HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College volleyball team dominated the first two sets and held on for a 25-14, 25-13, 19-25, 25-23 Frontier Conference win over Lewis-Clark State Friday evening at the PE Center in front of a large crowd. 

Carroll (8-9, 1-1 FC) was tough up front, notching nine team blocks and forcing the Warriors (5-7, 0-1 FC) to hit 32 hitting errors, en route to a .065 attack percentage, including a -.069 percentage in the first set and a .027 percentage in set two.

The Saints jumped out early in both of the first two sets, going up 8-1 in the first en route to the 11-point win and 8-3 in the second set on the way to the 12-point victory. 

Lewis-Clark did steak a little momentum at the end of the second set with a pair of kills before the Saints closed it out, that momentum would carry through the third set. 

LCSC went up 7-3 in the third set and held the Saints off for the entire set to grab the 25-19 win. 

The fourth set was a back and forth battle with 17 ties and eight lead changes, but tied at 23, the Saints scored two straight points to clinch the set 25-23 and earn the four-set win.  

"Our defense played extremely well tonight," head coach Moe Boyle said. "They rebounded very well from last night when we struggled defensively. Ayla Carpenter played phenomenal defense. Her athleticism was really on display, and up front, the blocking was huge for us."

Brielle Bumgarner was a power in the middle. She had 11 kills with just one hitting error for a .526 attack percentage. Rayna Pilgeram had 32 assists, and Casey Berry tallied 15 digs, to lead four Saints in double figures. 

"The number of touches on the block changed the game," Boyle said. "The set that we lost, we didn't have a single block, and that speaks volumes to what it is going to take for us to be successful. Rayna Pilgeram spread the offense very well tonight, but we still had too many hitting errors which we will still need to clean up to be where we want as a team."

Another big asset for the Saints was the crowd. Over 1,000 fans were in attendance and provided a great environment for the match.

"What a great atmosphere for our players tonight," Boyle said. "Our crowd brought it tonight, and it helped out tremendously. The momentum was in our corner from the start because the crowd was intimidating."

The Saints next travel to Havre to play MSU-Northern on Sept. 22.