Westminster and Montana Tech and LC State. The trip to Dickinson is also paired with RMC.

Northern will enter the new season with high hopes and high expectations. The Skylights had their best season in almost a decade a year ago and finished in the top six in the final Frontier standings. MSU-N also finished the regular season with the most wins the program has had in eight years.

Skylight Volleyball 2012 Schedule

Aug. 17 vs Goshen College

At UGF/Carroll Tournament in Great Falls

vs Doane College

At UGF/Carroll Tournament in Great Falls

Aug. 18 vs UGF

At UGF/Carroll Tournament in Great Falls

vs Concordia Irvine

At UGF/Carroll Tournament in Great Falls

Aug. 23 vs Northwest University

At Cascade/Frontier Challenge in Spokane

Aug. 24 vs Corban College

vs Northwest Christian

At Cascade/Frontier Challenge in Spokane

Aug. 25 vs Eastern Oregon

vs Evergreen State

At Cascade/Frontier Challenge in Spokane

Aug. 31 vs Lubbock Christian

At Las Vegas

Sept. 1 vs Arizona Christian

vs CSU San Marcos

vs Sterling

At Las Vegas

Sept. 2 vs La Sierra

At Las Vegas

Sept. 8 vs Carroll College

Sept. 13 vs Dickinson State

Sept. 14 vs Rocky Mountain

Sept. 20 at UM-Western

Sept. 22 at Westminster

Sept. 27 at Montana Tech

Sept. 28 at LC State

Oct. 4 at UGF

Oct. 6 at LC State

Oct. 12 vs UGF

Oct. 19 at Montana Tech

Oct. 20 at Carroll College

Oct. 25 vs UM-Western

Oct. 27 vs Westminster

Nov. 1 at Rocky Mountain

Nov. 3 at Dickinson State

Nov. 9-10 Frontier Tournament

At Butte