Bismarck State's first trip to the Frontier Conference volleyball tournament ended Thursday night in Helena, where No. 2 seed Montana Tech beat the No. 7 seed Mystics 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18) in a quarterfinal at Carroll College's PE Center, according to the official box score.
The loss closes BSC's season at 13-15 overall and 11-11 in Frontier play. That is eight more wins overall and eight more in the conference than last season's 5-22 and 3-19 finish, per the BSC Athletics recap.
How It Went
The Mystics took the second set. They led 14-6 before Montana Tech scored 11 of the next 14 points to tie it at 17, the recap says. Jordyn Rood's kill put BSC back in front 18-17, Ellie Baumstarck's kill made it 23-21, and a Montana Tech attack error ended the set at 25-23.
The third set turned on one serving turn. The play-by-play shows Montana Tech scoring nine straight points, all on setter Rhys Layton's serve, to go from a 7-7 tie to a 16-7 lead. BSC hit -.175 in that set, with five kills and 12 errors. In the fourth, Montana Tech hit .500 with 17 kills and no errors and closed out the match.
For the match, BSC hit .026 (39 kills, 35 errors in 154 attempts) and Montana Tech hit .262. The Mystics had more aces, 8-5. The Orediggers had more blocks, 10-9, and more digs, 72-68. Official attendance was 322.
BSC leaders, per the box score:
- Ashlee Stanger: team-high 8 kills
- Ellie Baumstarck: 7 kills
- Jordyn Rood: 6 kills and a team-high 6 blocks (two solo), 10 points
- Reese Duchsherer: 6 kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks and 15 digs, 10 points
- Aislyn Hogan: 30 assists, 3 kills, a team-high 3 aces and 13 digs
- Piper Harris: team-high 22 digs
- Maddie Gefroh: 4 kills on 7 attacks with no errors (.571) in two sets
Talan Dodson led Montana Tech with 17 kills. Halle Moomaw added 12 kills and 7 blocks, Layton had 43 assists, and Brooklynn Hayes had a match-high 30 digs.
The Season So Far
- Final record: 13-15 overall, 11-11 Frontier, per the BSC schedule
- BSC's 13 wins are the most in the program's two NAIA seasons, per the recap
- The Mystics clinched their first Frontier tournament berth on Oct. 31 with a Senior Day win over Mayville State in Bismarck, then entered the bracket as the No. 7 seed
- Montana Tech won the season series 2-1. BSC beat the Orediggers 3-2 at the Bavendick Center on Oct. 17
Next Up
Montana Tech (23-6, 17-5 Frontier) plays No. 6 seed and tournament host Carroll in Friday's second semifinal in Helena, per the Orediggers' recap. The Frontier tournament page lists that match at 7:30 p.m. Mountain time, while Montana Tech's schedule lists 7 p.m. The championship is Saturday at 7 p.m. Mountain, and all matches are on SWX Local Sports.
For BSC, the season is over.
Sources: BSC recap; BSC box score; BSC 2026 schedule; Frontier Conference tournament page; Montana Tech recap; Montana Tech schedule
