BUTTE, Mont. – Northwest split two games on the second day of the Big Sky Challenge on Saturday, sweeping Dickinson State before falling in five sets to Rocky Mountain. 
 
The Eagles opened with a 28-26, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of Dickinson State.
 
Northwest trailed by five points at three times in the first set and was down 16-7 before shaking off the early morning finish of their first day of action.
 
The Eagles rolled off a 7-1 run with five Eagles getting kills, including two by Abigail Broussard. 
 
Down 20-15, Northwest reeled off a 7-0 run, including three more kills by Broussard. NU fended off a set point before getting a kill by Kylie Lunday and a set-ending attack error by DSU.
 
The Eagles swung over .300 for the next two sets to carry off the match. 
 
NU had a 24-20 lead in the second set and DSU rallied to within 24-22 before Karste Wright gave NU a 2-0 set lead with a kill.
 
After rolling out to a 6-0 lead in the third set, NU thwarted a few short Dickinson rallies before Delaney Sparks ended the match with a kill.
 
Broussard led the Eagles with 10 kills and three blocks and Reece Denney added a pair of aces. Morgan Harter had 21 assists and Anna Saelens came up with 13. 
 
Kelsey Moore paced the back row with 13 digs with Ellie Van Berkum contributing 10.
 
"Dickinson State came out with terrific serving and their defense frustrated our ability to side out with any sort of consistency," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "As a result, we were down early in set one and it could easily have gone the other way. Fortunately, we stabilized and were able to make enough plays to take the first set. After that, we settled in and did a nice job of keeping them out of system, which allowed us to score points in transition and close out the match."
 
The Eagles started strong in the second match but the attack percentage trickled to .062 over the final three sets.
 
Broussard led the Eagles with 19.5 points on 14 kills, two aces, and 3.5 blocks while Sparks added 18.5 on a match-best 18 kills and a block assist.
 
Karste Wright also hit double figures in the kills column with 11. Morgan Harter led with 27 assists and Anna Saelens added 23. Both Harter and Saelens had double-doubles with Harter getting 12 digs and Saelens 10. 
 
Kelsey Moore led the back row with 32 digs and Caitlyn James tacked on 16. 
 
"Have to give Rocky credit for a terrific comeback after we jumped out to a two-set lead," said Bain. "Their defense seemed to be the difference as they made some adjustments and were able to convert in transition when we weren't. Can't fault our effort though as we played hard in every match and demonstrated the intangibles that will bring us success as the season moves forward. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and will continue to learn every time we take the court."
 
Now 2-2 on the season, the Eagle head to the Summer Slam, hosted by Hope International next weekend in Fullerton, Calif.