September 18, 2026
MADISON, S.D. — Dakota State (S.D.) used an efficient offensive attack and a strong finish in each set Friday evening, earning a 3-0 Frontier Conference women's volleyball sweep over Montana Western at DSU Fieldhouse.
The Trojans won by scores of 25-20, 26-24 and 25-19, improving to 7-4 overall and 4-1 in Frontier Conference play. The Bulldogs fell to 4-9 overall and 3-3 in league play.
How it happened
Montana Western held the early advantage and led 8-7 before Dakota State began to gain momentum. The teams traded points throughout the middle portion of the set, reaching ties at 12-12, 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15.
DSU took its first two-point advantage at 17-15 after a Bulldog attack error. After Montana Western pulled within 17-16, the Trojans scored back-to-back points for a 19-16 advantage, capped by a
Macey Wathen kill.
Dakota State continued to pull away late.
Tristyn Maras' kill extended the Trojans' lead to 22-18, followed by two straight Montana Western attack errors that gave DSU set point at 24-18.
The Bulldogs fought off two set points before a service error completed Dakota State's 25-20 victory.
The second set featured several momentum swings before Dakota State rallied from a late deficit.
DSU built an early 9-5 lead, but Montana Western responded with six consecutive points to move in front 11-9. The Bulldogs later extended their advantage to 14-10 before the Trojans worked their way back into the set.
Montana Western maintained a 19-16 lead late in the set and eventually went ahead 22-19. Dakota State answered with two straight points, highlighted by an
Emily Nelson kill, cutting the deficit to 22-21.
After the Bulldogs went up 23-21, DSU tied the set at 23-23 following a Montana Western service error and attack error. Averi Look gave the Bulldogs set point with a kill for a 24-23 lead.
The Trojans responded with three consecutive points to steal the set. M. Wathen tied the score at 24-24 with a kill,
Reagan VanRooyan followed with a service ace, and
Raya Van Beek closed the 26-24 victory with a kill.
Dakota State erased an early deficit, falling behind at 15-10. DSU responded with a 7-0 outburst with two consecutive kills from Nelson to regain a 17-15 advantage.
The Trojans took control from there. DSU stretched its lead to 21-16 after consecutive kills by
Kaedyn Sapp and
Macey Wathen.
Dakota State continued its late surge, scoring three straight points to reach match point at 24-17. Montana Western scored twice before
Macey Wathen delivered the match-ending kill for the 25-19 victory, closing with a monstrous 15-4 scoring run.
DSU hit .270 in the final set with 15 kills and five errors on 37 attacks. The Trojan defense limited Montana Western to six kills against eight errors in 41 swings for a minus-.049 hitting percentage.
Inside the box score
Dakota State hit .252 for the match, pounding down 41 kills with just 12 attack errors in 115 swings. Montana Western finished with 38 kills and 25 errors on 125 attacks for a .104 hitting percentage. The Trojans also held a 7-5 advantage in team blocks and a 55-49 edge in digs. Montana Western registered eight service aces compared with two for DSU.
Sapp led Dakota State's offensive attack with a match-high 12 kills and added two block assists. She finished with a .242 hitting percentage.
M, Wathen produced an error-free offensive performance, recording nine kills on 20 attacks for a .450 hitting percentage. She also collected three block assists.
Nelson filled the stat sheet with seven kills and just one error on 13 swings for a match-best .462 hitting percentage among the Trojans. She added 16 assists, nine digs, one service ace and one block assist.
Lauryn Kloth contributed four kills and a team-high four block assists. Van Beek added four kills without an error in 12 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage and one block assist. Maras finished with five kills and three block assists.
Gabi Borresen joined Nelson with 16 set assists and collected five digs.
Kate VanRooyan led the Trojan defense with 12 digs and contributed five assists, while
Sydney Wathen added 11 digs. R. VanRooyan recorded seven digs and one service ace.
Montana Western was paced offensively by Savana Warburton and Averi Look with 11 kills apiece. Look hit .429 with just two errors on 21 attacks. Jaiden Perez added six kills and hit .455.
Jayda Ward led the Bulldogs with 20 assists, while Sophie Worden added 15 assists. Libero Madisyn Frazier collected a match-high 16 digs and three service aces. Warburton and Taylor Ketchum each added nine digs.
Up next
Dakota State continues their action in the Frontier Conference Saturday evening, hosting No. 24 ranked Montana Tech. First serve is set for 5 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse. Trojan Blue is the theme to the volleyball match.
