By On Friday, Sep. 15, the Saints volleyball team attended the Frontier Conference Tune-Up in Dillon, Montana.
The Saints took on three conference teams in the tournament to bring them to a current record of 5-11.
“We are really looking forward to seeing how far we will grow in just a couple of weeks,” said Maddie Wilkes, a senior education major from Pocatello, Idaho. “We have already grown so much from just a week ago. I am also looking forward to finally getting to play some teams in our conference.”
The Northern Skylights and Providence topped the Saints 3-1 in both opening matches.
Lauren Sehenuk, a senior elementary education major from Hermosa Beach, California, tied the game-high kills with 14.
The outcome for the Saints would stay the same against Providence, losing 3-1 in Dillon. Sidney Gulick, a sophomore Biochemistry major from Kalispell, ended the game with 12 kills while Wilkes had 17 assists and 19 digs.
The next day would bring similar results for the Saints as they took on the Montana Tech Orediggers and Montana Western.
The first match against Montana Tech would end in a hard-fought contest of wills.
The Saints attempted to change their luck from the day prior but lost all three sets to the Orediggers. Lauren Heuiser, a first-year elementary education major from Helena, ended the game with six kills and three blocks.
Their last game against Montana Western would close out the tournament with another Saint’s defeat.
The match ended with only one hard-fought win for the Saints, conceding to the Bulldogs 3-1 in their four sets.
Both Hueiser and Gulick ended the game with nine kills. Julia Carr, a senior Computer Information Systems major from Portland Oregon, tallied 32 digs for the Saints.
“It was a great learning experience for our team,” said Carr. “We have a young team and we’re in a building year. We’ve also been pretty unlucky with injuries this season but we’re looking forward to conference starting.”
