BUTTE — Montana Tech's volleyball squad found itself in a role its not typically familiar with when facing off against Montana Western, at least in terms of ranking — underdogs.
But after falling into a one-set deficit against the Bulldogs during a Frontier Conference match on Saturday afternoon at the HPER Complex, the Orediggers dialed in on the upset.
Kinnidi Willmore delivered a team-high 17 kills for Tech and Olivia LaBeau added 15 as the Orediggers defeated No. 13 Montana Western 25-18, 16-25, 27-25, 25-22 to earn their fourth straight win a month after falling out of the Top 25 poll.
Megan Benton added 9 kills for Tech and Piper Jette added 8. Jelena Jablanov led the Orediggers with 17 digs and Rhys Layton had a match-high 47 assists.
Western, which had been looking to piece together consecutive conference victories for the first time this season, was paced by a match-high 18 kills from Peyton Vogl and 17 from Jazi Smith. Taylor Pedersen delivered three aces for the Bulldogs, Kaylee Fritz had 27 assists Kelsey Goddard 16 digs.
The Orediggers host MSU-Northern on Thursday while the Bulldogs will host Carroll College.
