Butte, MT - Montana Tech secured a 3-1 victory over No.13 Montana Western in Frontier Conference volleyball action at the HPER Complex in Butte, Montana. The Orediggers won the match with set scores of 25-18, 16-25, 27-25, and 25-22.
Montana Tech (10-5, 4-1) took control early by winning the first set 25-18. The Orediggers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the set after two Kinnidi Willmore kills to go along with two Bulldog errors. The two teams would largely trade points before the Orediggers were able to close the first frame with a 4-0 run.
Montana Western (10-5, 2-3) responded by taking the second set 25-16. The Bulldogs would go on a long mid-set run, reeling off five straight points to take a commanding 19-12 lead on a Peyton Vogl kill, and ultimately scored the last three points of the dominate second set.
The third set saw a close contest, with Montana Tech edging out Montana Western 27-25. It was a true back-and-forth contest with each team leading the set and four different times and no team leading by more than three points. A timely timeout by Oredigger coach Brian Solomon resulted in a three-point run for Montana Tech, forcing a Bulldog timeout with the Orediggers holding a 21-19 advantage. The two-point Orediggers lead would hold until the end of the third frame.
The Orediggers closed out the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set. The Orediggers led 24-16 in the final frame before the Bulldogs reeled off six straight points served by Madison Fritz. Willmore finished the match with a kill to give the Orediggers their fourth straight Frontier Conference win.
Montana Tech was led by Olivia Labeau, who recorded 15 kills and 5 blocks, hitting an impressive .400 hitting percentage on the match. Willmore followed close behind with 17 kills. Rhys Layton distributed 46 assists throughout the match, contributing to the Orediggers' offensive performance. On the defensive side, Jelena Jablanov led Montana Tech's defensive effort with 17 digs.
Montana Western was led by Vogl, who led all players 18 kills and a .516 percentage for the match.
Montana Tech will return to the HPER Complex on Thursday to host MSU Northern at 7 p.m.
