Montana Tech, Montana Western and Rocky Mountain each qualified for the NAIA women's volleyball championship. The tournament kicked off Saturday with 24 opening-round matches.
Western defeated SAGU (Texas) and Montana Tech beat College of Idaho on Saturday while Rocky saw its season come to a close with a loss to Saint Katherine in San Marcos, Calif.
Western and Tech will next travel to Sioux City, Iowa, for the continuation of the tournament, which starts Nov. 29 with pool play matches.
Montana Western def. SAGU 25-15, 25-19, 25-21
WAXAHACHIE, Texas — Montana Western swept SAGU 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 Saturday to punch its ticket to Sioux City.
Danyel Martin had 10 kills, KayLee Kopp added nine and Jordan Olson contributed eight, as the Bulldogs outhit SAGU .309 to .068, racking up 44 kills as a team. SAGU totaled just 27 total.
Peyton Vogl added five blocks and seven kills for Western, which won the first postseason match in program history Saturday.
Montana Tech def. College of Idaho 25-21, 25-18, 25-15
BUTTE — Montana Tech also earned a trip to Sioux City with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-15 home sweep of the College of Idaho.
Maureen Jessop had 12 kills to lead the Orediggers, while teammate and Frontier Conference MVP Olivia Muir added 11. Montana Tech hit .292 for the match while the Yotes finished at .066 while being stifled by Tech’s stout block.
The Orediggers finished with 10 total blocks at the net, led by Muir’s five and Taylor Henley’s four. Sarah Hopcroft also contributed defensively with 12 digs.
Saint Katherine def. Rocky Mountain 25-19, 25-22, 26-24
SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Addison Metts had 17 kills to lead Saint Katherine (Calif.) to a 25-19, 25-22, 26-24 victory over Rocky Mountain College in the opening round.
Bella Bryan paced Rocky with nine kills while Makenna Bushman added seven for the Battlin' Bears, who finished their season with a 21-13 record. Blythe Sealey had 22 assists.
Saint Katherine advanced to Sioux City with a 30-3 record.
