The Montana State University-Northern Skylights volleyball team battled through two challenging road matches over the weekend, falling to Mayville State University in four sets on Friday before dropping a five-set heartbreaker to Valley City State University on Saturday.
Northern opened the weekend against Mayville State on Friday, Oct. 16, winning the first set 25-18 before the Comets rallied to take the next three sets, 25-21, 29-27 and 27-25.
Macy Uffelman led the Skylights with 18 kills and added 26 digs.
Josie Hasler contributed 12 kills and 22 digs, while
Kendall Scheffelmear finished with eight kills and four total blocks.
Kambria Maloy paced the defense with 34 digs, and
Emily Bird and
Addison Falls Down directed the offense with 19 and 18 assists, respectively.
Northern finished the match with 49 kills, 45 assists and 126 digs. Despite taking the opening set and pushing the final two sets to close finishes, the Skylights were unable to complete the comeback.
The Skylights returned to the court Saturday, Oct. 17, against Valley City State, falling 3-2 in a closely contested five-set match. The Vikings won the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-21, before Northern responded with victories of 25-23 and 25-18 to force a deciding fifth set. Valley City State ultimately secured the match with a 21-19 win in the final frame.
Uffelman recorded 14 kills and 24 digs, while Hasler and
Caleigh Case each added 13 kills. Case also led Northern with eight total blocks, including six block assists. Scheffelmear contributed 10 kills and seven total blocks, while Bird recorded 27 assists and 22 digs. Maloy added 31 digs and two service aces.
Northern finished with 62 kills, 56 assists, 131 digs and 15 total blocks against the Vikings. The Skylights held an advantage in blocks, but Valley City State recorded 10 service aces compared to Northern's two.
The weekend featured two competitive performances from the Skylights, who fought back from deficits in both matches and pushed Valley City State to an extended fifth set. Northern will look to build on those efforts as it returns home for its next stretch of Frontier Conference play.
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