Bellevue (Neb.) claims 2026 FC Women's Volleyball Tournament Champion over Carroll (Mont.)

November 14, 2026

HELENA, Mont. - No. 1 seed Bellevue (Neb.) overcame an opening-set loss to defeat host-team No. 6 seed Carroll (Mont.) in the Frontier Conference women's volleyball postseason tournament's championship match Saturday at the PE Center. Bellevue won 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-17.

It was the third straight match in the Frontier Conference Tournament when the Bruins overcame an opening-set loss and win the next three sets, earning their first ever Frontier Conference regular season and postseason titles.

Payton Dzingle powered Bellevue with 16 kills on .682 hitting and five blocks. A'Lailah Perry added 15 kills and four blocks, Bentlee Kollbaum finished with 13 kills and Ella Eymann supplied 30 assists. Bellevue hit .245 to Carroll's .130, with advantages of 8-2 in aces and 9-5 in team blocks.

Carroll erased an early deficit to take the opening set. Lia Aiwohi's ace gave Bellevue an 11-6 lead, but Carroll answered with six consecutive points, capped by Lauren Heuiser's ace. Two straight kills by McKaila Balcom later pushed Carroll ahead 16-12. Bellevue drew even at 20 on a block by Morgan Wale and Sophia McIntyre against Kaylen Hay, but Carroll claimed five of the final seven points. Hay's kill earned set point before Birdie Heuiser finished the set off an assist from Jansyn Carrizales.

Bellevue took control of the second set with a seven-point run from a 10-10 tie. Dzingle contributed three kills during the stretch, and Kamryn Scheib capped it with an ace for a 17-10 lead. Consecutive kills by Perry later extended Bellevue's surge to 13-1 and its advantage to 23-11. A Carroll service error ended the set and evened the match.

The third set remained close longer, with Carroll pulling within 15-14 on a Bellevue attack error and staying within 17-15. Bellevue then scored the final eight points. Dzingle and Perry each recorded a kill and combined for two blocks during the closing run, while Eymann added an ace. Carroll hit minus-.073 in the set, managing six kills.

Bellevue broke an 8-8 tie in the fourth with an 8-1 run that included consecutive aces by Carlie Talbott and ended on Kollbaum's kill. Carroll trimmed the deficit to 18-13 and forced a Bellevue timeout, but McIntyre answered with a kill before a Carroll attack error restored a seven-point cushion. Hay saved one match point with a kill before Kollbaum finished the match off Eymann's assist. Bellevue hit .452 with 14 kills and no attack errors in the final set.

For Carroll, B. Heuiser led the attack with 12 kills, Hay added nine kills and four block assists and Balcom finished with eight kills. L. Heuiser contributed seven kills, two aces and three block assists. Carrizales recorded 20 assists and 10 digs, while Lauren Fox supplied 18 assists. Norah Allen led Carroll's defense with 13 digs.

Bellevue lifted their overall record to 27-4 after their seventh straight victory, while Carroll fell to 21-11 overall record. Both teams will find out where they will play in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round on Monday afternoon via NAIA's YouTube page at 4 p.m. (Central Time)/3 p.m. (Mountain Time).

The NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, with the 24 winners advancing to the final site at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, from Dec. 2-8.