Skylights close out home schedule by turning back RMC
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Talk about your strong finishes and quick turnarounds.
One night
after the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team was drubbed by
Playing in their final home match of their careers, seniors Jeanna McPherson, Kelly Thorpe and Tera O’Haire led the Skylights to a resounding four-game victory over RMC by scores of 30-24, 25-30, 30-28 and 30-27. The win came less than 24 hours after the Skylights suffered a dismal home loss to Carroll.
“I think how we played tonight was a result of deciding to respond to a bad loss as a team,” McPherson said. “After the Carroll match, we got together and had a great talk as a team. We were able to get some things figured out.
“We talked about getting back to playing with heart and emotion,” she added. “We decided we were going to put an emphasis on having fun and loving the game of volleyball.”
And with that, the Skylights played tremendously well against RMC on Saturday night. And the seniors led them all the way. McPherson had one of her strongest all-around performances in her final volleyball match in what will be an eight-year career in Havre between playing for the Skylights and Havre Blue Ponies. McPherson led the Skylights with 18 kills and was in on three blocks while disrupting Rocky’s game plan all night from her middle-hitter position.
“I am proud that I play for the the team and the university in the town I grew up in,” McPherson said. “Being a Skylight has meant so much to me.
“So tonight being senior night, this was extra special,” she added. “But it was also important because we needed a win so bad, and this was a true team effort tonight,” she added. “For me, it just feels great to know that I’ve contributed to this program and helped make it more stable.”
Saturday’s win was no doubt a total team effort. O’Haire and Thorpe both made their last night in the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse memorable as well. O’Haire was in on three blocks at the net and also led the Skylights with four service aces. Thorpe was her usual reliable self on defense, pacing MSU-N with a match-high 18 digs.
“The kids talked last night about being emotionally involved in the match,” MSU-N head coach Greg Ryan said. “And you can see how good they are when they are emotionally involved and focused and having fun. As coaches, we know how good they are, but sometimes they just don’t see it.
“They were really disappointed after the Carroll match,” Ryan added. “But they got together and talked some things out, and tonight’s turnaround really rests upon our seniors. They are our leaders and they are the one’s who stepped up tonight. It was a really nice way for them to end their careers at home.”
Northern’s match with the Bears, who came into Havre fresh off a near-win over league-leading UGF on Friday night, started off perfectly. The Skylights went on an early 8-1 run in the first game, mainly behind the blocking of O’Haire and the early hitting of McPherson. Setter Brittany Sesler seemed to be on the same page with McPherson early on, and that resulted in seven kills for McPherson in the first game alone, as the Skylights cruised to a 1-0 lead in the match.
Even in game two, a game that the Bears won 30-25, MSU-N played sound volleyball in all aspects. The Skylights kept hitters Rachel Mrdeza and Carlee Hoff involved and eventually, they started to wear the Bears down. The Skylights took a 27-26 lead on a big block from McPherson and Jessica Ryan in game three and never trailed again. MSU-N finished off the third game on back-to-back blocks by O’Haire. And finished off a close game four with two aces from Jody Berglund and and a block by O’Haire and Sesler.
“This was a good team we beat tonight,” Ryan said. “It is nice to watch us play like that, because again, as coaches, we know how hard these kids work and how well they can play. It is nice to watch them come out and play as well as they can.”
Mrdeza and Hoff added to Northern’s kill total with 15 and 12, respectively. Hoff was also strong defensively with 18 digs, while Sesler had a remarkable 51 assists in four games.
As good as the Skylights looked on Saturday night, the weekend didn’t start off that way. Carroll, which is in third place in the Frontier Conference standings overwhelmed Northern all over the floor in a three-game sweep by scores of 30-25, 30-21 and 30-16.
The Saints built big leads in all three games, and MSU-N could only mount comebacks in the first two. The Saints dominated play up front behind the hitting of Tiffany Rochelle, who led the Saints with 11 kills and a solo block. Rochelle gave Northern a lot of trouble in the middle of the floor and outside hitter Natalie Solomon had a solid night on the outside with seven kills.
The Skylights did get a productive match from Hoff with eight kills, eight digs and a pair of aces. McPherson had two solo blocks and Thorpe had 11 digs on defense.
“What is amazing is we had the best week of practice we have had all season,” Ryan said. “And that is why the kids were so disappointed on Friday night. It’s like when you rehearse all week and then go on stage and forget your lines. That is kind of what happened to us on Friday night.
“But the win against Rocky is one we can hang our hat on. We can hang our hat on how we played against UGF and the win over Montana Tech and the win tonight,” he added. “Those are building blocks. Now we just have to start stringing those blocks together in a shorter amount of time.”
With the win over the Bears, the Skylights improved to 3-8 in conference play and 5-13 overall.
Northern will finish its regular season with three straight road matches starting Friday night in Lewiston, Idaho at Lewis-Clark State.
Carroll College def. MSU-Northern
30-25, 30-21, 30-16
CC — Kills 34 (Tiffany Rochelle 11); Aces 10 (Rochelle 3, Valissa Sneck 3); Assists 29 (Katie Polette 15); Digs 41 (Sneck 18); Blocks 8.
MSU-N — Kills 27 (Carlee Hoff 8, Rachel Mrdeza 6); Aces 4 (Hoff 2); Assists 26 (Brittany Sesler 21); Digs 44 (Kelly Thorpe 11); Blocks 9 (Jeanna McPherson 2).
MSU-Northern def. Rocky Mountain College
30-24, 25-30, 30-28, 30-27
RMC — Kills — Sara Schuepbach 19; Blocks— NA; Aces, — NA; Assists — Hailey Pearce 46; Digs — Schuepbach 17, Jacque Walen 10.
MSU-N — Kills — Jeanna McPherson 18, Rachel Mrdeza 15, Carlee Hoff 12; Blocks — NA; Aces — Tera O’Haire 4; Assists — Brittany Sesler 51; Digs — Kelly Thorpe 18, Hoff 17.