(RMC release)
BUTTE - After winning a pair of matches Friday, Rocky Mountain College split a pair of matches Saturday to finish the 2019 Big Sky Challenge in Butte, Montana.
Rocky (5-3) was unable to down No. 12 ranked College of Idaho (3-1) in the morning. The Yotes went 25-22, 25-14, and 25-18 to sweep the Battlin' Bears.
Recording her first double double of the season, Daniella Russell had 10 kills and 12 digs. Natalie Hilderman posted 23 assists while Ayla Embry had 27 digs.
College of Idaho was led by the pair of Mackenzie Keating and Jordyn Boswell who each recorded 11 kills. Drew Dobney, a 2018 Cascade Collegiate Conference Libero of the Year, recorded 26 digs.
The Battlin' Bears recovered with a 25-19, 25-21, 25-15 sweep of the Bethel University Pilots (2-3) in the afternoon.
Tied 16-16 in the first set, the Battlin' Bears outscored the Pilots 9-3 to pull away with the win.
The Pilots vaulted to a 7-3 lead early in the second set, but the Battlin' Bears rebounded to take the set 25-21.
In the third set, a kill from Morgan Allen sparked a five point streak from which the Pilots would never recover. The Battlin' Bears cruised to a ten point lead to complete the sweep at 25-15.
Rocky's defense forced 26 Bethel hitting errors. Russell led Rocky's attack with nine kills while Hilderman contributed 30 assists.
Bethel's Payton Hart had nine kills and 13 digs to lead the team in both categories
Rocky will next travel to Nebraska to compete in the 2019 Sarpy Country Labor Day Classic on Aug. 30-31.
