Bears hold off Skylights in the Armory

With the Frontier Conference postseason tournament beginning Tuesday, the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team is looking to be playing their best volleyball. However, the Skylights did not get their late-season momentum going Thursday night at the Armory Gymnasium as they lost to Rocky Mountain College, 3-1.

"We created a lot of opportunities, we just didn't get as many to go our way," said MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner.

The loss dropped MSU-N to 2-17 on the season, keeping them in last place in the Frontier Conference. The loss also extended the Skylights' losing streak to three straight after they lost a back-to-back last weekend at the University of Providence. Rocky Mountain improved their record to 15-3 overall and 14-3 in the conference for second place.

To start the night, both teams went back and forth early in the first set. As the Bears would take a lead, the Skylights would stay in it to tie the set. After MSU-N tied the set 7-7, the Bears finally took control as they scored seven straight points to build a lead.

Rocky Mountain maintained their lead but the Skylights did not go away and even cut their deficit to 23-20. However, the Bears kept their composure and won the first set, 25-21, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Rocky Mountain and MSU-N opened the second set exchanging leads. It was not until the set was tied 6-6 did the Skylights show what they were capable of as they took momentum and built themselves a 12-8 lead.

"We just started doing some things well," Wagner said. "We blocked the best we have all year against a team that hits a high percentage."

The Bears did not go away, however, as they battled back with a 6-2 run to tie the set 14-14. The Skylights did not let the set slip away from them as they retook momentum with an 11-3 run to end the set. An attack error by Rocky Mountain's Ayla Embry scored the set point that gave MSU-N the 25-17 victory in the set and tied the match 1-1.

MSU-N could not carry over their momentum into the third set as the Bears took an early 6-1 lead. The Skylights were able to stay in it early as they cut their deficit to 12-9 but Rocky Mountain was determined not to lose back-to-back sets. The Bears went on a 10-3 run to increase their lead to 22-12. Kyra Oakland scored the set point with a kill to win the set, 25-15, and give Rocky Mountain a 2-1 lead in the match.

"I didn't see set three coming after playing that well in set two," Wagner said. "We took some breaks in there and you can't do that, these teams are good."

The Skylights and Bears started the fourth set by battling to a 6-6 tie. Looking to finish off MSU-N, Rocky Mountain then went on a run to take a 14-10 lead. The Skylights then responded as they went on a 9-2 run to take a 19-16 lead. Rocky Mountain scored three straight points to tie the set.

The Skylights looked to keep the match alive as they took momentum and got a 23-21 lead. However, the Bears scored four straight points to win the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.

"It was unfortunate and a couple of small things lead to big things," Wagner said.

Rylee Burmester led the Skylights with 15 kills in the match. Along with Elissa Lind, Burmester led MSU-N with 22 digs. Statistical leaders for the Bears included Taylor Wolf with 12 kills, Natalie Hilderman with 47 assists and Ember with 36 digs.

The Skylights will play the Bears again tonight to end the regular season. If they want to end the regular season on a positive note and carry momentum into the postseason, they will need to be ready throughout the entirety of the match.

"We'll have to think we can and we will think positively throughout, and we can't afford to take a break against a good team," Wagner said.

MSU-N and Rocky Mountain play tonight at 7 p.m. at the Armory Gym on the MSU-N campus.

Rocky Mountain def. MSU-Northern

25-21, 17-25, 25-15, 25-23

RMC - (kills-aces-blocks) Morgan Allen 11-0-3; Monique Rodriguez 9-2-0; Natalie Hilderman 1-2-0; Taylor Wolf 12-0-2; Addy Valdez 0-0-0; Weiying Wu 7-0-3; Ayla Embry 0-0-0; Kailey Thomson 0-0-0; Sam Oliver 0-0-0; Lainne Wilkins 0-0-0; Kyra Oakland 11-0-2; Tori Cybulski 0-0-0. Totals 51-4-8.0

MSU-N - (kills-aces-blocks) Abigail Elliison 7-2-0; Tammy Maddock 3-0-4; Elissa Lind 12-2-1; Alana Graves 6-0-2; Rylee Burmester 15-0-1; Emily Feller 1-0-1; Hailie George 0-0-0; Shania Neubauer 0-1-0; Jada Sudbrack 2-0-1; Kaitlin Murdock 0-0-0; Marlee Bender 0-0-1. Totals 46-5-10.0.