Tough Warriors end MSU-N's season

There’s no question the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team played its best volleyball at the end of the 2014 season. And in two matches in three weeks against the Lewis-Clark State Warriors, the Skylights played well.

But it wasn’t quite enough to get a young Northern team, which suffered growing pains all season long, over the hump. Northern’s season ended Friday night in Butte when the Skylights were swept in three tough sets by the Warriors in the first round of the 2014 Frontier Conference Tournament. Second-seeded LCSC beat the seventh-seeded Skylights by scores of 25-18, 26-24 and 25-20.

In the loss, much like in their five-set loss to the Warriors two weeks ago in Havre, the Skylights got some offense going, hitting a season-high .202. But it just wasn’t quite enough as LCSC hung tough in the big moments of each set.

The Warriors put Northern away late in the first set, but the Skylights fought valiantly in the second, and found themselves with chances to even the match at 1-1. But in those critical moments, MSU-N couldn’t find the kills, or points it needed, and LCSC pulled off a 26-24 victory, and took a commanding 2-0 lead. The Skylights fought hard again in the third set, but it was too little, too late, and LCSC, which hit a blistering .363 on the night, finished the Skylights off in three.

“As disappointed as we were that our season is over, I can’t say I’m disappointed in how we played or our effort,” said MSU-N head coach Bill Huebsch. “We came out and played very good volleyball, and we had chances to win in every set. But every set we also came back and battled hard. It was just a few points that didn’t go our way, and at the same time, we played an LC team that played really well on Friday night, and ended up putting together a great tournament. So I’m not disappointed. I’m proud of our kids. They left it all on the floor. They gave everything they had in that match, and I don’t think they have any regrets.”

Northern played well, getting 13 kills from Dayna Jensen, in what was her final match as a Skylight. Freshman Cydney Auzenne also had a big night with 10 kills and a block. Jensen also had a block, as did freshman Taylor Woolman, who also tallied eight kills. Sydney Stolearcius totaled 16 digs, but MSU-N’s block wasn’t big enough to stop the Warriors. Northern had just four blocks, while LCSC totaled 51 kills in just three sets, including a match-high 15 by Chelsea Strong.

“We had some kids step up big in big situations,” Huebsch said. “Taylor Woolman played great, Cydney Auzenne had a great match in her first start. I thought we played as well as we could play, but LC just played really well, too.”

The Warriors went on to beat Carroll College Saturday morning to advance to the Frontier championship match. There they ran into No. 1-ranked Rocky Mountain College, which beat Montana Tech in the other semifinal. In the title match, the Battlin’ Bears beat the Warriors 3-1, earning the Frontier’s automatic berth in the upcoming NAIA national tournament. Saturday night marked the second straight Frontier championship for RMC.

Meanwhile, the Skylights up-and-down season ended with a 7-21 overall record. Northern, which had no seniors at the start of the season, went 3-11 in conference play.

“When I look back on this season, I think the thing I’m most proud of is how this team never gave up,” Huebsch said. “A lot of teams with our record would have packed it in a long time ago. But this group didn’t. They came to work every day; they wanted to get better. They never quit. And they really did come a long way. They really grew this season, and I’m very proud of them for that.”

Lewis-Clark State def. MSU-Northern

25-18, 26-24, 25-20

MSU-N - Kills: 38 (Dayna Jensen 13). Assists: 35 (Janelle Hoff 31). Aces: 2 (Sarah Stringfellow, Taylor Woolman). Digs: 42 (Sydney Stolearcius 16). Blocks: 4 (four with 1).

LCSC - Kills: 51 (Chelsea Strong 15). Assists: 45 (Robyn Schirmer 37). Aces: 4 (Schirmer 3). Digs: 40 (Russia Robinson 10). Blocks: 3 (Desiree Nielson 1.5).