HAVRE, Mont. -- Despite 17 kills from junior Kinnidi Willmore, the 17th-ranked Montana Tech volleyball team fell in four sets, 21-25, 25-8, 28-26, 25-22, to No. 19 Montana Western in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference tournament Friday night inside MSU-Northern's Armory Gymnasium.

Willmore hit a scalding .302 in the match, putting down her 17 kills to just four errors in her 43 attempts. Jelena Jablanov led the back row with 21 digs, and Rhys Layton collected 31 assists for Tech (19-10).

The second-seeded Diggers began the match with a 10-2 run and led the opening set wire-to-wire. Western climbed back into the set with a 5-0 run that cut the Tech lead to two, but the Orediggers held on for the early 25-21 win.

The Bulldogs rebounded to take the second, 25-8, before the teams locked into battle in the third. That set featured 11 ties and eight lead changes, powered by Willmore's eight kills in the verse. Tech earned set point at 24-23 on back-to-back Willmore kills, but a pair of Bulldog points put the Diggers on the brink two balls later. Montana Tech tied the match at 25 and 26 before Western took the set with the final two points.

In the fourth, the Orediggers jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the early going and bumped the lead to nine, 19-10, before Western stormed back. The Bulldogs uncorked an 8-0 run to get back into the set and closed the match on a 7-1 stampede.

Prior to the match, the conference bestowed its Champions of Character honor on Montana Tech senior Mayson Moore for her dedication to the NAIA's five core values — integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. Each program's honoree is picked by that institution's coaching staff.

"She has been a great example of service and giving as the most supportive teammate, helping with community service events and coaching youth teams in Butte," Montana Tech head coach Brian Solomon said of Moore.

Western moves on to face No. 13 Providence for the Frontier crown and the league's automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament Saturday night at 7.

Montana Tech will await the announcement of the 2024 NAIA tournament field, which will be unveiled Monday at 11 a.m. live on NAIA.org.

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