Skylights go 2-2 in Butte

The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team got 2019, and the Jerry Wagner era, off to a great start with a home win over Medicine Hat College earlier this month in the Armory Gymnasium.

And, the start got even better Friday in Butte.

Northern took to the road for the first time this season, playing four games in two days at the Big Sky Challenge, hosted by Montana Tech. And the Skylights quickly went from 1-0 to 3-0 on the season.

MSU-N opened the tournament Friday afternoon with a sweep of Evergreen State, winning by scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-21. The win was spurred on by strong serving as the Skylights tallied four aces and also out-blocked the Eagles. Individually, Rylee Burmester paced the Northern offense with 14 kills to go along with nine digs. Elissa Lind added eight kills and an ace, while Marlee Bender had three blocks, Katia Michelotti and Abi Ellison each had two, and Katie Murdock totaled 15 digs.

With a win in hand, Northern returned to the court on Friday night to take on Valley City State of the North Star Athletic Association. And while the going was a little tougher, the Skylights pulled out a four-set win, by scores of 25-19, 25-15, 22-25 and 25-23. MSU-N dominated the first two sets, then showed some resiliency by bouncing back from a third-set loss to close the Vikings out in four games.

Offensively, Northern racked up 38 kills, while the Skylights were again strong on defense, out-blocking the Vikings 10-7. MSU-N was again strong on serve too, totaling five aces.

Burmester finished the match with 15 kills, while Shania Neubauer had six kills and two aces, to go along with 13 digs. Bender and Neubauer also combined for three blocks, while Hailey Warren tallied 20 assists.

Friday was a continuation of an outstanding start to the season for the Skylights, but, Saturday, the challenges mounted.

On Saturday morning, Northern lost to Bethel University by scores of 25-20, 25-15, 26-28 and 26-24. It was MSU-N’s first loss of the season, but it didn’t come without an excellent fight in the final two sets. Lind and Burmester combined for 24 kills, while Lind added 19 digs, Bender had four blocks and Ellison served three aces.

The competition got even tougher Saturday afternoon, as Northern was swept by nationally-ranked Northwest University. The Eagles came out swinging and never looked back in a dominant three-set win, by scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-19. Ellison and Lind each had six kills, while Lind added two blocks and 15 digs for the Skylights, who fell to 3-2 on the young season.

Still, Northern’s first foray on the road this season turned out to be a positive one, and the Skylights will get right back at it, with a trip to Phoenix for the Arizona Christian Tournament this Friday and Saturday.