DILLON, Mont. - The Montana Western volleyball team (10-1) lost their first game of the season this evening after a hard fought five-set battle against the No. 11 ranked Montana Tech Orediggers (8-2).

How It Happened
Montana Western got off to a hot start, firing on all cylinders. A pair of kills from Peyton Vogl paired with an Oredigger error put the Bulldogs up 12-9 in the first set. A service ace from the hands of Morgyn Harrison gave UMW a boost for a 16-11 lead. The Bulldogs went on to outscore the Orediggers 9-5 down the stretch to win the first set 25-16.

The Orediggers jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead in the first set. UMW struggled to overcome the Oredigger front, not scoring more than two points in a row throughout the entire set. Montana Tech would win the set 25-16.

Montana Western came out to play from the start for the third frame. A block from Danyel Martin and Jordan Olson gave the Bulldogs a lead at 5-4. The two teams continued to trade points, with Montana Tech taking a slight edge at 17-15. UMW capitalized on a pair of Oredigger errors along with a kill from Martin to take the lead once again at 19-18. Down 23-22, the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 run to cap off the set on top at 25-23.

The fourth frame proved once again to be a challenge for the Bulldogs. A kill from Jazi Smith coupled with a block from the pair of Olson and Vogl tied the game at 7. The Orediggers followed up with a run that flipped the momentum from UMW. The Orediggers won the fourth set 25-20, forcing a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth frame saw a big kill from KayLee Kopp to give the Bulldogs an edge at 6-5. Despite best attempts, Montana Western was unable to flip the momentum back in their direction and was outscored 10-1 down the stretch. The Orediggers finished the matchup on top at 15-7.

Notables

• Tonight's matchup showed the two team's powerful fronts, with the two teams posting a combined 25 blocks in the game.
• Montana Western posted their lowest hitting percentage night of the season after they hit just .043 across the five-set game, with three sets in the negative column. Montana Tech hit just .120.
• The Bulldogs were led by Kopp who totaled 12 kills and 17 digs.
• Kelsey Goddard totaled 29 digs. Kaylee Fritz had 27 assists.

Up Next
The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow with a matchup against the RV University of Providence Argos at 6 p.m. in the Straugh Gymnasium.
 
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