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By Bruce Sayler
Montana Tech battled fatigue with a combination of patience and organized personnel and pushed to a volleyball victory Friday night.
The Oredigers swept Bushnell, Eugene, Ore., 25-22, 25-12, 25-22 in a stop-and-go contest, with consistent defense and errors capping the second day of the three-day Big Sky Volleyball Challenge. Montana Tech matches are part of the slate at Oredigers HPR Complex. Some other matches are being held at the Maroon Activities Center. The Orediggers conclude the event with a Saturday 5 pm matchup at the HPER Complex against Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California.
“I’m tired,” Montana Tech head coach Brian Solomon said at the conclusion of Saturday’s slate of games. “It’s 98 degrees and we’re running inside… who’s tired?”
Both teams came from behind with Montana Tech on first down and third down as the clock ticked down.
“We used our personnel tonight to adjust our intensity for the challenge that Bushnell brought us,” Solomon said. “And our defense was good.
“We got 10 blocks and got a lot of pressure from the service line. Our big kids took care of us. And, we got 16 digs from Jelena (Jablanov).
The brutality of the volleyball tournament served as a training camp, especially for the Oredigers and some other teams as their first step on the court.
“It feels like a conference,” Solomon said of the event, noting the high quality on the field. “We’ve been playing good teams three days in a row, and we have a really good team to play against (Saturday).”
Bushnell built a 10-4 lead behind hitting by Leah August and Jessica Northcutt, served by Callie Wilkins. Montana Tech cut the deficit to 15-all on an ace served by Maureen Jessop.
The teams traded leads and were tied three more times until Olivia Muir put away a Montana Tech kill and a 50-50 edge for a 21-20 edge. Bushnell Northern McKenna’s long serve set the score at 24-212 for the Orediggers. Shay Coons had a kill against Bushnell, but the layoff was only a second or two before the Beacons’ Bella Parky put a serve in the net.
Bushnell seems to have been absent for most of the second set. Jessop and Taylor Henley led the Montana Tech attack and built on the advantage by hitting early 8-4. A kill by Henley stretched the lead to 18-12 and the Beacons didn’t score again in the set.
Senior standout setter McKenna Kaelber saw most of the season and helped lead the hitters to near-perfect sets with two blocks and a kill in the second set victory. Jessop served and served after Henley’s murder. Following a block by Kaelber, Orediger’s lead was 21-12. Bushnell’s Peyton Jones hit a shot to tie the game for her team before scoring on a block and then a kill. Jessop continued with a kill to bring up the third set.
“We used a lot of different crews,” Solomon said. “McKenna has made a big impact by being on the front row.”
Bushnell had an early edge in the third set and was competitive through it. The Beacons went up 9-6 after Brock Silvernelle fired the ace. Moments later, Hallie Neumann missed a long layup against Bushnell and the score was tied at 9-all for Montana Tech.
The match was a draw and a draw.
A block by Jessop put the Orediggers ahead 22-21 and they never trailed again. Jessop hit a left-handed shot for a 23-21 edge. Bushnell scored on an August kill and then Jessop put up a kill at match point 24-22. Henley finished with a block.
Jessop finished with 11 kills, while Henley and Muir each had seven. Jessop served four. Rosalyn Zentz had 14 assists and Kyle Burns 11. Jablanov had 16 digs and Emma Carvo had 12. Henley led with 6 blocks.
August led Bushnell with 10 kills, North Nott with 22 assists, Wilkins dished out a pair of aces and came up with 18 digs, and Jones led the Beacons with three blocks.
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