Skylight spikers take on winning philosophy

Ryan Divish - Havre Daily News Sports Editor

rdivish@havredailynews.com

Montana State University-Northern volleyball coach Lisa Handley is starting off the season with a simple philosophy concerning playing time:

The players who know how to win and who want win will be on the floor.

Obviously, practice doesn¹t offer the setting for Handley put her philosophy to work, but the early preseason games will.

³The preseason games are going to allow me to see who can win and what situations players work best in,² Handley said.

While every coach wants players on the floor who know how to win, not every coach is in Handley¹s situation. She has enough talent and depth to put another player out there if she needs to.

Northern returns 10 players from last year¹s squad, including five players who all started matches at some point during the season.

Juniors Lindsay Garcia and Julie Henderson, sophomores Tera O¹Haire, Kelly Thorpe, Katy Engstrom and Jeanna McPherson all started games last season and spent significant time on the floor.

Also returning is back-up setter Christine Smith and redshirts Jasmine Mitchell, Melanie Walker and Alicia Mannin.

³Katy, Tera, Jeanna and Julie all came back much stronger than last season,² Handley said. ³They didn¹t just play this summer, they got in the weight room and got physically stronger, it¹s really shown early on. Kelly also worked on her speed. She came back much quicker than last year,which is something she needed to do.²

The high number of returnees would leave most teams set in terms of personnel. But Handley hit the recruiting path hard and added five talented recruits for this season.

Transfers Emilee Madsen, Jordan Fox, Ashley Roth and Heidi Fritchman are all immediate impact players, with freshman Nicole Henderson redshirting as she recovers from knee surgery.

³Emilee and Jordan are just solid all-around players,² Handley said. ³They have played so much volleyball in their careers. Ashley has been a bit of a surprise. We knew she was good around the net, but her defense and serve-receive have been fantastic.²

That leaves 14 players fighting for six valuable spots on the floor ‹ hence Handley¹s philosophy.

³It comes down to who knows how to win and who wants to win,² Handley said. ³Those will be the girls on the floor.²

Handley is holding no favorites and not allowing last year¹s performance to enter into her decision. Everything is based solely on how the players are performing this season.

³Our returning starters are fighting for their spots like everyone else,² Handley said. ³Just because you started last season doesn¹t mean you automatically get to start this season.²

Because of that type of thinking, the Skylights have been slightly driven in practice.

³Practice has been very intense,² Handley said. ³They¹ve been working very hard, because they¹re fighting for those starting spots. It¹s been great motivation.²

Unfortunately for Handley, the question of who will be on the floor hasn¹t been completely answered. Northern has had just two scrimmages and neither offered any clear answers.

Instead, Handley will use this weekend to help determine her lineup. Northern will play four matches against solid opponents and use several different lineups and combinations, trying to find the most effective group of players.

³We will be testing things out,² she said. ³We will be looking for who has the ability to win. I don¹t care if they¹re not the prettiest technical player, if they go hard on every point, they will be out there.²

It¹s not like the Skylights can take points off in a very tough Frontier Conference. If they do, they will get beat.

Despite key losses for almost every team in the conference, Handley still expects every match to be tough. because every team is fielding a quality squad.

Defending conference champion Carroll College was picked as the preseason favorite in the coaches¹ poll and with good reason. The Saints return three players who earned postseason honors last year. Lena Mortenson and Nicole Todorvich both were named all-conference, while Tiffany Rochelle was named freshman player of the year.

Still, Carroll won¹t be quite as strong after losing all-everything player and conference MVP Mary Lester and all-conference setter Natalie Conroy.

Lewis-Clark State was picked second in the polls and returns seniors Addy Hines and Amanda Paige from last year¹s team.

³Carroll and LC will be solid again,² Handley said. ³They both lost some key players, but they always seem to get quality recruits.²

Montana Tech had a breakthrough season last year and returns all-conference hitter Marin Audet, but must make up for the loss of libero and team leader Kaila Minehan.

³Tech has always been good, but last year they found out how to win big matches,² Handley said. ³They still have Marin and some other players, but they lost some players as well.²

UM-Western and Rocky Mountain College were both hit hard by graduation but should be formidable. The big question surrounds the team that only had one win in the conference last season. University of Great Falls brought in a new coach, Arunas Duda, and 10 new players to revive its struggling program.

³UGF is going to be much better. Their coach is so enthusiastic and positive that his girls are going to play hard for him at all times. He also brought in some good players, so they will be much improved.²

Handley wasn¹t much taken with the rankings in the preseason coaches¹ poll. After all, her team was picked to finish third to last. Her players felt more than a little slighted and are looking to prove some people wrong.

³The players are definitely motivated by that,² Handley said. ³We want to prove that Northern can get it done in the conference all year long.²

Regardless of who is across the net, Handley expects her team to play the same way.

³We need to come out and play to win,² she said. ³Our team motto has

been: ŒBelieve.¹ We need to believe in ourselves, in each other and in our team.²