Box Score DILLON -- Three Montana Tech volleyball players finished with double-digit kills, leading the Orediggers to a 21-25, 25-21, 25-11, 21-25, 15-12 win at rival Montana Western Wednesday evening. 

Sophomore Madison Biery led the Montana Tech front row, hitting .562 on her way to 10 kills while adding seven blocks as the middle controlled the game at the net. Payton Treadwell added 18 kills for the Orediggers, while Kinnidi Willmore chipped in 12 kills. 

After dropping the first set, Montana Tech's attack caught fire in the second and third. The Orediggers (11-7, 7-5 Frontier Conference) hit .419 and .429 in the second and third sets, respectively, as Tech built a lead. 

Montana Tech built a 7-2 lead to start the fourth, but the Bulldogs (8-11, 6-6) roared back for a 13-12 advantage. Western finished the set on a 5-2 run to force a deciding fifth set. 

Tech rushed out to a 7-3 lead again in the final frame before its rival pushed back. With the fifth tied at 12, the Orediggers' Rhys Layton took over service with Tech trailing, 12-11. Willmore put down a kill to tie the set before a quartet of Bulldog attack errors sealed the deal for the visitors, the final point accented by a block from Biery and Sophie Madsen. 

Layton finished the match with a team-best 28 assists, closely followed by 27 from freshman Ellie Reinertson. Emmy Green led Tech's back row with 25 digs and five aces. 

Montana Tech's win pushed the Orediggers back into a three-way tie for fourth in the Frontier Conference standings, deadlocking them with MSU-Northern and Dakota State at 7-5 in league play. 

Tech will look to stay on the winning track at home against Valley City State Friday with a 7 p.m. first serve.

Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.

###