DICKINSON, N.D. — Dickinson State dropped a tightly contested Frontier Conference match Saturday afternoon at Scott Gymnasium, falling to Montana Western in five sets (25-27, 25-23, 25-21, 26-28, 10-15). The loss moves the Blue Hawks to 11-10 overall and 7-9 in league play.

The Blue Hawks led the match 2-1 after taking sets two and three but were unable to close out the contest, as the Bulldogs (10-13, 8-8) rallied to win the final two sets and escape with the victory.

Dickinson State was led offensively by Aubrey Allison, who posted 19 kills and 22 digs for a double-double. Carmen Pallone followed with 11 kills, six blocks and three service aces, while Ashtynn Egan added 14 kills.

Setter Rylee Kogolshak ran the offense with 46 assists and added 12 digs, while Geraldyne Fernandez anchored the defense with 18 digs and two service aces. The Blue Hawks outdug the Bulldogs 93-81 and held a 13-12 edge in total team blocks.

DSU hit .200 in the opening set but dropped it 27-25 after a late surge by Montana Western. The Blue Hawks responded with a .163 attack percentage in the second to even the match, then posted a .188 mark in the third set to take the lead.

Montana Western forced a fifth set by winning the fourth, 28-26, in a back-and-forth frame that saw 16 tie scores and five lead changes. The Blue Hawks held a 24-23 lead before the Bulldogs rattled off five of the final seven points.

In the decisive fifth set, DSU struggled offensively, hitting just .042 while committing six attack errors. The Bulldogs built an early lead and maintained control to close out the match.

Freshman Cate Floy contributed four kills and three block assists, and Samantha Oase added six kills and five total blocks. Taylor Fischer and Taylor Gaer combined for 13 digs in the back row.