NEW ORLEANS, La. — The no. 15 ranked Montana Western women's volleyball team (4-2) kicked off the weekend at the Wolf Pack Welcome with a pair of wins against Webber International (Fla.) and RV Loyola (La.).
UMW recorded their first sweep of the season after they defeated Webber International in three straight sets by scores of 27-25, 25-13, and 25-20.
They then closed out the night with a 3-1 win over Loyola by scores of 25-19, 26-28, 25-18, and 25-19.
How It Happened vs. Webber International
The Bulldogs trailed for much of the first set before riding a 5-0 scoring run to a 21-19 lead behind a pair of kills from both
Jordan Olson and
Danyel Martin. After a struggle down the stretch, UMW capped the set with three straight points to take the 27-25 win.
Set two was much different than the first, with the Bulldogs forcing Webber to 13 hitting errors to run away with a 25-13 set two victory.
The Bulldogs found success in the final frame behind a season single set best of 19 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Martin led UMW in the set with four kills as the Bulldogs finished sweep with a set three 25-20 win.
How It Happened vs. (RV) Loyola
UMW got out to a hot start as
Kaitlyn Van Well put down a pair of kills to help the Bulldogs to a 12-7 lead. Martin closed the first set out with a solo block to give Western a 25-19 set win.
After falling to a four-point deficit early in the second set, kills from
Jazi Smith and
Jordan Olson pushed UMW on to a 5-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. The two teams continued to battle for position down the stretch, taking jabs until Loyola closed out the set with a 28-26 win.
Looking to bounce back after the second set, the Bulldogs raced out to a 13-7 lead and kept the Wolfpack at an arm's distance for the remainder of the set to finish up 25-18.
Jaiden Perez kicked off the final frame with a big kill to boost UMW out to a 7-1 lead. Martin added to the lead with a kill and a solo block to add to the Bulldog lead. Loyola pushed back and cut the lead to three, but a service ace from
Megan Hardman fueled Western for the remainder of the set to win 25-19.
Notables
- Nine Bulldogs recorded a kill in the opening match against Webber.
- Western outhit the host Loyola University .253 to .082 in the second game on the day, totaling 59 kills as a team.
- Three Bulldogs hit double digits in kills against Loyola, with Martin and Peyton Vogl tying for a team high of 12 kills. Martin also added an impressive eight blocks in the game.
- Collectively, the Bulldogs recorded seven service aces against Loyola with all seven coming from different serving arms.
- Despite the two wins, the Bulldogs struggled at the service line after they tallied 24 service errors in seven sets.
Up Next
The Bulldogs return for one more matchup tomorrow as part of the Wolf Pack Welcome tournament hosted by Loyola University (La.). They will face (RV) Texas Wesleyan at 12 p.m.
Texas Wesleyan enters the matchup after two losses on the first day of the Wolf Pack Welcome.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @UMWBulldogs
Instagram: @umw_bulldogs
Facebook: /Montana-Western-Athletics
#GOBULLDOGS
