BUTTE, Mont.  – Starting what can easily be called the hardest opening schedule in school history, the Bushnell volleyball team went 1-1 on Friday to begin the season at the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament, hosted by Montana Tech.
 
Bushnell opened the year with a big victory, taking down No. 10 Providence in five sets before falling to the No. 13-ranked tournament hosts in the night cap, 3-0.  
 
"Overall, it was a good day of volleyball," said head coach Jason Corwin. "We had a nice win in the morning and ran into a good team on their home floor in the evening. We will take the split and get ready for our next matches."
 
(RV) Bushnell 3, (10) Providence 2 (13-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 15-10)
 
It was anything but easy, and started with a difficult first set, but the Beacons rallied to win the final two sets in the opener, pulling off the upset win over the University of Providence. The win over the defending Frontier Conference champions was the second ever for Bushnell over an NAIA Top-10 team.
 
Setters Makenna Northern and Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner combined for 46 assists as the Beacons hit .142 for the match, recovering strong after producing just five kills and seven errors in the first set. Both teams had six service aces while the Beacons were out-blocked 17-9.
 
Freshman Leah Agost made her collegiate debut a good one, firing off a match-high 15 kills as she hit .314. Shay Coons was close behind with 13 kills and a .296 attack clip.
 
Payton Jones led the Beacons with five blocks while Maddy Laddy added four. Each Middle had a pair of solo blocks. Callie Wilkins led all players with 29 digs, matching her season high from 2021.
 
Providence hit .196 in the match and were led by 14 kills from Jenseyn Turner.
 
After the match, Northern said, "This was an awesome first outing for the team. We valued the ball in the most important times and this match makes me so excited for the matches to come."
 
Jessica Northcutt added, "This was a perfect way to start our season. It was great to see everyone contribute to our first win."
 
"I think we settled into our game after that first set," added Wilkins. "Our blocking was solid along with our serve receive. Our setters were putting our hitters in great position. It feels great to get the win against a very good team."
 
(13) Montana Tech 3, Bushnell 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-22)
 
Bushnell had a chance at a rematch with the team that ended their season in the NAIA National Championship opening round last November, but the Diggers were able to pull out the win in straight sets.
 
The Beacons weren't able to get their offense rolling, hitting just .030 in the match despite having just one less kill than Montana Tech. Defending was once again a challenge as the Beacons were out-blocked 10-4.
 
Agost was once again a bright spot for Bushnell, leading the team with 10 kills. Northern posted a double-double with 22 assists and eleven digs while Callie Wilkins added a match-high 18 digs.
 
"We saw some good play from new contributors today," added Corwin, "and steady play from our veterans and returners with increased roles. We will learn from today and get ready for a big day tomorrow."
 
The Beacons will have little time to recover as Saturday morning brings a 9:00 am local time start for their meeting with No. 2 Jamestown. It will be the highest ranked opponent in school history. Later on Saturday the Beacons will face off against Cornerstone who like Bushnell is receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll.