BUTTE, Mont. – Montana Tech went 1-1 in the third and final day of the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge Saturday at the HPER Complex. Tech fell to College of Idaho 3-1 in its first match of the day but then hailed victorious over The Master's College 3-2 in the nightcap.
Match one: College of Idaho 3, Montana Tech 1
College of Idaho snapped Tech's five-match win streak (26-28, 25-17, 14-25, 26-28) Saturday afternoon in the teams' first match on the third day of the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge.
Senior Sydney Norris compiled her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs to lead the Diggers. Jordan Danz and Bailie Cortner both had double digits in kills with 13 and 10 respectively. Setter Makenzie Bauck contributed with 42 assists on the day.
The Lady Yotes (2-5) were paced by Abbey Fenton who had a match-high 20 kills while Sierra Porter added 51 assists.
The back-and-forth first set saw 11 changes and 10 ties. Tech had the 24-22 lead late in the first via a kill by Katie Wiley. C of I followed with a 3-0 spurt to give the Lady Yotes the 25-24 advantage. The Diggers regained the lead at 26-25 but the Lady Yotes would go on to score three straight to take the 28-26 set victory.
Tech rebounded in the second set hitting .375 and forcing eight errors. The Diggers broke an 8-8 tie, thanks to a C of I error, and never looked back. Tech stood behind Norris who had four of the team's 14 kills as they went on to the 25-17 win.
The Digger offense fell short in the third stanza connecting on just eight kills while committing eight errors. C of I jumped to a 12-5 lead which was too deep of a hole to Diggers to dig out of as they dropped the third set 25-14.
Montana Tech returned to form in the fourth set battling back-and-forth with the Lady Yotes. Tech had set point at 24-21 however the C of I used a late 7-2 rally to take the 28-26 victory.
Match two: Montana Tech 3, (RV) The Master's College 2
Montana Tech (7-2) came out victorious in a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-10) over The Master's College Saturday night to close out the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge. With the victory, the Orediggers sweep the season series between the Lady Mustangs.
Bailie Cortner had a sensational night tying a career-high in kills with 18 while hitting .485 percent. Setter Makenzie Bauck (47 assists, 11 digs), senior Sydney Norris (13 kills, 19 digs), and Jordan Danz (12 kills, 16 digs) all posted double-doubles for the Orediggers.
TMC (4-5) was led by Aubrey Bekendam who filled up the stat sheet with 15 kills, 26 assists, 12 digs and four blocks on the night.
Tech came out strong with a 4-0 lead to start the first set highlighted by back-to-back service aces by libero Angie Pancost. The un-phased Lady Mustangs regained their composure as they went on to take the lead and the set at 25-23.
The Diggers bounced back winning both sets two and three but the Lady Mustangs held on to win the fourth set sending the contest to a fifth and deciding set.
Montana Tech came out red hot in the fifth going up 8-4 thanks to a kill by Cortner. Follow the side change, the Orediggers continued to put it on TMC using a 3-0 run late in the stanza to take the 13-7 advantage. The Master's attempted a late run but it was not enough as Tech held on for the victory.
Next up for Montana Tech is the Kansas Wesleyan Labor Day Tournament in Salina, Kan. on September 5th and 6th.
