HELENA, Mont. - In the fall of 2012 the Mead High School Panthers walked off the court disappointed after a marathon five-set 4A State Championship match loss to Bellarmine Prep. The final set of the back and forth battle was lost 15-13 and tears were shed as they walked off the court.
 
Most often for seniors that will be the last match they play together. Even if multiple players from a high school make it to college, it likely won't be in the same program, but four years later, three seniors of that team are still teammates.
 
The difference for setter Jonni Dorr, libero Natalie Kassa and hitter Paige Montgomery is that they traded the Panther navy blue for the purple of the Carroll College Fighting Saints and North Spokane for Helena, Montana.
 
The No. 18 Saints won the outright regular-season title last week with a win over Rocky Mountain. This weekend, the Saints will play in the Frontier Conference Championship at McLaughlin Center in Great Falls. They received a first-round bye and will play the lowest remaining seed Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Carroll is 21-6 on the season, five of those six losses came at the hands of ranked teams and the trio, the only seniors on this season's squad, are a big part of that success.
 
"Their leadership has really shined this season," Carroll head coach Moe Boyle said. "They have very high expectations of what they want to accomplish and they will not accept any less. They came from a championship caliber program at Mead and they have instilled that drive into this team."
 
Volleyball is a game of milliseconds and timing is everything. The "Panther Saints" have been working on that timing for nearly a decade and you can see it pay off on the court.
 
"We've grown as volleyball players alongside each other," Kassa said. "We've learned everything together. When I play defense alongside Jonni, I know exactly what balls she is going to take and which ones she wants me to take. Playing with Paige, I know where she is going to hit. We have played together for so long and you pick up on those tendencies."
 
With Kassa playing the back row, Dorr the primary setter and Montgomery a key weapon for the Carroll attack, there are many times that Carroll possessions will be entirely handled by Mead High grads.
 
"We call them 'Panther Points,'" Kassa said. "When it happens we always get very excited and always make sure we all know it. Every kill we get is awesome but there is something cool about playing with a group you have been with since you were kids."
 
The three all have multiple Frontier Conference Player of the Week honors. Dorr was named the Setter of the Week five times this season, including last week. Kassa was named the Defender of the Week four times and Montgomery was twice named the Frontier Attacker of the Week.
 
"I am so proud of everything that we have done together from high school and here at Carroll. We all signed at different times and for different reasons but I am so glad that we all ended up together," Kassa said. "Our goal this season is to make it to the national tournament but whatever happens, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
 
The Saints need two wins to earn a Frontier Tournament title, a feat Carroll hasn't accomplished since 2012. The conference champions earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Championship in Iowa. The Saints will likely make the tournament regardless of whether they win but there that is not something the team wants to leave up to the selection committee.
 
"This team is going to go as far as these three seniors take us," Boyle added. "The chemistry, comradery and attitude are all tremendous this season and all of that starts with them. We are a very confident team right now and that is something you can't build overnight."
 
Luckily for Boyle and her team, that confidence has been building for eight years.