BUTTE, Mont. – Tech defeated Pacific Union College 3-1 Thursday afternoon on Kelvin Sampson Court at the HPER Complex in its first match of the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge. The Diggers (4-1) limited the Pioneers to a hitting percentage of just .090 and forced 25 errors in the victory.
 
Defending Frontier Conference Attacker of the Week Bailie Cortner had another strong showing with a match-high 12 kills and two blocks. Makenzie Bauck dished out 40 assists while Haley Druyvestein and Sydney Norris chipped in with eight kills apiece.
 
The Pioneers (0-3) were led by Courtney Clark who had 11 kills.
 
PUC jumped out to an early 6-3 advantage before Montana Tech rallied back to take a 14-10 lead midway through the first set via a Pacific Union error. PUC pulled within one (16-17) however that was as close as they would get as the Diggers won four of the last six points to win the set.
 
The second set was back-and-forth as Montana Tech and PUC were tied at 15-15. Montana Tech won 10 of the next 13 points to win the second set 25-18. Hannah Liss had two service aces toward the end of the set that helped Montana Tech extend the lead.    
 
The Lady Diggers dropped the third set to PUC 23-25. The set saw PUC and Montana Tech commit a combined 17 errors.
 
In the fourth set Montana Tech used a small runs to take an early 16-11 advantage. Pacific Union made a small comeback to make the score 18-23 before Montana Tech put the game away on a block by Jordan Danz and Bailey Cortner to win the set (25-19).