BILLINGS, MONT. (VCSUVikings.com)– The Valley City State volleyball team took No. 19 Montana Western to a five-set battle Thursday night at the NSAA/Frontier Crossover hosted by Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. Neither team won a set by more than three points Thursday as the Bulldogs took the match by final set scores of 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25 and 16-14.

The Vikings totaled five players with double figure kills and five players with double figure digs in the match. VCSU recorded 120 digs on the night, its second highest on the season. Offensively, the Vikings totaled 246 swings in the match which is more than 40 swings greater than any other game this season.

It wasn’t enough for the Vikings Thursday night, who now have a 10-8 record on the season. Montana Western improves to 13-5 overall. VCSU plays two more games Friday at the NSAA/Frontier Crossover including a 2 p.m. match against Montana State Northern and a 6 p.m. game against Rocky Mountain.

VCSU fought to stay alive Thursday, pulling back into contention after each setback. After falling behind 6-4 in the fifth set, VCSU came back to tie the set at 10-all. A pair of kills from Rosie Anderson helped the Vikings to a 13-12 advantage. Montana Western found the answer in Jazi Smith who tallied four kills out of the final five points to take the final set 16-14.

Macy Fridgen recorded a season-high 18 kills on a .302 hitting percentage Thursday night. Emma Lucas added 12 kills while Morgan Nelson, Morgan Freije and Rosie Anderson each totaled 10.

On the defensive side, JayCee Richter tallied a season-high 36 digs to lead VCSU. Delani Clarke added 18 digs while Gracie Schumacher recorded 17 and Reagan Bogenreif added 12. Sadie Hansen contributed an all-around performance for the Vikings with 49 set assists, 15 digs and eight kills.