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The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team is anxiously awaiting their first home matches of the 2021 season. But, before Northern finally gets to the Armory Gymnasium, the Skylights must face one more week of road matches.
Northern, however, should be well rested.
After opening the season with back-to-back road trips to Arizona, the Skylights had last weekend off. Now, they'll head east to Dickinson, North Dakota, for four matches in the North Star Conference Challenge. In Dickinson, MSU-N faces the host Blue Hawks, as well as Valley City State.
The Skylights enter their last preseason road trip with a 4-5 record. And, they're playing well, as head coach Jerry Wagner's club won three out of four two weeks ago at the Arizona Christian Tournament.
Led by the stellar play of hitters Rylee Burmester and Abigail Ellison, Northern's offense really picked up steam in Arizona. Burmester has been all over the court, too. She's among Northern's leaders in assists and aces as well as hitting percentage. Alana Graves has also been key to Northern's defense on the interior, while Shania Neubauer is a veteran leader who anchors MSU-N's back row. Freshman setter Emily Feller is also playing at a high level right now, as the veteran Skylights continue to make progress in preparing for the 2021 Frontier Conference season.
That season starts in just a few weeks time, but for now, Northern is focused on the Blue Hawks and Vikings.
Dickinson State has struggled to start the season, going 0-9 thus far. The Blue Hawks have played a host of Frontier schools as well, including Providence, Rocky Mountain College, Montana Tech, and Carroll College. So, in both matches this weekend, Northern should be favored.
MSU-N has also already seen Valley City State. At the ACU Tournament two weeks ago, the Skylights closed out the weekend with a 3-1 win over the Vikings, who were previously receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll. So the rematch should be an exciting one.
Of course, Northern will be excited to come home from Dickinson, especially with some wins in tow. Next weekend, the Skylights and Havre will play host to the first-ever Frontier Conference Preseason Tournament.
First thing's first, though, the Skylights will face the Blue Hawks and Vikings Friday in Dickinson, and will play both teams again Saturday.
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