DILLON -- Despite 16 kills from
Halle Moomaw and seven blocks by
Kennedy Oman, the Montana Tech volleyball team fell Wednesday, 13-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 16-14 , in a thriller at Montana Western.
The Orediggers (14-4, 9-3 Frontier) dominated the first set and won the second, but then Montana Western woke up. The Bulldogs led most of the third set, but Montana Tech closed the gap late with a 5-0 run to take a 20-19 lead. UMW, however, held off the Orediggers and forced a fourth.
In the following set, the Bulldogs (8-11, 7-5) raced out to a 7-1 lead before the Orediggers closed the gap. Trailing 24-21, a UMW service error, a
Talan Dodson kill, and
Sydnee Streitz's ace got the Orediggers back into it. But UMW won the next two points to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
Western jumped out to the lead in the decider, but then the Oredigger block showed up. Moomaw and Oman stopped a pair of UMW attacks late as Tech stormed back from down 14-10 to tie the set. The Bulldogs game up with a big kill, though, and blocked the final point to secure the win.
The loss snapped Montana Tech's five-match win streak over its rival.
Dodson chipped in 12 kills, and
Brooklynn Hayes led four defenders in double-digit digs with 26.
Ellie Reinertson had her first double-double of the season with 20 assists and 17 digs, and
Rhys Layton made a team-high 27 assists.
Montana Tech will look to get back on track Friday night as Frontier Conference play continues at home against Valley City State. First serve in Valley Bank Arena is set for 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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