CHANDLER, Ariz. - The Montana Western volleyball team claimed their first win of the 2022 season as they came out on top today against Benedictine University at Mesa (5-3) in four sets.
"We have been right there and in a lot of games, so it felt really good to see some success and end this tournament on a positive note. They have been working really hard and we have played really tough teams, which has helped us play at a high level." coach
Katie Lovett said.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs came out in the first set tied at 13. Kills from
KayLee Kopp and
Jazi Smith helped to push the Bulldog lead to 17-14. The Redhawks of Benedictine were then able to take control of the game and win the set 20-25. The Bulldogs came back out in set two with a vengeance posting a .368 hitting pct and racking up 14 kills in the set that allowed the Bulldogs to win 25-20. During the third set, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 15-10 lead behind a kill from Smith off the hands of setter
Ramyia Wendt. The Bulldogs struggled to hold the lead as they allowed the Redhawks to score eight unanswered points. A timeout helped the Bulldogs get back in their groove and a kill from
Peyton Vogl put the Bulldogs on top 25-23. Set four saw the Bulldogs put up an impressive .412 hitting pct. and ended the game with a 10-1 scoring run that included 6 kills from the Bulldogs and they were able to finish the set on top 25-16 to secure their first win of the 2022 season.
Notables
- Morgan Kirch, Kelsey Goddard, and Kopp led the Bulldogs in digs with a combined 44 total.
- Kopp led the Bulldogs with 17 kills and 14 digs.
- Kaylee Fritz racked up 31 assists as the Bulldogs were able to claim 54 total kills.
- Smith added 12 kills and Morgan Stenger added another 10 kills.
Up next
The Bulldogs will look to carry the momentum into this next week as they travel to Havre for the Frontier/Northstar Conference Challenge. They will open with Dickinson State (N.D.) at 10 AM MST on Sept. 9th.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @UMWBulldogs
Instagram: @umw_bulldogs
#GOBULLDOGS
