HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Volleyball team is back in action for their second early season tournament of the year, competing alongside fellow Montana schools in the annual Big Sky Challenge in Butte.

The Fighting Saints (2-1) will play four games over the next two days, beginning with an 11 a.m. tilt with No. 23 Lewis-Clark State, and a 4 p.m. matchup with Williams Baptist (Ark.). Saturday features an 11 a.m. start against Northwest (Wash.), and the tournament will conclude with a 5 p.m. showdown against IU-South Bend.

Carroll enters the weekend with some momentum, having won both of their Saturday matches at last week's ONU Tigers Kick-Off Invite over Freed-Hardeman and (RV) Lindsey Wilson. 

The Saints were unstoppable in the win over Freed-Hardeman, picking up a three set sweep. They then turned around and knocked-off the Blue Raiders to cap the event, a five-set thriller over the receiving votes Blue Raiders that showed they have what it takes to play with some of the NAIA's best.

A pair of seniors, McKaila Balcom (Pasco, Wash.) and Lauren Heuiser (Helena, Mont.) were named NAIA Volley Report Players of the Game for their performances in the two victories. The two All-Frontier players in 2025 are currently No. 2 and 3 on the team in kills (Balcom 28, Heuiser 25), while Birdie Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / SO) leads the Saints with 32 kills in her three appearances.

Carroll will take on their first ranked opponent of the year to begin the weekend event, as the No. 23-ranked Warriors began their season with a pair of wins on day one of the tournament over Williams Baptist and IU-East. LC State was picked fifth in the CCC Coaches' Poll, and are one of six ranked teams in the league.

A pay-per-view stream for all four matches can be found through Montana Tech's BallerTV platform.