Women's Volleyball | 10/22/21 | 10:12 PM

Box Score HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Volleyball team beat The University of Montana Western in an epic five set battle Friday night at the PE Center.

The action was intense from the start, with both teams battling for point after point in the first set. Neither team could find a way to close the set in regulation, but Western finally capped off an intense opening set with a 31-29 victory.

The Saints bounced back in a big way in sets 2 and 3, managing to win both sets handily, 25-14. 

Western would not go down easily, however. Both teams strung together impressive runs, but Western once again rallied hard at the end of the 4th set, eventually closing it out 30-28.

The Bulldogs opened up the 5th and final set strong, jumping out to a quick 8-3 lead. The Saints managed to dig deep and battle back in impressive fashion, with Senior Lexi Mikkelsen's five final set kills, and a service ace from Hannah Schweikert to cap off the marathon match.

Senior Middle Hitter, Taelyr Krantz led the way for the Saints with 19 kills, Junior Setter Kylie Kackman had 25 assists, and Sophomore Julia Carr paced the team with 33 digs.

For the Bulldogs, Emmah Peterson led her team with 14 kills, and Kelsey Goddard recorded a game-high 44 digs.

The Saints even up their overall record at 11-11 and improve to 4-2 in Frontier Conference play. Carroll will look to continue their momentum into next Wednesday's match against Montana Tech in Butte.