DILLON, Mont. — The Montana Western volleyball team (18-4, 5-3) took on the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears this evening and lost 3-1 in a battle of two nationally receiving votes teams. The visiting Battlin' Bears won by scores of 16-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 24-26.
Junior middle blocker
Peyton Vogl got over the 200-career block marker with her team high of four blocks in the match.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs got off to another slow start, much like that of Wednesday night's road contest at Carroll College. Momentum hung with Rocky throughout the entire set, with the Bulldogs scoring no more than three points in a row through the entire set. RMC put together a game high .300 team hitting percentage as the Bulldogs hit a low of .050 in the 25-16 first set.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game behind the serving hand of
Rylee Nickodemus at 6-5 in the second set. Following a trade of points, the Bulldogs rode a 5-1 scoring run to take a 12-8 lead.
Jazi Smith capped off the set with a big kill to even the match at one apiece.
Kills from
Jordan Olson and an ace from
Morgyn Harrison highlighted the Bulldogs early third set climb to a 7-3 lead. RMC's Bella Bryan flipped momentum with a kill that sparked a 8-1 run to flip the bill to 11-8. Smith pounded another kill down that killed the RMC run and sparked a 5-0 Bulldog run. Despite holding a narrow 21-20 lead, RMC went on to outpace the Bulldogs to win set three 25-23.
Madisyn Frazier put UMW up in the fourth frame and a swing from Olson gave UMW a 5-1 lead. The two teams battled back and forth before UMW would take a narrow lead at 17-13 behind a kill from
Danyel Martin and a solo block from
Jaiden Perez. Rocky answered with their own 6-1 run to give them a slight edge at 19-18. Both UMW and Rocky showed determination, taking the set to extras with RMC claiming the final win 26-24.
Notables
- Tonight's loss marks the second loss to Rocky Mountain College this season, with the Bulldogs falling on the road in a five-set battle last matchup.
- Junior middle blocker Peyton Vogl got over the 200-career block marker with her team high of four blocks in the match. She also added 10 kills in the game.
- Smith led Bulldog attackers with 14 kills and a .200 hitting percentage. She also added seven digs and a block.
- Kelsey Goddard led Bulldog defenders with 30 digs.
- Martin was also a key contributor in the game, totaling 11 kills and four blocks.
- Sophie Worden and Kaylee Fritz combined for 42 assists, combining for 10.5 assists per set.
Up Next
The Bulldogs are back on the court next Wednesday, Nov. 1 against the No. 10 ranked Montana Tech. Last time the two teams faced, the Bulldogs topped the Orediggers 3-0 in Butte, Mont.
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