MADISON, S.D. - The Carroll Volleyball team went toe-to-toe with Dakota State for four sets on Friday night at the DSU Fieldhouse, but the Trojans held on for a 3-1 win.
The Fighting Saints (14-8, 9-6) were as close as it gets in two of the four frames, pushing the Trojans (13-8, 10-5) to extra points in the opener and to the final swing in the fourth, but DSU found a way to hold on for the win.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, featuring 16 ties and seven lead changes. Carroll led 20-17 after a pair of kills from Kaylen Hay (Pocatello, Idaho / R-SO) and Lauren Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / SR), but Dakota State answered with a 6-0 run to go up 23-20. The Saints refused to go away. Birdie Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / SO) rattled off three straight kills to tie it at 23-23, and after the Trojans pulled ahead again, Carroll came back to tie it at 24, 25, 26, and 27, but Dakota State scored the final two points to take the 29-27 win.
The second set started in Carroll's favor with Lauren Heuiser recording back-to-back kills early in the set. Later in the frame, the Saints turned a 10-10 tie into a 14-10 lead. The Trojans responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead at 17-15, then added a 4-0 run for a 21-16 advantage. A block from Birdie Heuiser and McKaila Balcom (Pasco, Wash. / SR) got the Saints within 21-24 late, but DSU closed out the 25-21 win.
The Saints were not about to go quietly in the third. Trailing 3-0 early, Carroll tied it up and went ahead, then used an 8-0 run to build a 12-4 lead. Sofia Kimmel (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) served the final seven points of the stretch and notched three aces along the way, as Balcom, Hay, and Birdie Heuiser each added kills. The Trojans responded with an 8-0 run of their own to tie it at 13, but the Saints regained the lead at 14-13 on a Lauren Heuiser kill and never gave it back, hitting a match-high .205 in the set.
The fourth set went down to the wire. Down 11-5, the Saints scored five straight to climb within 11-10 behind kills from Malia Allen (Great Falls, Mont. / FR) and Kimmel, plus an ace from Allen. A Birdie Heuiser ace gave the Saints a 19-18 lead, but Dakota State answered with four straight points to go up 22-19. Carroll kept fighting, getting within one at 22-23 on a Lauren Fox (Bozeman, Mont. / SO) kill and again at 23-24 on a Lauren Heuiser kill, but the Trojans scored the final point to take the set 25-23.
Birdie Heuiser led the way for the Saints, posting a match-high 15 kills while hitting .333 and adding seven blocks. Lauren Heuiser chipped in 10 kills and four blocks, while McKaila Balcom added nine kills.
Fox ran the Saints offense with 30 assists, to go with 15 digs and a pair aces, while Carrizales added 11 assists and nine digs. Kimmel was a force in all phases, finishing with seven kills, a team-high 19 digs, three aces, and three block assists. Norah Allen (Great Falls, Mont. / SR) anchored the back row with 18 digs.
Carroll is right back at it tomorrow, taking on No. 7 Bellevue at 2 p.m.
Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com for a recap of the match, and for complete coverage of the Fighting Saints all season long.
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