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Skylights take on Rocky in 'important' match
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
How important is tonight's Montana State University-Northern volleyball
match with Rocky Mountain College? Important enough that Skylights head coach
Lisa Handley took her team to Billings on Thursday to make sure they are well
rested for the key Frontier Conference match.
"Normally, we drive the four hours and get out and play," Handley
said Thursday. "But we're going down the night before because I want
them as fresh as possible. That's how important this match is to us."
Northern, 2-3 in Frontier Conference play and 12-11 overall, is facing a
must-win situation against Rocky. The Skylights have played Rocky twice this
season, splitting the two matches.
"Not only is this an important match in terms of wins and losses,"
Handley said. "It's also important in terms of confidence and seeding at
the conference tournament."
Rocky, also 2-3 in conference, and Northern couldn't be more similar in terms
of talent, experience and inexperience.
The Battlin' Bears have just two seniors on their roster and rely heavily on
underclassmen for production. Because of that youth, Rocky coach Wade Wells
has shuffled his lineup some since the two teams met in early September.
"Wade moved his freshman middle blocker
to the outside and is playing a shorter, quicker person in the middle,"
Handley said. "But he's gotten beaten pretty bad since doing that, so he
may switch back. We have no idea what to expect from them in that
regard."
Northern knows what to expect in personnel. The Skylights will have to deal
with senior middle blocker Katy Furlong and junior outside hitter Megan
Longnecker. Both players have caused some problems for Northern in the past.
"They're both really solid players," Handley said. "Katy is
always tough on us and Megan is playing in every rotation now."
Regardless of who is on the floor or what position they are playing, Handley knows
her team is very capable of beating Rocky.
"We know we match up really well with them," Handley said.
"They are really tough on their home floor, but it's not like we haven't
played there this year. The girls should know what to expect."
Handley will be looking for her two seniors, Mitsu Phillips and Tanja Bruski,
to set the tone early in the match. Phillips had relatively quiet
performances last weekend and Handley wants Phillips anything but quiet on
the floor.
"We really feed off of Mitsu's emotion," Handley said. "We
need her to be aggressive and emotional. Sometimes she almost afraid to show
how good she is."
Bruski, a Billings native, will be playing in front of family and friends for
the last time as a Skylight. Handley hasn't reminded her about it, but it's a
sure bet that Bruski will want to play well.
"I think Tanja knows it will be her last time," Handley said.
"She'll definitely want to play well and we need her to."
In fact, Handley needs the whole team to play well. In the 29-31, 30-21,
30-24, 30-26 win over Rocky, every Skylight contributed.
"We need everyone to play well at once," Handley said. "Our
hitters especially, we need balance from our middles and outsides. It makes
us more dangerous."
The outcome of the match may also have a direct effect on how the Skylights
play on Saturday when they travel to Helena to take on a very tough Carroll
College Saints squad.
"Confidence-wise, it would really help us on Saturday if we won on
Friday," Handley said.
For the first time all season, Carroll's confidence might be a little shaken.
The Saints were swept in Butte by a very tough Montana Tech team on Oct. 1 in
what was supposed to be a preview of the Frontier Conference title game.
Three days later, Lewis-Clark State stretched Carroll to five games before
the Saints finally put the Warriors away.
"They're coming off a very tough loss and either they will be very
motivated or they could be lacking a little self-confidence," Handley
said. "Hopefully, we can capitalize on their self-doubt."
One player for Carroll who has little self-doubt and never lacks
self-confidence is all-everything player Mary Lester. The senior from Great
Falls has absolutely eaten Northern up in the past.
"She didn't have the best matches last week," Handley said.
"But she always comes ready to play against us. She and Tanja have had
some battles and she is good friends with Mitsu. So she really wants to beat
her."
Northern got a taste of Carroll earlier this year at the Skylights
Invitational. The result was a sour one as the Saints handled the Skylights
30-17, 30-19, 30-20.
"We played scared against them," Handley said. "We can't do
that again. We've been playing much better and with much more confidence. We
shouldn't be quite as intimidated this time around."
Beating Carroll in Helena is not an impossible task by any means, but it will
be difficult.
"They just don't have any weaknesses," Handley said. "They're
solid all the way around. But we've come close to beating them on their home
floor in the past. We just couldn't get over the hump in those matches."
Both of Northern's matches will start at 7 p.m.
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