HAVRE, Mont. — Dickinson State battled through three tight sets and turned in a dominant third-set performance Saturday, but MSU-Northern came away with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21) Frontier Conference victory.
The Blue Hawks moved to 6-19 overall and 5-13 in the Frontier. Dickinson State finished with more kills, service aces and digs than the Skylights, while Taylor Gaer recorded a season-high 38 digs.
Dickinson State stayed within striking distance throughout the opening set, taking a 20-17 lead late in the frame before Northern rallied for a 25-22 win.
The Blue Hawks opened the second with another strong stretch, building a 12-7 advantage. Northern answered with 6 straight points to move in front, and the teams continued to battle into the closing stages. Dickinson State pulled within 23-21 on a Cate Floy kill before the Skylights scored the final 2 points for a 25-21 win.
Dickinson State responded with its strongest set of the afternoon in the third. After the teams played to a 9-9 tie, the Blue Hawks began to create separation and eventually stretched their advantage to 21-13.
Dickinson State put down 18 kills with only 4 errors to hit .311 in the set. Carmen Pallone closed the 25-15 victory with a kill.
The fourth remained close throughout. Dickinson State held a 15-14 advantage and later pulled within 21-20 before Northern finished the set 25-21.
Aubrey Allison added a season-high 27 digs to go with a team-leading 15 kills on .239 hitting. Pallone finished with 12 kills, while Macie Wheeler put down 11 kills on .310 hitting. Cate Floy added 10 kills, giving Dickinson State four players in double figures.
Rylee Kogolshak directed the offense with 42 assists and added 17 digs, 5 kills and 2 aces. Ashtynn Egan contributed 17 digs and a team-high 4 aces.
Dickinson State finished with 59 kills to Northern's 54 and held an 8-4 advantage in service aces. The Blue Hawks also collected 117 digs and hit .171 for the match.
The Blue Hawks return to Scott Gymnasium for their final two home matches of the regular season, beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. against Valley City State.
