This Montana Western 14C conference volleyball race is going to be a challenge to keep up on.

With Charlo favored by most, there are several other teams in the conference who could be a factor and produce some thrilling if not head-scratching games.

Saturday night, during Noxon’s Homecoming festivities, the Lady Red Devils hosted the St. Regis Lady Tigers and the visitors did cut their hosts a break.

And while St. Regis remained unbeaten (they beat newcomer Alberton in five sets last week in their first home game in several years), Noxon was in every game as preseason pundits had forecast.

In a thrilling, hard-fought match, the Lady Tigers won 25-20, 25-19 and 25-23 to keep their conference record clean.

The closeness of the set scores indicates the severity of the battle, with multiple lead changes and tied scores in each set for both teams.

But the surprising St. Regis squad had enough to pull them through, paced by sophomore Avery Burnham’s outstanding play up front. Burnham finished the match with 6 kills, while teammate Bailey Hutchinson also had six kills, plus three blocks and six digs.

Noxon, meanwhile, stayed in all three games thanks to the usual game for senior Emily Brown, who had one service ace, three kills, eight assists, two blocks and two digs. Teammate Mia Vogel chipped in three aces, four kills, two assists and three digs for the Lady Red Devils, while Maygan Swanson had four aces, four kills, two blocks and two digs to aid the Noxon effort.

Noxon opened the week on a high note, dispatching winless Troy in three sets, 25-15, 25-11 and 25-22 in a non-conference match.

Brown, Vogel and Swanson were also instrumental in the match versus the Lady Trojans. Brown had five kills, six assists and a block; Vogel added seven aces, four kills, five assists and four digs; while Swanson contributed seven aces, five kills, two blocks and two digs for the Lady Devils.

Next on the schedule for Noxon is a home match this Thursday against Alberton, followed by a Saturday night contest with Charlo.

St. Regis plays at Hot Springs this Tuesday (tonight), then travels to Charlo for a Thursday night match-up with the Lady Vikings in a battle of conference leaders.