Skylights finish 1-3 Region I Challenge
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
rdivish@havredailynews.com
The purpose of playing in the Region I Challenge volleyball tournament in Lewiston,
Idaho this past weekend was to see good competition. The Montana State
University-Northern volleyball team saw plenty of that and more.
The Skylights finished with a 1-3 record against some of the best teams that
Region I has to offer.
"I thought it went really good at times and at other times we looked
pretty poor," said Skylights head coach
On Friday, Northern opened with a tough 30-25,
30-28, 30-25 loss to
"Honestly, if we have those players, we probably beat Albertson,"
Handley said. "We had to have our middle blockers play all the way around
the rotation and move our libero to outside hitter."
Jordan Fox racked up a match-high 20 kills and picked up 12 digs to lead the
Skylights. Emilee Madsen-Summer dished out 32 assists, while true freshman Hope
Wirll had a solid college debut with nine kills and nine digs.
"The girls that were out there really fought hard," Handley said.
"Hope played very well for her first match. But it's tough not to be upset
when you know its a match you should've won."
Handley got her starters back for their second match of the day against
22nd-ranked Northwest University, however the results were the same in a 30-25,
29-31, 33-31, 30-14 loss.
"We played them very tough," Handley said. "They were the best
defensive team in the tournament and it kept them in the match."
After dropping the first game, the Skylights rallied to win game 2 with a 31-29
win. Northern appeared headed to win in game 3, reaching game points three
different times. However, the Skylights simply could not put the game winner
away and Northwest was able to pull out the win.
Now instead of being up 2-1, Northern was down 2-1 and things fell apart in
game 4 as Northwest rolled to a 30-14 win.
"You could see that loss really affect them," Handley said. "If
we go up 2-1, that's a match we win. We can't lose a game and let it affect us
like that."
Jasmine Mitchell led Northern with 11 kills, while Jeanna McPherson had a big
match with 11 kills and nine blocks. True freshman Tracee Tesch had 16 assists
and five aces in her first match.
"Tracee really did a good job of running the team," Handley said.
"She was out there against some very good teams and played very
well."
On Saturday, Northern picked up its first win of the season with a 30-25,
30-24, 30-24 win over Western Baptist University. Not only did the Skylights
get their first win, but they also got a little vindication,
"Western Baptist was the team that they took regionals last year instead
of us," Handley said. "We came out with that in mind and wanted to
show them we are a tough team."
Northern dominated from the opening serve and played its best match of the
weekend. The Skylights hit the ball with solid accuracy, racking up 48 kills
with just 12 hitting errors. Fox rebounded from a tough match with a match-high
14 kills. Mitchell added eight kills, while McPherson had seven kills and two
blocks. Tesch and Madsen-Summers combined for 28 assists and four aces.
The Skylights winning streak was short-lived as 11th-ranked Southern Oregon
handled Northern in a 30-21, 30-19, 30-19 win.
The Raiders used stellar passing and solid hitting to get the win.
"Southern Oregon is a big and powerful tea," Handley said. "But
they had a two person serve-receive that was just amazing. They could pass
anything."
Meanwhile, Northern's serve-receive broke down in the match and the Skylights
fell apart.
"When our serve-receive broke down, we had a tough time getting any points
at all," Handley said.
Julie Henderson led the way with five kills and an ace. McPherson had four
kills and three blocks.
While Handley would have loved to finish the weekend with a winning record, she
knows that there was plenty of positives.
"We saw some tough competition which is the whole reason we went to the
tournament," she said. "We played well at times, but I think the
girls all know they can play better."
The Skylights will now embark on a six-day east-coast road trip. Northern will
fly to New York for five matches in three days. Although the trip will offer plenty
of court time, Handley is hoping her team will grow off the court as well.
"We're hoping that being together for such a long period will help us
really come together as a team," she said. "We're going to use it as
a time to get know each other off the court as well."
The Skylights will face Daeman College on Thursday, while playing four matches
at the Roberts Wesleyan College Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The
competition is a bit of an unknown to Handley.
"None of the team are ranked in the NAIA Top 30 and their websites don't
have much information," she said. "I am hoping to find out more when
we get there."
Still, Handley is more concerned about her team and how it is progressing.
"Right now, we're mentally soft," she said. "We have to find some
mental toughness especially when things aren't going our way. We can run them
and talk to them, but they have to make that decision themselves to get
tougher."
Hopefully, a little more mental toughness will lead to more consistent play.
"We need more consistency from each individual," she said.
"Right now, there are people pushing for starting positions like Ashley
Roth. We'll get plenty of matches to find out what our best lineup is."
Albertson def. MSU-Northern
30-25, 30-28, 30-25
MSU-Northern - Kills 41 (Jordan Fox 20, Hope Wirll 9), Assists 35 (Emilee
Madsen-Summers 32), Aces 4 (four with 1), Digs 44 (Fox 12, Wirll 9), Blocks 4
(Fox 2, Tera O'Haire 2, Jeanna McPherson 2).
Albertson College - Kills 45 (Kathryn Ely 13), Assists 36 (Erin Cherrington
30), Aces 13 (Ely 5), Digs 42 (Charity Gaston 10), Blocks 5 (Aubrey Nielson 2).
Northwest def. MSU-Northern
30-25, 29-31, 33-31, 30-14
MSU-Northern - Kills 47 (Jasmine Mitchell 11, Jeanna McPherson 10), Assists 36
(Tracee Tesch 16, Emilee Madsen-Summers 14), Aces 10 (Tracee Tesch 5), Digs 22
(Kelly Thorpe 8, Jordan Fox 6), Blocks 20.5 (Jeanna McPherson 9, Julie
Henderson 7).
Northwest University - Kills 60 (Emily Marquez 17, Sara Bendorf 14), Assists 44
(Alison Simmons 44), Aces 10 (Simmons 4), Digs 22 (Jessie Buck 6), Blocks 12.5
(Marquez 8).
MSU-Northern def. Western Baptist
30-25, 30-24, 30-24
MSU-Northern - Kills 48 (Jordan Fox 14, Jasmine Mitchell 8), Assists 34 (Emilee
Madsen-Summers 15, Tracee Tesch 13), Aces 10 (Emilee Madsen-Summers 3), Digs 14
(Tracee Tesch 5), Blocks 8 (Julie Henderson 4).
Western Baptist College - Kills 29 (Chelsea Reeher 9), Assists 20 (Nina Clanton
5), Aces 5 (Hallie McNaughton 2), Digs 13 (Becky Horn 5), Blocks 8 (four with
2).
Southern Oregon def. MSU-Northern
30-21, 30-19, 30-19
MSU-Northern - Kills 19 (Julie Henderson 5, Jordan Fox 4, Jeanna McPherson 4),
Assists 14 (Emilee Madsen-Summers 7), Aces 2 (Jordan Fox 1, Julie Henderson 1),
Digs 6 (Jordan Fox 2), Blocks 4 (Jeanna McPherson 3).
Southern Oregon - Kills 33 (Nicholette Baran 9), Assists 24 (Kristen Lilly 10),
Aces 7 (three with 2), Digs 16 (Kristen Lilly 10), Blocks 4.5 (Jaclyn
Hamilton-Smith 2).
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