Skylights take first conference road trip
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
rdivish@havredailynews.com
No more excuses. It's not the referees, the travel, the fatigue that comes with
travel, the court, the opponents, the nagging injuries. It's none of that.
Montana State University-Northern volleyball coach
As the Skylights head to
"Our girls can't make excuses," she said. "We have the talent
and we have the experience. If we play well, we should win both matches. We
have to worry about things we can control and not
worry about the things we can't. No more excuses, just get it done."
Handley fully expects her team to play well
tonight against Montana Tech at
"We have to play our game," said junior middle blocker Tera O'Haire. "We can't use
the travel, the referees, the opposing crowd as
excuses and let them affect the way we play."
Skylight fans got a taste of how the Skylights can play this past weekend, but
Handley believes it can be even better. She saw glimpses of her team's vast
array of weapons in a five-game loss to Rocky on Friday, and parts of it during
Saturday's win over
"We really need to get everybody playing well together at once,"
Handle said. "We haven't done that yet. If we can get everybody on the
same page and playing for the team, we will be very tough to beat."
That doesn't bode well for a Montana Tech team that recently picked up its
first win of the season on Saturday against
"Tech is a very young team," Handley said. "They don't have the
weapons they've had in the past, but they're still very dangerous as LC found
out."
The Diggers lost several key players from last year's squad that finished
second in the Frontier Conference with a 20-14 overall record and sparkling
11-3 conference record, which qualified them for the regional tournament.
Gone is Frontier Conference most valuable player Colette Phillips to
graduation. Phillips averaged more than 20 kills per match last year. Phillips
wasn't the only all-conference player who graduated. Middle blocker Janalee Stokken-Holmes was a
second-team all-conference pick and was solid at the net for Tech.
Perhaps an even bigger loss was setter Becky Hancock. She was the driving force
behind the Diggers' success with her heady play and toughness. Hancock has been
replaced by true freshman Lindsey Balfour of
"Tech runs a very fast offense, I'm sure it's a challenge for her,"
Handley said.
One player whom the Diggers didn't anticipate leaving was outside hitter Marin Audet. A former
"Not having Marin makes a big difference," Handley said. "She is
a great player and was a big weapon for them."
The cupboard isn't completely bare. The Diggers do return all-conference libero Beka Hudson for her senior
season.
"Beka is the rock of that team," Handley
said. "She plays great defense and is a great leader."
Also back are outside hitter Liz Marsik and defensive
specialist Krsytle Spang.
"Tech is still Tech," Handley said. "They are still going to
play great defense and scrap and hustle."
One of things that also concerns Handley is the spacious venue Tech plays in.
The HPER complex is a massive gym, especially when it is set up for volleyball.
It's definitely a different atmosphere.
"It's so spacious and big," Handley said. "It is very different
and it messes with their depth perception, but most of the girls have played
there before and should be used to it."
After tonight's match, Northern will travel to
Lewis-Clark hasn't had much success this season under new head coach Erin Mellinger with a 1-9 record. Handley blames some mitigating
circumstances on the situation. Mellinger was hired a
few weeks before the season began after last year's coach abruptly resigned. Mellinger has also had to shift from a different facility
after problems arose with floor at the new Warrior Arena. Saturday's game will
be in
"I don't know if she really has got a chance to settle into her
system," Handley said. "She got there right before school started and
then they've been having to switch gyms all the
time."
Handley got to watch the Warriors play earlier this season and admitted they
are still very dangerous.
"They're kind of inconsistent," she said. "They can be very good
one game and make some mistakes in the other. They're like us at times."
LC has only one senior this season in outside hitter Tyger
Spencer. They do return junior middle blocker Marie Lauder from a successful
season last year along with sophomore outside hitters Jenna Kirk and Mollie Hornfeldt. Sophomore setter Stephanie Wayt
is back after a solid freshman season and is third in the conference with 7.5
assists per game.
While Handley knows her team can only control how it plays, she does believe it
can impose its game on its opponents. Even more important is that her team must
come out and play well early. The Skylights have a bad habit of spotting teams
five- to seven-point leads to start games.
"We have to come out and play better from the start," she said.
"We've talked about it all week. We can't give these teams the confidence
into thinking they can beat us."
If the first week has proven anything, it's that any loss could have potential
ramifications down the road with the league's parity.
"They are all important," Handley said. "Every match has the
potential to determine the league winner. So we have to go out and play like
that."
