Carroll College volleyball couldn’t hold onto an early lead and fell to Montana Western in five sets (25-21, 25-27, 25-27, 25-19, 15-10) on Wednesday night at the PE Center.
The Saints (14-8, 6-3 Frontier Conference) jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the first set, but the Bulldogs (15-7, 7-2 Frontier Conference) battled back to win the next two sets and take a 2-1 lead. Carroll forced a fifth set with a win in the fourth set, but Montana Western came out on top in the decisive fifth set.
Early Lead
The Saints started the match strong and jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first set. Montana Western cut the lead to 13-11, but Carroll responded with a 5-0 run to take an 18-11 lead. The Bulldogs rallied to cut the lead to 24-21, but the Saints were able to close out the set and win 25-21.
Montana Western Fights Back
The Bulldogs came out strong in the second set and took a 10-5 lead. Carroll fought back to tie the set at 12-12, but Montana Western went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-12 lead. The Saints continued to battle and tied the set again at 19-19, but the Bulldogs were able to win the set 25-27.
Montana Western continued to roll in the third set and took an early 10-5 lead. Carroll cut the lead to 12-10, but the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. The Saints fought back to tie the set again at 22-22, but the Bulldogs were able to win the set 25-27 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Carroll Forces Fifth Set
The Saints came out strong in the fourth set and took an early 10-5 lead. Montana Western cut the lead to 12-10, but Carroll went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. The Bulldogs fought back to cut the lead to 19-18, but the Saints were able to win the set 25-19 and force a fifth set.
Montana Western Wins Decisive Fifth Set
The Bulldogs came out strong in the decisive fifth set and took an early 4-1 lead. Carroll cut the lead to 5-4, but Montana Western went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. The Saints fought back to cut the lead to 12-10, but the Bulldogs were able to win the set 15-10 and win the match.
Key Stats
- Carroll was led by Emily Funseth, who had 18 kills and 15 digs.
- Montana Western was led by Hannah Strobel, who had 20 kills and 10 digs.
- The Saints hit .201 for the match, while the Bulldogs hit .213.
- Carroll had 70 digs and 46 blocks, while Montana Western had 65 digs and 43 blocks.
Postgame Quotes
- Carroll head coach Kris Ctvrtlik: “We had a lot of opportunities to win this match, but we just couldn’t make the plays when we needed to. We need to learn from our mistakes and come back stronger next time.”
- Montana Western head coach Katie Isackson: “I’m really proud of the way our team fought back tonight. We got down early in the match, but we never gave up. We played our best volleyball in the fourth and fifth sets, and that’s why we were able to win.”
Looking Ahead
The Saints will return to action on Friday night when they host Rocky Mountain College at the PE Center. The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday night when they travel to Havre, Montana to face Montana State-Northern.
