HELENA, Mont. — Dickinson State pushed Carroll College to five sets Friday night, but the Fighting Saints pulled away in the deciding frame to earn a 3-2 (25-22, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-7) Frontier Conference victory at the PE Center.
Aubrey Allison led the Blue Hawks with 22 kills and 16 digs, while Carmen Pallone added 20 kills on .356 hitting. Dickinson State finished with a higher hitting percentage than Carroll, .196 to .182, and held advantages in digs and blocks.
The Blue Hawks moved to 8-20 overall and 7-14 in conference play with one regular-season match remaining. They currently hold a one game lead in the race for 8th place, and a Frontier Conference tournament bid, over Valley City State and a half game lead over MSU-Northern (pending their match against Montana Tech Friday).
Carroll built a 20-12 advantage in the opening set before Dickinson State mounted a late rally. The Blue Hawks scored 8 of the next 9 points to pull within 21-20, but the Fighting Saints held on for a 25-22 win.
Dickinson State responded with one of its strongest sets of the night, taking early leads of 7-2 and 12-6 in the second. The Blue Hawks stretched the margin to 20-11 and hit .229 while holding Carroll to a negative hitting percentage in a 25-14 victory.
The third set turned on an 8-point Carroll run that erased Dickinson State's 9-6 lead and put the Fighting Saints ahead 14-9. The Blue Hawks fought back to within 22-21 before Carroll closed out another 25-22 win.
Dickinson State answered again in the fourth. With the score tied at 21, Allison delivered a kill and a Carroll attack error put the Blue Hawks ahead 23-21. Allison added another kill before Cate Floy finished the 25-22 victory to force a fifth set.
Carroll took control of the tiebreaker after the teams played to a 3-3 tie, building a 10-5 lead before closing the match 15-7. The Fighting Saints hit .375 with 9 kills and no attack errors in the final set.
Allison's 22 kills matched her season high, previously recorded against Providence on Sept. 19. She also finished with 16 digs and an ace. Pallone contributed 20 kills on 45 attacks with only 4 errors, along with an ace and 2 blocks.
Rylee Kogolshak directed the offense with a season-high 54 assists and added 14 digs, 2 solo blocks and an ace. Macie Wheeler finished with 6 kills and 4 total blocks, including 3 solo blocks, while Floy added 7 kills.
Ashtynn Egan collected 18 digs, Taylor Gaer added 17 and Geraldyne Fernandez finished with 14.
Dickinson State totaled 59 kills, 87 digs and 9 blocks. The Blue Hawks also committed 5 fewer attack errors than Carroll and recorded only 3 service errors.
The Blue Hawks close the regular season Saturday at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. Mountain time.
