SIOUX CITY, IOWA, Sept. 2, 2022- Rocky Mountain College Volleyball began their loaded slate of competition in Sioux City, Iowa, as they dropped their first match 1-3 (12-25, 25-16, 14-25, 21-25) to No. 23 Dordt College and then fell 1-3 (23-25, 16-25, 25-21, 23-25) to No. 8 Northwestern College.

The Battlin' Bears began their day with a tough 1-3 loss against the Defenders from Dordt College. The Battlin' Bears took control of the second set, but outside of a run in the fourth set, the Defenders held control of the match all the way through. Rhiannon Nez led the Battlin' Bears with 11 kills, Blythe Sealey had 26 assists, and Ayla Embry tallied 20 digs in defeat. The Defenders were led by senior Corrina Timmermans with 14 kills and sophomore Madison Vis with 25 digs. 

Rocky continued its challenging slate of matches in the Labor Day Classic as they took on No. 8 Northwestern College, losing 1-3 to the Raiders. The Battlin' Bears were competitive throughout however, hanging with the No. 8 ranked team in the country, but were unable to overcome the Raiders led by sophomore Alysen Dexter's 22 kills. The Battlin' Bears were led by an offensive trio of Bella Bryan and Kyra Oakland, who each had 13 kills a piece, and Rhiannon Nez who had 10 kills and added 6 block assists. Ayla Embry finished with 37 digs on 39 reception attempts.

The Battlin' Bears (4-3) will return to action early Saturday morning against No. 6 Jamestown at 8:00 A.M (MT), and will get a rematch against No. 2 Midland University at 2:00 P.M (MT). 

Follow @BattlinBears on Twitter for live updates as the matches go on.