Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information Photo Credit Terri Haverfield
DILLON, Mont. — The no. 17 ranked Montana Western women's volleyball team (18-6, 8-3) won their third straight five-set game tonight with a 3-2 reverse sweep over the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears (12-15, 2-9).
Tonight's five-set win marks their ninth five-set win this season, going 9-0 in games that have gone the full five frames.
"The team did a great job coming back in the third, fourth and fifth set just really playing how we know how. We did a really good job not letting those first two sets get to us," Head Coach Katie Lovett said. "Jazi and Jordan played awesome for us tonight, offensively and defensively. They were really dialed in. It was exciting to see that and to see everyone come together as a team."
How It Happened
Rocky took the edge early and remained in the driver's seat through the first set. Jordan Olson knocked down a kill to bring the game back within one at 16-15, but Rocky rattled off four straight to close the door and run on to a 25-20 set win.
Mirroring set one, the second frame kicked off with the Battlin' Bears pushing out once again to an early 8-4 lead. Western worked back into the set, tying the game at 10 apiece with an ace from Madisyn Frazier. Back-to-back kills from Jazi Smith gave the Bulldogs some momentum to claim their first lead of the set. Battling for ground down the stretch, it was Rocky who found enough energy to ride a 9-4 scoring run to win 25-22.
Down 2-0, the Bulldogs dug their heels in and hit a game-high .382 in the set to win the third frame decisively 25-17.
It was Smith's five kills and a block that fueled Western in the fourth frame to take a 16-11 lead that the Battlin' Bears were unable to overcome. Though Rocky grabbed two straight to close the gap to three points, Savana Warburton and Danyel Martin sealed the deal with a critical set-ending block to win 25-20.
Western put an exclamation mark on the end of the game, racking up nine kills as they pushed past Rocky to win 15-8 in the final frame.
Notables
UMW is now 9-0 in games decided in the fifth set, including two reverse sweeps this season.
The Bulldogs have won three straight matches over Rocky Mountain.
Smith led the Bulldogs with an impressive 23 kills, 20 digs, and two service aces.
Olson raked in 18 kills from the right side, hitting an impressive .317 in the game.
As a team, the Bulldogs totaled 11 blocks in total. Peyton Vogl led the way with six total.
Setters Kaylee Fritz and Petersen combined for 57 assists, good for 11.4 assists per set.
Up Next
With just four conference games remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs will be on the road to face the no. 13 ranked Providence in Great Falls, Mont. on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. They will then return on Nov. 2 for a home matchup with MSU-Northern on Nov. 2.
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