BUTTE -- Montana Tech's volleyball team earned another four-set Frontier Conference win Friday evening, topping visiting Bismarck State, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, inside Valley Bank Arena.
Setter
Rhys Layton led the charge for the Orediggers (9-1, 4-0 Frontier) with a double-double, tallying 39 assists and 18 digs. Layton, the reigning Frontier setter of the week, also had three blocks and two kills in the winning effort.
Halle Moomaw paced the Oredigger attack with a team-best 12 kills, and
Payton Treadwell and
Madison Biery each added 11 kills. Biery chipped in a team-high five blocks.
Libero
Brooklynn Hayes anchored the back row with 22 digs, and she and
Austin Long each served up a trio of aces.
Montana Tech got off to a slow start, falling behind 12-6 in the opening set before the Orediggers kicked it into gear. A
Kennedy Oman kill got the Tech attack going, however, and the Orediggers strung together an 11-2 run to take control of the first. Tech hung on for the 25-18 win.
The second set was more of the same as BSC (2-7, 0-4) moved to an 11-7 advantage before Tech got going again. Back-to-back blocks by Moomaw and Biery got the Orediggers back tied at 15, but the Mystics retained the advantage to lead 22-20.
Talan Dodson's kill sparked a 4-0 Montana Tech run that pushed the score to set-point. After BSC cut the deficit to one, Oman's kill gave the Orediggers a two sets to none advantage.
Tech looked to have the match in hand, leading 23-21 in the third, before BSC ripped off a 4-0 run to steal the set.
But the Orediggers got it done in four. Tech leapt out to a 7-1 run, but the Mystics moved back to take a 14-12 advantage. The Orediggers had another run in them, however, posting an 8-1 barrage on the back of two blocks by Layton and Biery, and Montana Tech cruised to victory.
Winners of nine straight, the Orediggers will be back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. against Dickinson State as Frontier Conference play continues.
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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