UMW Volleyball Travels to Bismarck State and Dickinson State

DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western volleyball team (9-12, 7-7 FC) heads to North Dakota this week for a pair of matches against Bismarck State (3-16, 1-13 FC) and Dickinson State (10-9, 6-8 FC).

SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 17
at Bismarck State – 5:00 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats

Saturday, Oct. 18
at Dickinson State – 1:00 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs split the matches against Mayville State and Valley City State last weekend, defeating the Comets 3-1 before falling 3-0 to the Vikings.

Against MSU Averi Look paced the team in kills (12). Kennedy Lingenfelter led UMW in both hitting percentage (.500) and blocks (5.0). Taylor Petersen handed out a game-best 24 assists. Taylor Ketchum recorded 28 digs and a game-high two aces. Megan Hardman also posted two aces against the Comets.

Versus VCSU, Lingenfelter topped the team in both kills (eight) and hitting percentage (.316). Hardman had a team-best 18 assists. Ketchum once again led in digs with 13. Four Bulldogs tallied one block in the match and three recorded an ace.

BULLDOG BEAT
Montana Western has tallied 836 kills, 777 assists, 1,208 digs, 159 blocks, and 106 aces service aces on the year. The team's best tally in kills (60), assists (59), and service aces (13), came in its five-set victory over Arizona Christian (8/30). UMW earned season highs in digs (83) in its 3-1 win against MSU-Northern (10/3) and blocks (13.0) in its 3-1 win at Valley City State (9/5). They recorded a season-best hitting percentage of .298 against Bismarck State (9/13).

Kennedy Lingenfelter paces the team in kills (152), hitting percentage (.281), and total blocks (67.0). Jordan Olson leads the Bulldogs in kills per set (2.59). Megan Hardman runs the court with 301 assists (4.70 assists/set) and has landed a team-best 19 services aces. Taylor Ketchum has registered a team-high 309 digs (4.23 digs/set).

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
Two Bulldogs are ranked in the top 10 in the Frontier Conference in blocks per set. Jaiden Perez sits fourth (1.17) and Kennedy Lingenfelter ranks tenth (0.94).

ACCESS DENIED
UMW ranks fourth in the league and tied for 21st in the nation in blocks per set (2.18). Moreover, the Bulldogs have registered at least 7.0 blocks in seven of their last 10 matches.

FEELIN' FINE FROM THE SERVICE LINE
Western landed seven or more service aces in two of their last three matches and are averaging 1.5 aces per set in 2025.

SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Megan Hardman has tallied five straight double doubles. Her streak began Oct. 3 against MSU-Northern with a 27-dig, 16 assist performance. The four others came against Providence (28 assists, 11 digs), Montana Tech (20 assists, 12 digs), Mayville State (17 assists, 10 digs), and Valley City State (18 assists, 10 digs). She now has seven double doubles on the season.

SHE DON'T MISS
Kennedy Lingenfelter hit a season-best .500 against Mayville State, earning 11 kills on 22 error-free swings. She has hit over a .350 clip in nine matches this season.

LEADING THE CHARGE
Averi Look recorded a game-high 12 kills in the Bulldogs win over Mayville State, marking the second time this season that she has earned double-figures in kills. She also hit a season-best .333 against the Comets.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Taylor Ketchum tallied a career-high 28 digs against MSU, marking her seventh match this season with over 20 digs.

THE OPPONENTS
Bismarck State (3-15, 1-12 FC)

The Mystics are averaging 10.8 kills, 10.1 assists, 16.3 digs, 1.5 blocks, and 0.8 service aces per set in 2025.
Reese Duchsherer paces the Mystics with 2.65 kills per set.
Chelsa Krom is hitting a team-best .355 clip and leads the team in blocks with 39.
Kate Simmer hands out a team-high 5.3 assists per game.
Piper Harris leads BSC in both digs (5.06) and service aces (13).
Krom ranks second in the FC in hitting percentage while Harris sits fourth in digs.

Dickinson State (9-9, 5-8 FC)

The Blue Hawks are posting 12.3 kills, 11.3 assists, 17.5 digs, 2.1 blocks, and 1.5 service aces per set.
As a team, DSU ranks third in the Frontier in service aces and fifth in both kills and blocks.
Aubrey Allison paces the team and ranks fourth in the FC in kills (3.2).
Carmen Pallone leads the Dickinson State in hitting percentage (.279), service aces (23), and blocks (61).
Rylee Kogolshak is first on the team and third in conference in assists (9.79).
Ashtynn Egan leads the Blue Hawks with 3.32 digs per set.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs are 1-0 all-time against the Mystics, having won the first-ever meeting between the two sides 3-0 earlier this season.

Montana Western is 23-8 all-time against the Blue Hawks. In the first matchup of the season, UMW swept DSU 3-0.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following the weekend, the Bulldogs are back home for four straight matches. First, they will face off against #7 Bellevue (10/22). First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT.

For complete coverage of UMW Volleyball, be sure to follow us on social media at @umw_volleyball (Instagram), @UMW_Volleyball (X), and @Montana Western Athletics (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!

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Players Mentioned

#15 Megan Hardman: S; 5' 9"; Senior

#7 Taylor Ketchum: L/DS; 5' 4"; Sophomore

#19 Jordan Olson: RS; 6' 1"; Senior

#13 Jaiden Perez: MB; 6' 0"; Junior

#18 Taylor Petersen: S; 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#17 Averi Look: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

#22 Kennedy Lingenfelter: MB; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Megan Hardman
: 5' 9"; Senior
: S

#7 Taylor Ketchum
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: L/DS

#19 Jordan Olson
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RS

#13 Jaiden Perez
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MB

#18 Taylor Petersen
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: S

#17 Averi Look
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH

#22 Kennedy Lingenfelter
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB