HELENA, Mont. -- Bismarck State volleyball's first-ever Frontier Conference Tournament appearance ended Thursday, as the No. 7 seed Mystics fell 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18) to No. 2 seed Montana Tech in the quarterfinals at the Carroll College P.E. Center.
Bismarck State finishes the season 13-15 overall and 11-11 in Frontier Conference play, eight more wins overall and in the conference than last season's 5-22 and 3-19 finish. Montana Tech improves to 23-6 overall and 17-5 in the Frontier and advances to Friday's semifinals against either Dakota State (S.D.) or Carroll (Mont.). The Orediggers won the season series 2-1 after the Mystics beat them 3-2 on Oct. 17.
Set One: Orediggers Pull Away
The Mystics led 3-0 and the set was tied four times, with one lead change, before Montana Tech scored five of six points after a 7-7 tie to lead 12-8. The Orediggers hit .314 in the set to BSC's .050, and Montana Tech closed out a 25-19 win.
Set Two: Mystics Hold On
Bismarck State never trailed in the second set. The Mystics led 14-6, but Montana Tech scored 11 of the next 14 points to tie it at 17-17. The set was tied six times in all, but BSC went back ahead on a Rood kill at 18-17 and held on, leading 23-21 on an Ellie Baumstarck kill and closing out a 25-23 win on a Montana Tech attack error. BSC hit .053 in the set to the Orediggers' .189.
Set Three: Layton's Serve Decides It
The set was tied five times with three lead changes. After a 7-7 tie, Montana Tech scored 10 straight points, nine of them on first-team selection Rhys Layton's serve, to go from trailing 7-6 to leading 16-7. BSC hit -.175 in the set, with five kills and 12 errors, and the Orediggers closed out a 25-15 win.
Set Four: Orediggers Close It Out
Montana Tech led the whole way in the fourth set and hit .500 with 17 kills and no errors. The Orediggers led by as many as nine points at 20-11, and the Mystics cut the deficit to 20-14 with three straight points, including an Addison Baillie ace, but Montana Tech closed out a 25-18 win on a Sophie Madsen kill.
Mystics Key Performers
Game Notes
- Bismarck State hit .026 as a team (39 kills, 35 errors, 154 attempts). Montana Tech hit .262 (51 kills, 14 errors, 141 attempts)
- The Mystics out-aced the Orediggers 8-5. Montana Tech out-blocked BSC 10.0 to 9.0 and out-dug them 72-68
- The match featured 18 ties and four lead changes
- Montana Tech was led by Talan Dodson (17 kills, .366 hitting percentage), Halle Moomaw (12 kills, 7 block assists) and Rhys Layton (43 assists), and Brooklynn Hayes had a match-high 30 digs
- BSC's 13 wins this season are the most in the program's two seasons at the NAIA level
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