The Skylights opened the 2026 women's volleyball season in impressive fashion Thursday afternoon, sweeping Williams Baptist University 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-12) at the Butte Civic Center.
The Skylights came out strong and never let Williams Baptist find a rhythm, hitting .396 as a team while holding the Eagles to a .092 hitting percentage. Northern finished the match with a 46-29 advantage in kills and also held edges in aces, blocks, assists and digs.
Northern built its early lead behind a balanced offensive attack.
Josie Hasler led the way with 14 kills on 21 attacks while hitting an outstanding .667 for the match.
Macy Uffelman added 12 kills and hit .357, while
Caleigh Case contributed six kills on 11 attempts with no errors.
The Skylights took control of the opening set midway through, turning a 9-9 game into a 25-17 victory.
Emily Bird helped direct the offense with 21 assists, while
Addison Falls Down added 16 assists. Montana State-Northern also received four kills apiece from Falls Down and five kills from
Kendall Scheffelmear.
The second set followed a similar script as the Skylights steadily separated from Williams Baptist. Montana State-Northern hit .393 in the frame, committing just two attack errors, and closed out the set 25-16 to take a 2-0 match advantage.
The Skylights saved their most dominant offensive performance for the third set. Montana State-Northern recorded 17 kills against just one error, hitting an impressive .571 to pull away for a 25-12 victory and complete the sweep.
Hasler contributed in all areas of the match, adding 12 digs to her team-leading 14 kills. Scheffelmear anchored the net with four total blocks, while Uffelman finished with two blocks.
Kambria Maloy provided a strong serving presence with four aces, and Bird added two aces.
Williams Baptist was led offensively by Cassie Carlson, who recorded 20 kills, while Mackenzie Griffin tallied 26 assists and Jada Perryman collected 10 digs.
With the victory, Montana State-Northern improves to 1-0 on the young season, while Williams Baptist falls to 1-2.
The Skylights play Friday morning at 9 against Arizona Christian.
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