HELENA — The Carroll College volleyball team wanted to start hot in conference home games. The Fighting Saints did the opposite Thursday night, but managed to rally from a two-set deficit to earn a five-set thriller against Montana Western.
The Fighting Saints won 19-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-13.
Western looked like it was en route to its first conference win, taking the opening sets with little drama. Kyra Palmer had a team-high 12 kills, while Ellen Wolferman and Kylie McCree added 11 and 10, respectively. The Bulldogs tallied 22 kills in the first two sets, with hitting percentages of 0.133 and 0.222, respectively.
But Carroll’s offense came alive in the third set, with 14 of the Saints’ 56 kills coming in the 25-18 win. Brielle Bumgarner continued her stellar senior season with a match-high 16 kills. Lexi Mikkelsen tallied 14, Aliyah Williams 11 in the win.
Williams added 33 assists and three aces, with 18 digs for Moe Boyel’s Saints.
Carroll improved to 16-9 overall, 4-3 in Frontier Conference play. Montana Western fell to 4-12, 0-6.
