Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HAVRE, Mont. – The no. 19 ranked Montana Western women's volleyball team (22-8) opened day one of the Frontier Conference Tournament with a five-set win over the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears. They then took on the no. 17 ranked Montana Tech Orediggers and won in a 3-1 battle with the Orediggers to advance to the tournament championship set for tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs defeated the Skylights in a five-set win by scores of 18-25, 25-18, 25-19, 24-26, and 15-9. In the second match, the Bulldogs took the Orediggers down, winning in a 3-1 match by scores of 21-25, 25-8, 28-26, and 25-22.

"The team did an amazing job stepping up to the challenge of playing two phenomenal teams," Head Coach Katie Lovett said. "Rocky played extremely well and it was tough to put a ball down. I was really impressed with our determination in the 5th set to take control early."

"Tech is always a tough opponent and they're playing well right now. Once we made a few adjustments after the first set, the team played so confidently and with a lot of poise. The grit we showed in the 4th set was a really special thing to experience."

How It Happened vs. Rocky Mountain College
The Bulldogs were slow to get moving in the match, hitting a mere .079 as a team in the first set and falling 25-18 in the first set.
 
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs dug their heels in and stopped the Battlin' Bear march at the beginning of set two. Taylor Ketchum served an ace to tie the set at seven all for the Red and Black. A pair of kills from Jazi Smith and Danyel Martin highlighted the UMW 10-2 run that put the Bulldogs in prime position to close the set out with a 25-18 win.

UMW pulled away in the third set, capitalizing on a .182 Rocky Mountain hitting percentage a set-high 19 kills for the Bulldogs. They would cap the set on three straight kills to win 25-19.
 
MSU-Northern flipped the script again, taking a 13-10 lead over UMW. Western fought their way back and tied the game at 20 all with a kill from Smith. The two teams continued their game of tug of war through 24 all with Rocky Mountain, falling in the battle at 26-24.
 
Martin shined for the Bulldogs in the fifth set, putting down three kills as the Bulldogs took a 15-9 fifth set win.

How It Happened vs. No. 17 Montana Tech
Montana Western opened the game on a rocky note, falling to a 10-2 deficit to the Orediggers early on. Despite this margin, Western rallied behind a pair of kills from Peyton Vogl and Dani Brown to close the gap within just two points late in the set. Despite the effort, Montana Tech finished the set on top at 25-21 for their lone set win of the night.
 
Montana Western left the first set behind them and went on to race past Montana Tech in a 25-8 scoring effort. They would go perfect at the net while hitting a .522 as a team in the pounding.
 
Tied 1-1 with the Orediggers, Western fought hard to a set three win. After Montana Tech took forced game point at 24-23, Vogl would nail down a pair of kills, pairing with MT errors to push the set to win 28-26.  

Falling 18-9 in the fourth frame, the Bulldogs rallied as a team and fought their way back into the set after a massive blocking effort at the net would lead Western on an 8-0 scoring run. Down three at 21-18, Western continued on their rampage and closed the set by outscoring MT 7-1 to win 25-22.
 
Notables

• With the win over Montana Tech, it marks the third year in a row that the Bulldogs have advanced to the tournament championship game and have ended the Orediggers' tournament run.
• UMW's second set 25-8 win over Montana Tech was MT's biggest set loss in a set this season.
• Western racked up a whopping 15 service aces between the two matchups.
• Smith led the Bulldogs in both matchups, totaling 15 kills against RMC and 18 against Montana Tech.

 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will now face No. 13 ranked University of Providence tomorrow at 7pm in the Frontier Conference Tournament Championship game, vying for the conference automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament.

Western is 1-2 with the Argos this season, picking up a five-set win over UP back on Oct. 19 in Dillon, Mont.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @UMWBulldogs
Instagram: @umw_bulldogs
Facebook: /Montana-Western-Athletics
#GoBulldogs