HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Volleyball team will kick-off their busiest week of the 2026 season on Monday night, as they take on Mayville State in the first of what will be four matches in five days throughout the state of North Dakota.

Coming off a five-game homestand to begin Frontier Conference action, the Fighting Saints (9-3, 4-1) will face their most difficult week of the year - a stretch of four road games in five days.

The Saints are off to their best start to league play in a decade, going 4-1 over their first five including a Top-10 win over then-ranked No. 7 Providence. The quick start has Carroll in a favorable position in the league standings. The Saints sit in third place, trailing only Bellevue, who remains unbeaten, and Montana Tech, who has two more games under their belt. 

One big reason for the early season success is the strong attack led by a pair of sisters, Lauren and Birdie Heuiser (Helena, Mont.). The pair are both in the Top-five in the conference in kills per set. Lauren leads the league with 3.46 kills per set, while Birdie is No. 3 with a 3.14 average. The two sisters are also No. 1 and 3 in total points per set as well (Lauren - 4.03, Birdie - 3.54).

Lauren Fox (Bozeman, Mont. / FR) enters the week at No. 5 in the league in assists per set, averaging 6.35, while Jansyn Carrizales (Sunnyside, Wash. / SR) is fourth in the Frontier with 14 aces in her 37 sets played.

The Saints will have their hands full this week, playing matches on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday against Mayville State, Valley City State, Dickinson State, and Bismarck State - covering North Dakota from the Eastern border all the way out West.

Carroll fared well against the four schools in the 2025 season, which marked the expansion of the league to a full 12 members, going 6-2 in the home-and-home series with each.

The four North Dakota schools enter the week with a combined conference record of 8-18 on the year, and a strong showing from the Saints throughout the grueling week could pay large dividends down the road as they look to grab their first Frontier title since 2016.