UMW Sports Press Release
The Montana Western volleyball team (18-5, 5-4) fell in a three-set loss to the no. 10 ranked Montana Tech Orediggers (20-4, 6-2) by scores of 25-10, 25-22, and 27-25.
How It Happened
The first set got off to a back and forth start, with Montana Tech claiming a 7-6 lead. A kill from Danyel Martin was the lone point in an 8-1 Oredigger run than set Montana Tech up with a 15-7 lead. The Bulldogs would grab just three more points in the 25-10 first set loss.
Montana Western fell early again in the second frame and worked to get back from an 8-4 deficit. A kill from Jaiden Perez and an ace from Rylee Nickodemus got the Bulldogs back in the right and down just one at 8-7. Down 14-12, the Bulldogs went on their own 5-0 run that was capped by back to back aces from Sophie Worden. With a slight edge at 19-16, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome MT’s serve as the Orediggers posted seven straight points and claimed the final win at 25-22.
Set three proved to be a battle, seeing neither team take more than a three-point lead until the Bulldogs took a 20-16 lead following a block from Peyton Vogl and Jazi Smith. The Orediggers jumped back in and tied the game at 20 all. The Orediggers would ultimately take the final three points in extras with a 27-25 win.
Notables
Western struggled behind errors in tonight’s matchup, totaling 24 hitting errors and eight service errors.
As a team, the Bulldogs hit just .079 across the three-set match.
KayLee Kopp led the hitting effort for the Bulldogs with nine kills. She also tallied six digs.
Smith led in the back row with 14 digs. She also added eight kills and an ace.
Worden and Kaylee Fritz combines for 26 assists and 8.6 assists per set.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will wrap up the regular season this upcoming Saturday afternoon as they host the University of Providence Argos (14-10, 6-3) at 2pm. The match will also be Senior Day.
