DILLON — If there was one game that was an indicator of just exactly how tight the current Frontier volleyball standings are, it was Wednesday evening’s match against Montana Western and Montana Tech.
The Bulldogs and Orediggers went back and forth for five sets, Western’s first 3-2 match of the season and Tech’s first since Sept. 6 against Valley City State.
With the Orediggers needing one last set win after the Bulldogs forced a fifth set, riding with all the momentum on their side, Tech was able to hold steady and secure the win 3-2.
“We were trying to adjust our blocking scheme and we didn’t do a very good job at that,” Tech head coach Brian Solomon said. “And they were scoring really, really quickly out of the middle. Both teams were kind of chasing the middles around trying to adjust. I think everyone was just chasing to get a good ball.”
Most of the sets, besides the third in which Tech dominated with a 14-point win, were all tightly contested, coming down to a difference of no more than four points.
Western came out swinging in the first, taking a five-point streak to secure an early lead. It would be the last time the Bulldogs held a lead until the fourth set, preventing the Orediggers from going home.
While the second set was close, it was in the third in which Tech showcased its aggressive style of volleyball play that has made it so contentious in recent years. It held 13 kills to Western’s five, and its hitting percentage skyrocketed to as high as .550 while limiting Western to as low as -.042.
The Orediggers’ attack errors in the fourth cost them the set, giving way for the Bulldogs to ride their momentum going into the fifth set, which was fiercely battled. Both teams struggled to gain the upper hand, tying the set multiple times before Tech finally pulled away to reach 15 points and head home with a bright victory to open the second half of the season.
“We’ve been floating in, trying to use some of our depth, but finding a combination that is connecting,” Solomon said. “Thought both teams were serving really tough. Both teams knew if you probably didn’t connect there, it was going to be tough.
“At the end, the serves bounced our way.”
The connection amongst the Orediggers couldn’t have come at a better time as Frontier volleyball heads into the second half of the season before postseason kicks up in a little over a month. It was Piper Jette’s first game back since preseason after being out with an injury, and she returned to the Orediggers with energy and big plays, notching six kills and hitting .200.
Madison Biery had a strong showing as well, getting 10 kills and leading the team in blocks with seven and hitting percentage with .562. Payton Treadwell led the Orediggers in kills with 18, Rhys Layton in assists with 28 and Brooklynn Hayes in digs with 25.
Tech is now 7-5 in conference play, tied with Dakota State, and sits at sixth in Frontier rankings. The top five, outside of Providence and Bellevue, have been tightly fought, with Carroll, MSU-Northern, Dakota State and Tech all being no more than one game away from one another.
The big road win against a rival is the confidence the Orediggers can harness as they play host to Frontier newcomers Valley City State and Mayville State within the next week before hitting the road to North Dakota to play Dickinson State and Bismarck State.
“The only thing I can look at is just trying to get us playing on the right foot,” Solomon said. “We play really, really well for just two short stretches, so we need to manage when we’re off.
“This is a good start for the second half of the season for us though…and hopefully we can kind of start learning how to play a little more consistent, catch fire a little bit in the second half.”
Bria Manning is the sports editor of The Montana Standard. Follow her on X at @briaamanning or contact her at bria.manning@406mtsports.com
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