EUGENE, Ore. – The Beacons return to the NAIA National Tournament for the third time in five years, and their first game since 2021, and will head to Butte, Montana on Saturday afternoon to face off against No. 17-ranked Montana Tech.  
 
The winner of Saturday's match will earn a trip to Sioux City, Iowa and will compete in pool play for the NAIA National Tournament which runs from December 4-6 at the Tysen Events Center. Winners of the eight pools advance to the bracket on December 7-10.
 
Saturday marks the second time the two teams have faced off in the NAIA Opening Round. Bushnell famously make the trip to Butte in the 2021 season, and pushed the Diggers to match point in the fourth set before falling in five sets, 26-28, 25-19, 25-27, 28-26, 16-14, in one of the most intense matches in school history.
 
MEET THE BEACONS
 
Bushnell was one of six teams from the Cascade Collegiate Conference to qualify for the 2024 NAIA National Championship tournament, more than any other conference in the NAIA with no other body earning more than four bids.
 
The Beacons (19-12) built a strong resume this season, beginning with their season-opening game at the Big Sky Challenge in Montana where they went five sets with then No. 2-ranked Northwestern College of Iowa, taking the first two sets before falling 23-25, 24-26, 27-25, 25-10, 15-11. The same Northwestern team heads into the NAIA tournament undefeated as the reigning Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion and the tournament's top overall seed.
 
Playing in the grueling gauntlet of the CCC led to the Beacons having seven excusable losses to NAIA Top-Ten ranked opponents, and they also earned two top-25 wins over The College of Idaho, along with a win over a team receiving votes in the national poll at the time. Those plaudits, along with a tie with the Yotes for fourth-place in the CCC were enough to convince to selection committee.
 
Bushnell is led by a trio of players who were recognized by the Cascade Collegiate Conference this season in First-Team All-CCC Hailey Heider, Second-Team Leah Agost and Honorable Mention Matty Ladd. Heider was a three-time CCC Player of the Week and also earned an NAIA National Player of the Week nod, and finished the regular season ranked third in the CCC with 3.34 Kills per set.
 
Bushnell ranks fifth in the conference for offensive efficiency, hitting at a .183 clip. Defensively they are sixth, allowing opponents a .153 attack percentage. The Beacons also lead the conference in service aces, averaging 1.87 per set.
 
MEET THE OREDIGGERS
 
Montana Tech has had a strong season that included a second-place finish in the Frontier Conference and a No. 17-rank in the NAIA Coaches Poll. Like Bushnell, the Diggers also earned an at-large bid into the national tournament after falling in the semifinals of their conference tournament.
 
The Orediggers are making their ninth trip to the NAIA tournament
 
MT has won seven of their last ten matches coming in. They are 19-10 on the season including a 6-6 mark against NAIA qualifying teams.
 
Tech is led by six players who earned a spot on the All-Frontier Conference Team, notably First-Team selections Olivia LaBeau and Kinnidi Willmore. LaBeau is a middle blocker who hit .343 with 363 kills and 109 blocks. Willmore, an outside hitter, led the Frontier Conference with 414 kills in the regular season.
 
The Opening Round game takes place at 4:00 pm Mountain Time / 3:00 pm Pacific Time on Saturday, and will be streamed live in Hutchins Hall in the Morse Center.