HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Volleyball team fought long and hard for a victory tonight at the PE Center, managing to hold off Rocky Mountain College in an evenly contested five-set match.

The Saints needed a win tonight as they continue to battle for a top seed in the Frontier Conference tournament, and turned to veteran leadership to make it happen.

Carroll celebrated two Seniors, Lexi Mikkelsen and Taelyr Krantz, for their contributions to the program on Senior Night. Both starters showed up big time in their final home game.

Carroll College jumped out to an early lead, winning the first set 25-20, but it would not prove to be an easy night for Saints. Carroll held a seven point lead midway through the second set, until Rocky turned up the intensity and stormed back to win the second 25-21. The momentum stayed with the Battlin' Bears through the third set, which they won 25-20, but the Saints would not be denied. Carroll rallied to win the fourth set 25-17, and dealt the final blow, 15-10 in a deciding set 5.

As mentioned, Seniors Lexi Mikkelsen and Taelyr Krantz were the shining stars offensively for the Saints, willing their team to victory. Taelyr Krantz recorded a game-high 20 kills, while Lexi Mikkelsen backed that performance with 9 kills of her own.

Sophomore defensive specialist Julia Carr contributed another impressive performance, tallying a team-high 36 digs and adding in a game-high 4 service aces. Katherine Mceuen contributed 5 blocks, while setters Hannah Schweikert and Kylie Kackman set up the scoring with 22 and 21 assists respectively.

Rocky was led by strong performances from Alya Embry, who recorded a game-high 44 digs, as well as Weiying Wu, who had 5 blocks for the Bears.

The Saints will now turn their attention towards trying to take down Frontier Conference leader #8 Providence at the McLaughlin Center on Thursday at 7 pm, in Great Falls.