HELENA, Mont- The 18th-ranked Carroll College volleyball team takes on Montana Western on the road Wednesday before closing out the regular season Saturday at home against Rocky Mountain.
 
The Saints, at 7-3 in conference play, are just one win away from clinching at least a share of the Frontier regular-season title for the second-consecutive season but two difficult opponents stand in their way.
 
The Bulldogs are 4-6 in the conference but are among the top teams in the conference with 15.9 digs per set. Rocky Mountain, the team Carroll shared the Frontier Conference crown last season, are 6-4 in conference play but have won five of their last seven matches.
 
Carroll is the conference team leader in Kills and assists and in the top two in digs, aces and hitting percentage. Carroll is paced by a trio of seniors in hitter Paige Montgomery, Libero Natalie Kassa and setter Jonni Dorr.
 
The Saints swept the Bulldogs 25-23, 25-20, 25-22 in a toughly contested match earlier this year. The UMW defense shined in the third set, holding Carroll to a .000 hitting percentage but hitting mistakes were costly for the Bulldogs and the Saints eked out the match-clinching win.
 
"We know how dangerous Western can be," head coach Moe Boyle said. "We saw first-hand what kind of defense they bring to the table. Dylan Fowler is one of the best defenders in the conference."
 
The Bulldogs have struggled of late, dropping three in a row.
 
With a win Thursday, Carroll will clinch at least a share of the title, but Saturday, Rocky may come in with a chance to do what the Saints did to the Bears last season.
 
Rocky came into the final match of the 2015 having already clinched at least a share of the title. Carroll won an epic contest 3-2 to add a trophy to the PE Center case.
 
"I am certain they are looking at it just like we are," Boyle said. "They know what happened last season and they are going to come ready to play. We need to be at our best and take care of business. They are a well-coached team that is playing very well right now and we cannot take them for granted."
 
The Saints swept Rocky 25-22, 25-15, 25-20 in the first meeting behind strong hitting across the board. Serving was also a big factor in the Saints' win with four aces to none for the Bears.
 
Thursday's match in Dillon is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the PE Center. Dorr, Kassa and Montgomery will be honored before the match in the senior-day activities. Live video of Saturday's match will be available via the Carroll youtube channel.