BUTTE -- Abby Clark spiked a career-high 13 kills on a record-breaking day,
Kinnidi Willmore added 11 kills, and the Montana Tech volleyball team celebrated Senior Day with a 25-16, 26-24, 25-15 sweep of archrival Carroll Saturday afternoon inside Valley Bank Arena.
Clark's 13 kills came on just 15 attack attempts and with just one error for an .800 hitting percentage. That mark topped Montana Tech's single-match hitting percentage record, previously set by Whitney Booth in 2000 (.778).
Montana Tech (16-10, 11-8 Frontier Conference) took control of the first set early, opening the match on a 10-5 run. Tech ran away with the set behind six Clark kills.
In the second, the Orediggers again snagged the early momentum. Tech began the set ahead 10-4, stringing the run around a Carroll timeout. Then the Saints (15-13, 10-10) awoke. Carroll stormed back to tie the set at 17 and used a 7-2 run to lead 22-19.
Trailing 24-22 and facing set point,
Talan Dodson gave the Orediggers a spark with a kill. Then Dodson and
Madison Biery blocked a Saints attack to tie the score at 24 all. Tech's defense forced a couple of Carroll attack errors, and Montana Tech went to the third looking for the sweep.
In that final set, Tech erased all doubt early. Clark put down a couple early kills to help the Orediggers build a 10-5 lead, and the Montana Tech defense held the Saints to an even .000 hitting percentage in the set. Key kills by Biery, Willmore, and Clark down the stretch sealed the sweep.
Tech hit .307 for the match, led by Clark's can't-miss day.
Brooklynn Hayes (15 digs) and Biery (four blocks) led the defensive effort for the Orediggers.
With the win, Montana Tech clinched a spot in the upcoming Frontier Conference tournament and took over sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.
Prior to the match, the program honored the four members of its senior class — Clark, Willmore,
Emmy Green, and
Malia Harris.
Montana Tech will hit the road for the final two matches of the regular season next week, playing at MSU-Northern Friday before heading to Great Falls for a showdown with No. 1-ranked Providence Saturday.
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