Northern spikers host RMC in return to the Armory Gymnasium

When the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team takes the floor tonight, 12 days will have passed since the Skylights last played.

MSU-N, which hosts Rocky Mountain College for Pink Night tonight, has been off since an Oct. 8 match against Montana Tech, as the league had its annual bye week last week. Still, the Skylights (11-7) will look to build some new momentum as they enter the second half the regular season.

Northern begins the final push in Frontier Conference play with a 3-2 record, and the Skylights are right in the thick of the league standings. Veteran head coach Jerry Wagner's team is alone in third place in the conference, and sits out one game behind visiting Rocky. The Battlin' Bears, led by setter Ayla Embry, also beat Northern last month in Billings.

However, the Skylights have been doing what they set out to all along - improve as the season goes on. Last time they were at home, MSU-N got a huge win over Carroll College, before falling in a tough match to top-ranked Montana Tech.

Win or lose, though, the Skylights have been getting better and better. Offensively, Northern is averaging 12 kills per set, with Jessa Chvilicek leading the way at 191 kills this season. Alana Graves has 168 and Alyssa Pretty Weasel has tallied 166. Setter Emily Feller is one of the tops in the league in assists with 473 so far.

Where MSU-N has been really good this season is on defense. The Skylights average more than two blocks per set, and have 79 aces on the season. Graves and Pretty Weasel have combined for 32 blocks this year, while Katie Murdock has 298 digs, and Feller has totaled 237. Feller is having a strong all-around season, as she has also tallied a team-high 20 aces.

And a strong season is what the Skylights set out to do, and they want to make sure they keep holing serve at home. Northern has to play four of its last six matches on the road, so tonight's meeting with Rocky is a big one.

The Pink Night match between the Skylights and Battlin Bears will start at 7 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium. MSU-N's final home match is set for next Saturday against Montana Western.