HELENA, Mont. -- The Saints searched for it all season.
It ebbed and flowed, but more often than not, it disappeared at crucial junctures.
Then, on Friday night in the PE Center the Saints (13-9, 4-4) grabbed it, gripped tight and kept consistency on their side, sweeping No. 16 Rocky Mountain College 3-0 -- 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.
It's the first time the Saints have beaten Rocky since Nov. 6 of 2016 and the first conference loss for Rocky (16-8, 6-1) this season.
"They are enjoying one another out on the court, and they seem to be flowing pretty well right now," Saints coach Moe Boyle told the Independent Record.
The Saints showed early on it may be their night, looking to earn a signature conference victory after such a stellar display on the road over the past few weeks. In the first set, the Saints exchanged blows with Rocky, battling to a 12-12 tie.
Then, the Saints rolled off four consecutive points and held off Rocky the rest of the way for a 25-19
That momentum immediately transferred to the second set, where the Saints didn't let off the brakes against their Top 25 foe. Carroll ripped off the first five points of the set, keeping at least a five-point cushion the rest of the way before winning Set Two, 25-17.
Set Three was more of the same, as the Saints never trailed and built to a crescendo. As the 582 in attendance rose to their feet, emploring the Saints to finish the job,
Sophia Spoja delivered the kill shot.
Boyle preached it all season, getting her team to play their best in November. With Friday's result, the Saints are headed in that direction.
Three Saints cracked the double-digit mark in kills:
Lexi Mikkelsen (16)
Taelyr Krantz (11) and
Sophia Spoja (10), who also led the team in blocks with four.
Ayla Carpenter added three aces and a game-high 25 digs.
Ali Williams had a team-high 45 assists.
Monique Rodriguez led Rocky with eight kills.
The match victory makes two consecutive conference sweeps for the Saints, the first time they've swept Frontier rivals twice in a row this season.
Friday, Carroll did what no other Frontier Conference team had: They defeated the Battlin' Bears in resounding fashion.
