NAIA Match of the Week – No. 3
No. 20 Montana Tech (11-2, 0-0 Frontier) at No. 19 Hastings (7-2, 0-0 GPAC)
Friday, Sept. 11 | 2 p.m. MST | Hastings, Neb.
Live Video & Live Stats – Provided by Hastings and Stretch Internet

• The final major non-conference weekend for most NAIA programs pits No. 20 Montana Tech against No. 19 Hastings (Neb.) in the NAIA Volleyball Match of the Week Friday afternoon at the Five Points Bank Invitational in Hastings, Neb.
• Hastings is 1-1 this season against Frontier Conference opponents and 3-2 against Top 25 teams with wins coming against then-No. 13 Davenport (Mich.), 3-0, on Aug. 20, then-No. 23 Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho), 3-1, on Aug. 21, and then-No. 21 Grand View (Iowa), 3-2, on Sept. 5.
• The Broncos entered the 2015 season searching for their first national championship berth since 2012 and 10th all-time.
• Hastings was picked to finish third in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) preseason poll, trailing No. 4 Midland (Neb.) and No. 12 Northwestern (Iowa). Despite the third-place selection, the Broncos received three of the 12 possible first-place votes.
• The Broncos enter Wednesday riding a two-match winning streak, including the aforementioned victory against Grand View. Hastings has the opportunity to push the streak to three matches before the weekend, as they travel to Concordia (Neb.) Wednesday night. First serve against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT.
• Freshman outside hitter Sage Meyer and junior right-side Jennifer Klaudt have keyed the attack for the Broncos. Meyer is averaging a team-best 3.0 kills per set and has reached the double-digit kills mark in 7-of-9 matches this season. Klaudt is next in line at 2.97 kills per set and is second on the squad with a .286 hitting percentage (minimum 100 attempts).
• Junior middle blocker Logan Drueppel has been a force at the net for the Hastings defense, and is a key reason why the club ranks among the top 10 nationally in blocking. The Schuyler, Neb., native ranks fifth in the NAIA in blocks per set (1.5) and sixth in total blocks (56). Drueppel has recorded 10-or-more blocks twice this season – against Westmont (Calif.) on August 20 and against Grand View (Iowa) on Sept. 5.
• Similar to Hastings, Montana Tech has had mixed success against ranked teams this season. The Orediggers are 1-2 against the Top 25 with their lone victory coming against Davenport (Mich.), 3-0, on August 20.
• Montana Tech opens the Five Points Bank Invitational against Peru State (Neb.) at 11 a.m. on Friday, before the NAIA Match of the Week.
• The Orediggers enter the event on a five-match winning streak that includes a four-match sweep last weekend at the LaQuinta-Kansas Wesleyan University Invitational in Salina, Kan. The streak pushed Montana Tech's record to 11-2 – the best start for the club since 2012 – and vaulted the team into the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 Poll for the first time during head coach Brian Solomon's tenure.
• Montana Tech enters Wednesday ranked among the top 15 nationally in service aces (2nd; 113), kills (9th; 600), blocks (10th; 96), assists (11th; 531) and aces per set (12th; 2.4).
• Junior middle blocker/right-side Bailie Cortner has emerged as a star for the Orediggers, ranking third nationally in hitting percentage (.414) and 15th in total blocks (45). She also leads the team in total kills (141) and kills per set (3.1). Cortner tied a career-high with 18 kills against The Master's (Calif.) on Aug. 29 (five sets), before accomplishing the feat again on Sept. 6 against Briar Cliff (Iowa) (four sets).
• Makenzie Bauck, a junior setter from Florence, Mont., is another key cog for Montana Tech. Bauck boasts 471 total assists on the year – fifth-best in the NAIA – en route to a 10.2 assists per set average. She is also third on the club with 17 service aces.
• Montana Tech is searching for its first national championship appearance since 1988.

Note – Portions of this information was provided by the Hastings (Neb.) and Montana Tech sports information departments.