Skylights set for key conference matches on the road

Through their preseason conference tournament as well as the beginning of the regular season, the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team has rarely left the confines of Armory Gymnasium. The Skylights hosted the Preseason Frontier Conference Tournament last month and they played two of their first three conference games at home.

Now, MSU-N will head on the road for two matches this Friday and Saturday. As the Skylights play back-to-back nights, MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner feels confident in his team as they have played many volleyball matches in even shorter spans of time during the preseason.

"Our preseason prepared us to turn around, play at a high level, back-to-back five hours straight of volleyball at a high level," Wagner said. "Bringing it down to one night where we can put all those energies into one match even if it's on consecutive days is actually a breath of fresh air for us."

The Skylights will first head to Helena to play Carroll College Friday night. The Fighting Saints are 9-10 this season but have a 2-1 record to start conference play. They are coming off a 3-1 road victory over Rocky Mountain College last week.

The Saints have many experienced players that MSU-N will need to watch out for. Taelyr Krantz leads the Saints' offense with 218 total kills this season and 3.35 kills a set. She is also a force on the defensive end with 85.0 total blocks this season. Kylie Kackman is also a dangerous server with 15 service aces this fall.

"They got a veteran group out there. Highly talented in every position and I think that shows in their recent play," Wagner said.

The Skylights and the Saints played each other in the preseason tournament last month in Havre. In that meeting, the Skylights won the match, 3-1, by winning their sets by scores of 26-28, 27-25, 25-23 and 25-18. However, Wagner does not expect either team to be the same when they meet up again this weekend.

"I know we've gotten players back since that weekend and I believe they have gotten veteran players back," Wagner said. "I would expect both teams to be at full strength."

The Skylights will then head to Butte to play Montana Tech Saturday night to finish up the weekend road trip. The Orediggers are 13-5 this season but are 1-2 to start conference play. MSU-N played Tech in the preseason tournament which MSU-N won, 3-2, by set scores of 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 15-25, 17-15.

The Orediggers have many big and physically talented players on their team. Maureen Jessop leads the Tech offense with 166 kills this season. Tech also has a dangerous server in Emma Carvo who has 33 service aces this season. On defense, Sydney Park leads the team with 70.0 total blocks and Sarah Hopcroft has 304 total digs this fall.

"(They're) probably the most physical team top to bottom in the conference," Wagner said. "I would say from strength and experience and in height aspects, they're a little bit taller and they're a little bit stronger and have all those intangibles."

The Skylights are 11-9 this fall and are 1-2 to start conference play. They would be 0-3 if they did not come back from an 0-2 hole for a win against Montana Western last week. With such an emotional win, Wagner would like to take the momentum from that match and carry it into this weekend. However, he knows that energy will first need to be seen in practice.

"That momentum and that feeling that we were able to get to, that happens on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before we get down there," Wagner said. "If we're able to have good practices and play with that same type of consistent high level and carry that into practice, it's not something we have to go searching for."

Heading into this fall, Wagner was excited about his team's prospects in the Frontier Conference. Even though conference play did not start how he would have liked, he knows he has the talent to compete better moving forward. All they have to do now is put it together on a consistent basis starting this weekend.

"We got some talent, some of it's young. Super excited about what goes on in practice each day. I know how hard these kids work," Wagner said. "It's going to come down to getting off to a good start and just outworking the other team. Whenever there's a crack, we got to climb through it and hang on to it."

MSU-N volleyball will play on the road against Carroll College Friday night at 7 p.m. MSU-N will then conclude their road trip with a match against Tech Saturday night at 6 p.m.