Skylights return to the Armory to face rival Argos

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights have been up and down to start conference play this fall. After an 0-2 start in their first two Frontier Conference matches, they have gone 2-2 over the past four matches. However, they are coming off their biggest win so far this season as the Skylights swept Rocky Mountain College this past Friday.

MSU-N head coach Jerry Wagner has noticed the team's inconsistent play to start conference play and hopes that the Skylights can find their better selves when they host University of Providence at Armory Gymnasium tonight.

"A little bit Jekyll and Hyde here recently, and I hope Mr. Jekyll shows up on Wednesday," Wagner said.

The Skylights will need to play their best Wednesday night because the Argos are undefeated at 6-0 to start conference play and are 19-2 overall this season. MSU-N lost to UP, 3-1, in the Frontier Conference Preseason Tournament and lost, 3-0, to UP on the road in conference play last month. Wagner believes that his players did not put their best foot forward in their previous meeting so he hopes that will not be the case on Wednesday night.

"We were never close to them from the beginning," Wagner said. "I don't think that was our character that we showed up with that night."

The Argos have many strong players that have led them to success this season. Jenna Thorne leads the UP offense with 258 total kills this season. Cydney Finberg-Roberts leads the Argonauts with 794 total assists and Sadie Lott and Taylor Christensen each have 24 service aces this season.

"Normally their strengths are their ball control," Wagner said about the UP offense. "Their setting is very good. Their offensive tempo is very high and they're passing and backcourt defenses are steady."

On defense, the Argonauts are led by Zoe Naugle who leads the team with 20 solo blocks and 85.0 total blocks this season. Sadie Lott leads the Argonauts with 71 block assists and Sacha Legros leads UP with 459 total digs.

If the Skylights are going to play competitively against the Argonauts, they will need to carry over their performance from their last match. This past weekend, MSU-N defeated RMC, 3-0, by scores of 26-21, 26-24 and 25-19. Wagner believes that was the Skylights' most thorough performance this season and hopes they can carry that over into Wednesday's match.

"We're starting to figure out what makes us effective," Wagner said. "There wasn't one moment where this team let anybody breathe. They were after it and they've had some moments like that often this year."

The win over RMC was the Skylights' first match after their bye week at the halfway point of conference play. The Skylights now only have four matches left over the course of the next two weeks before the Frontier Conference Tournament begins. As they head into the final stretch of games, Wagner feels confident about his team.

"I thought we came back refreshed and I think we're in a really good place at this time of year," Wagner said. "I think we're playing better. We're trending upwards and that's what we're going to continue to do."

The Skylights play the Argonauts at Armory Gymnasium tonight at 7.