BELLEVUE, Neb. - The Carroll College Volleyball team picked up an impressive non-conference win on Friday, outlasting Ottawa (Neb.) in five sets to open play at the 2024 Marvel Classic.

The Fighting Saints (13-6, 2-5) snapped a three-game skid this afternoon in Nebraska, topping the Braves (9-9, 3-1) in five.

Ottawa came out and took the lead with a close 25-23 win in the opening frame, but the Saints would respond.

Carroll won both the second and third sets, 25-22, while hitting an impressive .256 and .300 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

The Saints would have an opportunity to close out the match in the fourth frame, grabbing a slim 24-23 lead. The braves would rally, however, scoring the final three points of the set to even the match at 2-2 and force a deciding fifth frame.

Once in the fifth set, it was clear that Carroll would not let the win slip away. The Saints had a dominant performance in the finale, hitting .417 en route to a 15-9 set win, and 3-2 match victory.

Carroll led nearly every team statistic in the win, and saw some impressive individual performances to match.

Elizabeth Hueiser (Helena, Mont. / R-JR) led the Saints with 19 kills, while Rachael Stacey (Helena, Mont. / JR) followed close behind with 16.

Jansyn Carrizales (Sunnyside, Wash. / SO) posted a game-high three aces, and Hannah Scweikert (Columbia Falls, Mont. / R-JR) had one of her best performances of the season with a game-high 54 assists.

Julia Carr (Portland, Ore. / GR) led the Saints with 33 digs.

Ottawa's Ariana Arciniega led all players with 22 kills in the match, while Kenzie Kuxhaus had a game-high 34 digs.

A pair of early morning games await the Saints, as they take on Grand View and No. 7 Bellevue to wrap up their weekend in Nebraksa on Saturday.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com tomorrow evening for a recap of the action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.

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