BUTTE, Mont. – No. 23 LC State Volleyball wrapped up a huge opening weekend at the Big Sky Challenge with a pair of wins, including a big upset victory over No. 6 Providence (Mont.), on Friday. The Warriors opened the day with a five-set win over Carroll (Mont.) (25-16, 25-15, 29-31, 17-25, 15-9) before a 3-1 victory over the Argos (14-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22).
Sophomore
Mikale Roy had a standout day with a combined 35 kills and junior
Ella Stosich anchored the defense with 41 digs. Senior middle blocker
Karissa Lindner was a wall at the net with 13 blocks between the two matches.
The wins improve the LC State record to 4-0 on the season ahead of the home opener next weekend.
MATCH ONE: No. 23 LC State def. Carroll (Mont.) 3-2 (25-16, 25-15, 29-31, 17-25, 15-9)
The Warriors jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the frame with kills by Lindner, Roy and
Hadyn Smith. Carroll answered to tie things up 6-6, but swings by
Taylor Boyce and Lindner, as well as an ace by
Hannah Dotson, had LC back in front 10-7. A block by
Addison Wilson and Boyce sparked a six-point run for the Warriors that featured kills by
Jordynn Albright and another ace from Dotson to push the score to 23-14, and a service ace by
Teagan Scott ended the first set 25-16.
LC State kept the momentum in the second set with a kill by Boyce to start the frame. Swings by Boyce, Roy and Smith put the Warriors in front 8-5 and an ace by
Kadence Moore forced a Saints timeout at 9-5. Boyce and Roy tallied kills as part of a 7-3 run that saw the margin grow to 16-9, and LC State kept Carroll off balance with four Saint errors in the span. The Warriors closed out the set on a 4-1 run with kills by Roy, Albright, Wilson and Boyce for a 25-15 win.
The third frame was a back-and-forth battle. Kills by Wilson and Boyce were part of a four-point run to give LC a 7-4 edge before Carroll pulled in front 8-7. Boyce and Lindner combined for three points to swing the lead back to the Warriors at 10-8. A run by Carroll had the Saints ahead 18-16, but kills by Roy and Wilson and a block by Wilson, Boyce and
Kate Schneider evened things up again at 18-18. A pair of swings by Smith had the score knotted 23-23 and an ace by Stosich made it set point, 24-23. Carroll battled to keep the match going. Smith, Roy and Lindner added kills as the frame moved to 29-29, but back-to-back points by the Saints gave Carroll a 31-29 win in the set.
The Saints surged to a 15-9 advantage in the fourth frame before kills by Boyce and Smith cut the difference to 17-13. Carroll controlled the set with a 25-17 victory to send the match to a fifth frame.
Boyce notched a kill before Lindner added a block and a kill for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set. The senior then teamed up with Smith and Roy on four blocks in five plays before a kill by Roy capped a nine-point LC State swing for a 9-1 cushion. Carroll rallied to cut the difference to 13-9. Boyce tallied a kill before a block with Lindner, the sixth of the set, to end the contest with a 15-9 victory in the set.
STAT RECAP
Boyce and Roy each totaled 17 kills and Roy did so with a .441 attack percentage. Smith added 16 kills. Lindner had a standout contest with seven kills and six blocks. All six of her blocks came in the decisive fifth set.
Stosich led the back row with 18 digs and Moore was just behind with 13. Scott notched a double-double with 11 digs and a team-high 21 assists. Humphrey added a career-high 20 assists with seven digs.
Dotson dealt three aces to give her seven through the first three matches of the season.
The Warriors hit .289 as a team and held Carroll to .189.
MATCH TWO: No. 23 LC State def. No. 6 Providence (Mont.) 3-1 (14-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22)
Smith had the first two points of the match for LC State and Roy added a kill as Providence surged out to a 13-5 lead. Boyce, Albright, and Lindner added to the Warrior total to keep the set within striking distance at 16-10, but the Argos took the set 25-14.
The Warriors turned things around in the second set. A pair of aces by
Makenzie Stout, block by Smith and Wilson and kills by Roy and Smith had LC State out to a 7-2 lead early. Roy added another kill and
Sammi Humphrey dealt an ace to keep the advantage at 9-4, but a five-point run by UP had the set tied 9-9. Boyce put the Warriors back in the lead with a pair of kills and a solo block by Albright forced a Providence timeout at 15-10. Boyce continued her strong set with another three kills for an 18-12 margin as the teams traded kills. LC State went on a three-point rally with kills from Smith and Roy paired with a block by Albright and Lindner to push the score to 23-14. An Argo error followed a kill by Roy for a 25-16 LC win in the frame.
Two blocks by Lindner and two kills by Roy gave the Warriors a 5-2 lead in set three, and a block by Wilson made it 9-4. Dotson dealt an ace to spark a four-point run that featured a kill by Albright and UP errors for a 13-4 cushion and points from Boyce, Smith, Stosich and Lindner gave LC State an 11-point lead at 18-7. The Argos went on a six-point run to cut the difference to 20-16 before swings by Roy and Boyce regained control for the Warriors. Boyce gave LC State a 2-1 lead in the match with a kill at 25-20.
Kills by Smith and Roy helped the Warriors to a 4-2 edge to start the fourth frame. Lindner supplied three LC State points with a solo block, block assist with Albright and a kill to make it 7-5, and UP kept the margin at two points until a block by Smith and kill by Roy pushed the lead to 13-9. The Warriors added on with the hot hands of Roy and Boyce for a 21-15 advantage but the Argos rallied again to make it a one-point set at 22-21. Roy ended the match with a pair of kills in the 25-22 win.
STAT RECAP
Roy led the contest with 18 kills and Boyce added 12. Scott dished out 21 assists with 10 digs and Humphrey added 13.
Lindner was a force at the net once again with seven blocks and Albright added three. Stosich led the match in digs with 23 and Stout collected 12 with two service aces.
LC State held one of the top teams in the NAIA to a .110 attack percentage and held the edge on the block with 12 total compared to six by UP.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host their 2026 home openers next weekend at the Hells Canyon Grand Invitational. LC State is set to face MSU-Northern Aug. 28 at 6 p.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
