Box Score BUTTE, Mont.- The season series between the Orediggers and the Skylights is now tied 1-all after MSU-Northern walked away from Kelvin Sampson Court with a 3-1 win on Thursday.

The Lights defense was the deciding factor, tallying 90 total digs and 9.0 total blocks. Northern finished with four players with double-digit digs and were led by Baily Egan with 24.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair that finished in favor of the Lights 25-22. Northern hit .326 in that first set, and the Orediggers weren't far behind at .317.

The second set was all Montana Tech. The Orediggers dominated from the word go, tallying 11 kills, three aces, and 3.0 total blocks. With a commanding 25-13 win, it felt like the momentum was going to pull the Orediggers to the finish line.
The Lights had other ideas.

The third set was similar to the first, strong play on both sides of the net, long points, and great rallies. The numbers bear witness to this. Northern had 54 total attacks in the third set alone, only to be outdone by Montana Tech's 62 attacks. (For comparison sake, the Diggs had 33 attacks in the second, and 38 in the fourth. The difference in the third set was 6.0 total blocks for Northern and seven attack errors for Montana Tech. With a 25-22 win in the third, the Lights went up 25-17.

Each team dominated a set, the Orediggers was the second, the Skylights was the fourth. Northern had 17 kills in the fourth on 38 attacks, hitting .395 as a team. They jumped out early, and never let the Orediggers get within arms reach.

Outside hitter Kinnidi Willmore led Montana Tech (10-6, 4-2 conf.) with 14 kills on the night. Olivia Labeau and Piper Jette each tallied 11.

Setter Rhys Layton put up 48 assists, and Jelena Jablanov led Montana Tech with 24 digs.

For MSU-Northern (7-8, 2-4 conf.) Jessalyn Chvilicek had 16 kills for the Skylights, and Alana Graves tallied 15 while hitting .480.

The Orediggers are on the road this Saturday to Billings to battle the Bears of Rocky Mountain College. First serve scheduled for 6pm.