BILLINGS, Mont. – With four nonconference matches completed, Rocky volleyball opens its Frontier Conference schedule on Tuesday evening in Helena before returning home for its home opener on Friday and Saturday.
The upcoming matchups kick off a 22-match Frontier Conference schedule featuring home-and-away contests against all 11 league opponents. The Battlin' Bears' lone reprieve from conference play will be a pair of Rimrock Rivalry tilts on September 22 and October 21.
Week schedule
Tuesday, September 1
Rocky Mountain College (2-2) vs. Carroll College (5-2)
3:30 p.m. (JV) / 6 p.m. (varsity)
Helena, Montana
Friday, September 4
Rocky Mountain College (2-2) vs. MSU-Northern (4-2)
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6 p.m.
Fortin Education Center
Saturday, September 5
Rocky Mountain College (2-2) vs. No. 6 University of Providence (6-1)
3 p.m.
Fortin Education Center
Preview – Rocky
An opening-weekend tournament in San Antonio gave first-year head coach Lauren Revering a valuable opportunity to evaluate her squad, deploying 15 different Battlin' Bears across four matches. Rocky's attack was balanced, as Olivia Fauth (29), Ella Kincaid (27), Sadie Meier (22) and Kaitlyn Wood (22) all tallied more than 20 kills total. Wood also ranks fourth in the Frontier Conference with a .368 hitting percentage. In Rocky's two-setter system, Kristyn Mentink (44 assists) and Rylee McMillan (43 assists) gelled quickly to direct the offense, while senior libero Zoey Albert anchored the defense with a team-high 51 digs.
Following a two-week break from competition, the Battlin' Bears will look to build early momentum as conference play begins.
Preview – opponents
Rocky opens the week against Carroll College, which enters at 5-2 after a 17-14 campaign in 2025. The Fighting Saints dropped their season opener to Grace College and their Big Sky Challenge opener to No. 23 LC State, but they have won three straight and added a five-set victory over (RV) Lindsey Wilson College on August 15. Carroll returns 2025 first-team all-conference selection McKaila Balcom (RS) alongside 2025 honorable mention All-Frontier middle hitter Lauren Heuiser. Lauren (89 kills) and her sister Birdie (95 kills) currently lead the Frontier Conference in total kills, with both ranking among the league's top three in hitting percentage.
Following Tuesday's road match, the Battlin' Bears return home to the Fortin Education Center for their first home contests of the season against MSU-Northern and No. 6 University of Providence.
The Skylights travel to Billings on Friday holding a 4-2 record after finishing 2025 at 18-12 and receiving votes in the NAIA postseason top 25. Their only two losses came against No. 23 LC State after MSU-Northern opened the season with four straight victories. Although the Skylights did not return any of their three all-conference selections from a year ago, incoming talent has stepped up immediately. Freshman and Billings Central product Caleigh Case ranks second in the Frontier with 1.15 blocks per set while adding 2.00 kills per set. Dawson CC transfer Kendall Scheffelmear also ranks in the top five in the conference with 1.05 blocks per set, recording at least three blocks in all six matches. Returning junior setter Emily Bird anchors the offense, ranking fifth in the league with 5.60 assists per set.
Rocky wraps up the weekend against preseason No. 6 Providence. The Argos sit at 6-1 following a 34-3 campaign in 2025 that concluded in the NAIA National Tournament quarterfinals. Led by 2025 Frontier Conference Coach of the Year Arunas Duda, Providence features returning first-team All-Frontier member Cabry Badley (Taylor), who leads the conference in blocks per set (1.22) and paces her team with 2.00 kills per set on a .365 hitting percentage. As a unit, the Argos rank 14th nationally with 2.37 blocks per set, while 2025 second-team all-conference selection Kyra Saiers leads the back row with 3.32 digs per set.
