DILLON, Mont. -- Kinnidi Willmore and Olivia LaBeau combined for 38 kills and eight blocks, Rhys Layton dished out 52 assists, and the 19th-ranked Montana Tech volleyball team rallied to top No. 15 Montana Western, 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 20-18, in a five-set thriller.

Montana Tech (19-8, 9-5 Frontier Conference) fell behind early in the first set but came back with five straight points to tie the score at 11. Then Western ripped off a 9-1 run to take control, cruising to an opening-set win.

The Diggers responded to take the second behind six kills from Willmore, but the Bulldogs regained the advantage with a third-set victory, breaking a 22-all tie to sweep the final three points.

Facing defeat in the fourth, the Orediggers used a 5-0 run sandwiched around a UMW timeout to take what appeared to be a commanding lead. Western stormed back, though, to tie the set at 23-23 and force an Oredigger timeout. A LaBeau and Willmore block and Willmore's kill forced the match into the deciding fifth set.

The Orediggers jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the final chapter, but it seemed destined for more drama. UMW clawed back for a 7-6 lead, and from that point on, neither team led by more than two points. A pair of Jordan Olson kills put Western on the brink of victory, 14-13, but Willmore tied the set back up with a kill and forced extra points. The Diggers faced match point twice before forcing it on their own, and LaBeau delivered kills on the final two balls of the evening to seal the win.

Four Orediggers — Jelena Jablanov (25), Emmy Green (18), Brooklynn Hayes (11), and Malia Harris (11) — recorded double-digit digs on the back row, and LaBeau added six blocks while Layton and Willmore added four each.

The victory helped the Orediggers keep pace with No. 14 Providence at the top of the league standings headed into Saturday's match between the two powerhouses in Great Falls. The winner will lay claim to the Frontier's regular-season championship.

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