DILLON, Mont. – Molly Grace capped her Oregon Tech career with 21 kills and 14 digs, but the heroics were not enough, as host Montana Western rallied to top the Lady Owls in four sets in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round at Straugh Gymnasium.
The No. 19-ranked Bulldogs (23-9) got 20 kills and 23 digs from Jazi Smith in a 17-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 victory over OIT – advancing the Frontier Conference squad to the tournament final site in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Lady Owls (19-14) had their opportunities – getting two kills from Grace, with Kate Hicks logging a stuff block and teaming with Grace for another, as OIT closed Set 1 on a 9-2 run to take the early edge.
Tech was in command of Set 2, leading 22-13 – before Western turned defense into offense. Danyel Martin had three of her match-high eight blocks and Smith added three kills in a 9-0 Bulldogs run to even the score. OIT earned set point at 24-23 following a Grace kill, but UMW powered home three-straight kills to complete the comeback.
Set 3 was nearly the opposite, as Western took a 20-12 lead late in the period. Savanna Sterck fueled an OIT rally with three kills and a block to get the visitors within 22-19 and a UMW serving error pulled the Owls within 24-23 – before Smith ended the set with a kill.
A tight Set 4 followed, with the two sides combining for 12 ties. Aleksen Thayer combined on a pair of blocks to help OIT build a 19-15 lead, but Western proved to be too much. Consecutive Smith kills gave the hosts match point, with Payton Vogl ending the match with a cross-court winner.
Grace ended the season with 403 kills – the most by an OIT player since 2018, with Thayer closing out the season with 10 kills and five blocks – her 144 blocks in 2024 the most by a Lady Owl in a decade.
Sterck had nine kills and four blocks, with Hicks registering seven kills and five blocks – capping her career with record-setting 338 blocks.
Paige Tevelde led OIT with 48 assists and Kaley Whalen had 32 digs – finishing the year with an school-record 634 digs.
Tech was one of 12 lower seeds to win at least one set in today's Opening Round match-ups.
Jordan Olson had 13 kills and Martin posted seven kills in the win for UMW.