BILLINGS, Mont. – A strong second-set effort gave the Valley City State University volleyball team a chance to even Saturday's match, but Rocky Mountain rallied late and went on to hand the Vikings a three-set loss at the Fortin Education Center.
The Battlin' Bears won 25–15, 25–22 and 25–15, moving VCSU to 8–17 overall and 6–12 in Frontier Conference play. Rocky Mountain improves to 6–16 overall and 4–14 in conference action.
After struggling to find an offensive rhythm in the opening set, the Vikings responded with 16 kills and a .308 hitting percentage in the second. VCSU built a 12–9 lead and continued trading points with the Battlin' Bears through the middle of the set.
Back-to-back kills from Kadie Kocka followed by a Gracie Schumacher service ace put the Vikings ahead 20–18. Rocky Mountain tied the score, but another Kocka kill gave VCSU a 21–20 advantage. The Battlin' Bears answered by scoring five of the final six points to take the set and a 2–0 match lead.
Rocky Mountain carried that momentum into the third, opening an 8–3 lead and keeping the Vikings from closing the gap. The Battlin' Bears recorded 14 kills with just one attack error in the final set to complete the sweep.
Madden Bogenreif paced VCSU with nine kills while adding 16 assists and eight digs. Madysen Geist finished with eight kills and a .250 hitting percentage, while Kocka contributed six kills and Eden Carrier added four.
Schumacher finished with 15 assists, nine digs and two service aces. Annika Pulju also collected nine digs to share the team lead, while Reece Cave and Molly Bjorneby each recorded six.
The Vikings finished with 35 kills and 48 digs, hitting .123 for the match. Rocky Mountain hit .286 and held a 7–2 advantage in blocks. Olivia Fauth led the Battlin' Bears with 12 kills without an attack error.
Up Next
VCSU continues its road stretch at Dickinson State on Thursday, Oct. 29, with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. Central. The Vikings then travel to Bismarck State on Friday, Oct. 30, for a 6 p.m. Central match.
