Skylights take to the road for the first time

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team went nearly 11 months without winning a match. But last Thursday night in the Armory Gymnasium, that was put to rest.

The Skylights gave new head coach Jerry Wagner a four-set, season-opening win over Medicine Hat College in his return to the helm at Northern last week, and now they hope to build off of that victory as the season kicks into full gear.

The Skylights (1-0) have three weeks of non-conference tournaments ahead, starting with the Big Sky Challenge Friday and Saturday in Butte.

And after the win last Thursday night, Wagner was more than optimistic moving forward.

"I am really pleased with how the team responded to the first match of the season," Wagner said. "I said it before, you only get one chance to make a first impression. So it was a very good first impression."

After making a strong first impression at home, with standouts like new hitters Rylee Burmester and Alissa Lind shining on offense, as well as true freshman libero Katie Murdock making an impressive debut, the Skylights will look to build on the momentum they created last week. And with veteran setters Hailey Warren and Shania Neubauer both coming off strong outings against Medicine Hat, Wagner said he thinks his team will flow even more offensively in Butte.

"Now we've played somebody else," he said. "We've played a team taking swings at us. We got a lot of those nerves and that anxiety out of the way. So I think you'll see us serve even better, and hit the ball harder as we go forward."

Northern will need to do just that, too. The competition in Butte will be strong, as the Skylights take on a pair of Cascade Conference powers in Evergreen State and Northwest University, as well as Valley City State and Bethel University this weekend. Northwest is a team receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll, but all four teams should present some stern tests for a Skylight's squad that is taking to the road for the first time.

"I am very pleased with where we're at," Wagner said. "I think we're ahead of even where I thought we'd be. So now, we take what we've done so far and learn from it."

Northern's four matches at the Big Sky Challenge start with Evergreen State Friday at 1 p.m. and Valley City at 7. On Saturday, the Skylights will face Bethel at 9 a.m. and Northwest at 1 p.m. The Skylights remain on the road next week, as they travel to the Arizona Christian Tournament in Phoenix.