HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll Volleyball team was on fire Thursday evening, rolling past Valley City State in straight sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-20) inside the Carroll College PE Center.

After a dramatic five set win on Wednesday, where seemingly every point flipped the lead, the Fighting Saints (9-6, 4-3) had a much easier road to victory on Thursday. Their three set sweep of the Vikings (4-8, 2-5) propelled Carroll back to above .500 in Frontier play.

The Saints wasted no time setting the tone in the opening frame. Behind kills from Elizabeth Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / R-SR) and McKaila Balcom (Pasco, Wash. / JR), Carroll built a 17-7 cushion. The Vikings rallied briefly midway through, but the Saints pulled away with a 6-1 run, punctuated by kills from Lauren Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / JR) and Balcom to close the set 25-17.

Set two was the most tightly-contested frame of the night, featuring five ties and four lead changes. The Vikings surged ahead 9-7 after back-to-back kills from Macy Fridgen, who led all players with 13, however several rotation violations by VCSU helped spark a Carroll comeback. Down the stretch, Taysa Conger (Merino, Colo. / SR) and Birdie Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / FR) came away with some timely kills, and Carroll sealed the 25-19 win to take a two set lead.

In the third, Carroll raced out to a 4-0 lead on a Conger kill and an ace from Lauren Heuiser. The Vikings clawed back within one at 16-15, but the Saints were not to be denied. The trio of Heuiser sisters and Taysa Conger combined for the final six kills of the match to close out the lopsided win.

Carroll hit an efficient .237 as a team while limiting Valley City State to just .102.

Balcom led the team with nine kills while Lauren Heuiser and Conger each finished with eight. Elizabeth Heuiser added seven kills and a game-high four blocks.

Lauren Fox (Bozeman, Mont. / FR) paced the offense with 18 assists, while her high school teammate Sofia Kimmel (Bozeman, Mont. / FR) anchored the back with 16 digs.

Carroll will enjoy a full week of rest ahead of a rivalry game with No. 19 Montana Tech next Thursday to kick off a jam-packed Homecoming weekend.

Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of the upcoming action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.
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