
Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
SIOUX CITY, Iowa. – The no. 16 seeded Montana Western women's volleyball team (24-9) made history this afternoon after they defeated the no. 24 seeded William Carey (Miss.) in a statement sweep to win their first ever NAIA National Championship final site game.
"I was really impressed at how poised and confident they were today. We had a good balanced offense and served tough against a really solid William Carey team," Head Coach Katie Lovett said.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs built a three-point lead early in the first set, buying back-to-back points behind kills from Olivia Rosborough and Jordan Olson. Up 12-9, the Bulldogs were able to hold off the counter-attack from the Lady Crusaders that saw them tie it at 15 all. Western kept their lead intact down the stretch though and held a 24-20 lead. Despite three-straight points from William Carey, a timeout for Western broke the run and Olson would knock down a kill to cap the set up 25-23.

The Bulldog women found their footing early in the second set, riding a 5-0 scoring run to a 13-9 lead. They continued to impress as Smith combined for a pair of kills late in the set to lead the Bulldogs to a 25-16 set two win.
In the final set, UMW showed their dominance early as Peyton Vogl and Dani Brown combined for a block to take a three-point lead early. Up 15-9 mid-set, the Lady Crusaders put together an impressive response by putting up five straight points to close within just one point of the Bulldogs. Olson recorded a kill from the right side and Brown added her own to reclaim momentum. Smith put down two big kills in a row as Western pressed on to a 22-16 lead. They went on to win the final frame 25-21 behind six kills in the set from Smith.

Notables
Today's win marks the first time in school history the Bulldogs have won a game at the NAIA National Championship final site. This win comes just one year after the Bulldogs recorded their first ever postseason victory.
The Bulldogs served up eight aces in the victory, a mark reached just three times this season.
Smith led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and 12 digs. She also added a pair of service aces.
Taylor Petersen served up three aces in the win.
The Bulldogs also totaled seven blocks in the game, led by Danyel Martin who had four blocks in the game.
Up Next
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow morning against the no. 1 seeded Northwestern at 9am in the Tyson Events Center. The Red Raiders enter the matchup 1-0 in pool play after they defeated William Carey in the opening game of pool play in three sets to one.
The top team from Pool A will advance to face the Pool H winner in the next round. Tomorrow's game will determine who will advance to quarterfinals action.


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