Skylights finish third at Frontier Conference tournament
by Ryan Divish
The Montana State University-Northern volleyball team ended its season with
a win, which is something that many teams can't say. However, the Skylights
would rather have had that win come in the Frontier Conference tournament
championship game, instead of the consolation game.
The Skylights bounced back from a disappointing loss to
"I hope the girls know how proud I am of them," said head coach
Northern opened the tournament with a 30-26, 30-28, 21-30, 26-30, 19-17 win
over UM-Western on Friday night at the HPER Complex.
The Skylights shook off seven-point leads in Games 1 and 2, to take both games
by scores of 30-26 and 30-28.
Up 2-0, Northern couldn't put away the pesky Bulldogs. UM-Western battled back
behind the hitting of Kendall Bradley, Katherine Sunwall
and Jenny Finlay to win Games 3 and 4 by scores of
30-21 and 30-26.
"Our passing just broke down,"
Handley said. "That was the difference. In the first two games, we passed
very well. We were hitting really well, but we just couldn't get a pass to get
to our hitters."
But if one thing this season has proven, it's the Skylights' ability to win
five-game matches. Northern twice weathered Western match-points, before ending
the marathon with Emilee Madsen serving back-to-back
aces to win the match.
"My girls aren't afraid of playing from behind," Handley said.
"They just seem to be more focused when we're down in matches."
Jordan Fox led Northern with 23 kills, while Jasmine Mitchell and Julie Henderson
added 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Madsen dished out 51 assists and picked up
17 digs. Katy Engstrom added 14 digs for the
Skylights.
With the win, Northern advanced to the semifinals against the tournament's No.
1 seed
"You could see how nervous they were during warm-ups," Handley said.
"Our serve-receive broke down early in Game 1. They just served us right
off the floor. We battled back in Game 2. Carroll just has so many
weapons."
Northern did not help itself, accumulating only one block in the match.
"We couldn't get a block to save our lives," Handley said.
"Carroll played an ugly match against UGF in the first round. I think they
took it out on us a little."
Fox had 10 kills in the loss for Northern. Madsen dished out 26 assists, while Engstrom picked up nine digs.
With Northern all but needing a win over Carroll to continue its season into
the regional playoffs, it would have been understandable if the Skylights were
ready to call it a season. But they weren't.
Handley and the players held a team meeting after the Carroll loss to discuss
their options.
"Jeanna McPherson reminded them that the reason
they came to Northern was to play volleyball and the season wasn't over with
the one loss and that there was still a match to win. The girls stepped up and
did that."
Northern didn't just win. It won emphatically, sweeping LC State 30-26, 32-30,
30-23.
"The fact that we beat them in three says a lot about this team,"
Handley said. "It was a total team effort. Everyone played well, and more
importantly everybody got to play."
Fox led the balanced attack with 12 kills, while Mitchell added eight kills and
five blocks. Madsen dished out 42 assists, while Engstrom
and Kelly Thorpe had seven digs each.
"It was a great way to end the season," Handley said. "The girls
were excited. We had some great fans down there cheering us on, which made it
even better. They were so crazy. They really helped us out all weekend."
Northern narrowly missed out on regional competition with
"This has been a great season for our program," she said.
"Northern hasn't finished third in a long, long time. We also finished
with a .500 record and winning overall record. The
foundation has definitely been laid for next year. We return everybody but
Lindsay (Garcia) and this is something we can build off."
For her efforts this season, Fox was named first-team all-conference along with
conference newcomer of the year.
"We haven't had a first-team all-conference selection since I've been
here," Handley said. "
Madsen was named to the second-team, while Mitchell picked up all-conference
honors.
"To have three players selected is very good," Handley said.
Even with everything that her team accomplished, Handley can't help but be a
little disappointed.
"I really just wasn't ready for the season to end," she said.
"But I am proud of everything those girls have done this season."