BISMARCK, N.D. -- Montana Tech's volleyball team erased two deficits Saturday afternoon but was unable to come up with a Frontier Conference win, falling 26-24, 15-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-10 at Bismarck State.
The Orediggers (17-5, 12-4 Frontier) got a career-high 36 digs from libero
Brooklynn Hayes, and
Talan Dodson added 20 kills to match her collegiate-best.
Rhys Layton made 32 assists, and
Payton Treadwell had a second-straight double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.
Montana Tech hit incredibly efficiently at points during the match, but the Orediggers failed to find consistency. Tech hit .328 in the two sets it did win but just .094 in the other three.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first set, but the Orediggers forced the first set-point with a 24-22 lead. But the Mystics (9-12, 7-9) won the final four points to capture the opener.
Dodson logged five of her match-best 20 kills in the second as Tech won handily, 25-15. The Orediggers fell down 11-5 in the third and never recovered, hitting just .040 for the set.
Tech then broke a 5-5 tie in the fourth with three straight points and never looked back; Treadwell had five of her 12 kills in the stanza.
But in the fifth, BSC ended the match on a 5-2 run to capture its first-ever win over the Orediggers.
McKenna Brendel led the Mystics with 16 kills.
The Orediggers will return home next weekend as Frontier Conference play continues. Dakota State visits Valley Bank Arena Friday at 6 p.m.
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.
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