October 23, 2026
BUTTE, Mont. — Dakota State (S.D.) University's women's volleyball team battled Montana Tech in a Frontier Conference road contest Friday evening, but the Orediggers prevailed in four sets at Valley Bank Arena. Montana Tech defeated the Trojans by scores of 25-18, 25-22, 13-25 and 25-15.
Dakota State fell to 14-9 overall record and 11-6 in league action. Montana Tech lifted their overall record to 18-5 and 13-4 in Frontier Conference play.
How it happened
Dakota State opened the match with a kill from
Kaedyn Sapp and battled Montana Tech through the early stages of the opening set.
The Trojans established a 10-7 advantage after a kill by Sapp, a service ace by
Gabi Borresen, and an Oredigger attacking error.
Montana Tech responded with four consecutive points to take an 11-10 lead. The Orediggers extended their advantage to 16-12 before Dakota State trimmed the deficit to 17-16 following a kill by Sapp and a service ace from
Tristyn Maras.
Montana Tech closed the opening set with an 8-2 scoring run, including six consecutive points, to secure a 25-18 victory and take a 1-0 match lead.
The Orediggers hit .400 in the first set, recording 15 kills and three attacking errors in 30 attempts. Dakota State finished with 11 kills and a .214 hitting percentage.
Dakota State jumped to an early 2-0 advantage in the second set behind kills from Kloth and Maras.
Montana Tech answered with a 5-1 scoring run and maintained a narrow lead throughout much of the set.
Trailing 15-10, the Trojans rallied with four consecutive points, highlighted by a kill by
Macey Wathen, a service ace from
Emily Nelson and kills by
Raya Van Beek and Wathen, cutting the deficit to 15-14.
The Orediggers pushed their advantage to 18-14 before Dakota State responded again. A kill from Maras and a Montana Tech attacking error brought the Trojans within 18-17.
Dakota State continued to challenge the Orediggers late in the set, trimming the deficit to 23-22 after a kill from Cantrell. However, Montana Tech closed the set with a kill from Kennedy Oman for a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 match advantage.
The Trojans registered 17 kills and hit .289 in the second set, while Montana Tech finished with 15 kills and a .293 hitting percentage.
Facing a two-set deficit, Dakota State delivered its strongest offensive performance of the evening in the third set.
After Montana Tech tied the score at 2-2, the Trojans erupted for nine consecutive points to build an 11-2 lead.
The scoring surge featured three kills from Maras, two kills from Wathen and a kill from Cantrell. Dakota State also capitalized on three Montana Tech attacking errors during the run.
The Trojans maintained control throughout the remainder of the set, extending their lead to 17-8 after another kill by Maras.
Dakota State later stretched its advantage to 23-12 following a kill from Van Beek. Wathen and Sapp combined for a block on the final point to give DSU a convincing 25-13 victory.
The Trojans produced a match-best .405 hitting percentage in the third set, recording 18 kills and just three attacking errors in 37 attempts.
Montana Tech was limited to a .057 hitting percentage, with nine kills and seven attacking errors in 35 attempts.
Dakota State carried its momentum into the fourth set, opening with a 3-0 lead after two kills from
Lauryn Kloth and a Montana Tech attacking error.
The Trojans extended their advantage to 5-2 before the Orediggers rallied to tie the score at 5-5.
Both teams traded points until Montana Tech broke a 10-10 tie with two consecutive points to take a 12-10 advantage.
Dakota State remained within striking distance at 16-14 following a service ace from Maras. However, Montana Tech responded with four consecutive points to extend its lead to 20-14.
Sapp ended the run with a kill, but the Orediggers scored the final five points to secure the 25-15 set victory and complete the four-set match win.
Montana Tech hit .367 in the fourth set with 13 kills and two attacking errors, while Dakota State was held to nine kills and a .028 hitting percentage.
Inside the box score
Maras led Dakota State's offensive attack with a team-high 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. She also contributed two service aces, five digs and one block assist. Sapp followed with 10 kills on a .259 hitting percentage and added two block assists. Wathen registered nine kills, hit .259 and collected one block assist.
Van Beek added eight kills for the Trojans, while Cantrell recorded seven kills with a .278 hitting percentage and one block assist. Kloth also finished with seven kills, hitting .235, and led Dakota State at the net with three block assists.
Defensively,
Kate VanRooyan paced the Trojans with a match-high 18 digs and added one assist. Borresen contributed a double-double of 20 set assists and 13 digs, along with one service ace. Nelson led Dakota State's setting duties with a team-high 28 assists, six digs and one service ace.
Reagan VanRooyan chipped in seven digs and two assists, while
Keira Murdock added seven digs for the Trojans.
Talan Dodson led the Orediggers with a match-high 17 kills and a .361 hitting percentage. Halle Moomaw added 13 kills and hit .320.
Kennedy Oman and Payton Treadwell each recorded seven kills. Oman also finished with five total blocks, including one solo block and four block assists.
Rhys Layton directed the Montana Tech offense with a match-high 41 assists, three service aces and eight digs.
Brooklynn Hayes led the Orediggers defensively with 17 digs and added two service aces. Austin Long contributed 12 digs.
Up next
Dakota State travels south on Interstate 15 as they visit Montana Western in another Frontier Conference action. The match is set for 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time) at Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon, Mont.
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