DILLON, Mont. - The Montana Western volleyball team (13-1) defeated two conference opponents today in the Frontier Conference Preseason Tournament.
They first topped nationally ranked no. 23 Rocky Mountain College 3-1 (27-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-18). They followed up this evening with another 3-1 victory over Carroll College (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13.
How it Happened vs. No. 23 Rocky Mountain
Down 20-16 in the first set, the Bulldogs rallied behind
Kaylee Fritz who added an ace to
Peyton Vogl's three quick kills. Tied at 20, the two teams matched each other point for point to take the set into extras. A kill from
Danyel Martin and an ace from
Sophie Worden put the Bulldogs up for the win at 27-25.
UMW took charge of the second frame, hitting a game high of .357 as a team. They totaled just three errors in the set on their way to a 25-17 victory.
Though a kill from
Jazi Smith put the Bulldogs up 21-17 in set three, Rocky Mountain fought to get ahead and strung together five straight points. RMC finished the set on top 27-25.
An early 7-1 run for the Bulldogs put them up 8-4 early in the fourth frame. The set was rounded out by a set of kills from
Jordan Olson paired with a kill from
KayLee Kopp. UMW finished on top 25-18.
How it Happened vs. Carroll College
UMW got off to a slow start, trailing the Saints 14-9 in the first set. Three blocks from the hands of
Danyel Martin fueled a 9-0 scoring rally for Montana Western. Martin would also go on to record the final kill of the set, helping the Bulldogs to a 25-19 first set win.
The Saints got back up on their feet for the second set, holding the Bulldogs to a game low of .062. UMW would fall to the Saints 25-23.
Western got rolling again in the third set, riding behind a kill from Olson and an ace from
Morgyn Harrison. Up 14-12, UMW capitalized on three straight Carroll hitting errors to take a six-point lead. The Bulldogs finished out up 25-19 to go up 2-1 in the game.
UMW went off in the final frame, posting a team hitting percentage of .432 and racking up a collective 19 kills. The Bulldogs finished out the game with a 25-13 victory.
Notables
- The Bulldogs advance to 13-1 on the season, defeating a ranked team and a receiving votes team on the weekend.
- Smith led the Bulldogs in the first match with 16 kills and 27 digs. She posted another 10 kills in the second game with another 19 digs.
- Martin was lights out in the nightcap, posting seven blocks and eight kills.
- Kaylee Fritz totaled 36 assists against Rocky Mountain and another 24 against Carroll College.
- Kelsey Goddard racked up 49 digs combined.
Up Next
The Bulldogs kick off Frontier play Friday Sept. 22 at MSU-Northern. Game time is set for 7p.m.
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