HELENA, Mont. - The (RV) Carroll College Volleyball team knocked-off No. 13-ranked Montana Western in three sets in front of a healthy homecoming crowd at the Carroll College PE Center on Friday night.
The Fighting Saints (11-2, 1-1) entered the match without a Frontier Conference win since 2022, and walked out with an even .500 record in conference play and a top-25 win over the No. 13 Bulldogs (9-3, 1-1).
After a disappointing loss in their Frontier opener against Providence last week, the Fighting Saints came out on Friday and lived up to their name, bringing the fight to the Bulldogs from the first serve.
Trailing 16-14 in the opening frame, the Saints rattled-off seven-straight points to go ahead 21-16. Western would make a run at the back-end of the set, but Carroll would fend off the rally and win the opener 25-20.
Set two was all Carroll, as the Saints raced past the Bulldogs 25-10 in a frame in which they hit .353 as a team.
Julia Carr (Portland, Ore. / GR) continued serving for what seemed like an eternity, as the Saints scored eight-straight points to end the set.
The third set was the most competitive, but Carroll would not be denied the win. The Saints scored five of the last seven points of the match to complete the straight-set sweep, 25-21.
Sidney Gulick (Kalispell, Mont. / JR) and
Elizabeth Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / R-JR) each finished with nine kills to lead the Saints, while
McKaila Balcom (Pasco, Wash. / SO) was right behind them with eight.
Hannah Schweikert (Columbia Falls, Mont. / R-JR) tallied 33 assists to lead all players, and
Julia Carr added a game-high 22 digs on the back-end.
Western's Jordan Olson led the team with seven kills, while Jazi Smith finished with 13 digs in the loss.
The celebration will be short-lived for the Saints, as they quickly will shift focus towards a rivalry match against Montana Tech tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in Helena.
Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a recap of the match, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.
FOLLOW THE FIGHTING SAINTS
Facebook: @carrollcollegeathletics
Instagram: @cc_saints
X: @CCsaints
#MarchOn
