A string of aces powered Carroll College to an upset win Saturday and a 4-0 record at the Frontier/DAC Crossover Tournament in Dickinson, N.D.

Trailing 23-22 in the first set of their match with No. 14 Dickinson State, freshman Maureen Frauenholtz served three consecutive aces and the Saints rolled to a 25-23, 25-11, 25-13 victory on the Blue Hawks' home court.

Carroll then beat the South Dakota School of Mines, 25-15, 25-13, 20-25, 25-23, to finish 4-0 in the preseason event.

Coming off a 9-17 record in the 2007 season, Carroll coach Mo Boyle said the trip to North Dakota provided plenty of optimism for the season-opening tournament that begins Friday at Concordia University of Irvine, Calif.

"Beating a ranked team on their home court, that really got us fired up," Boyle said. "The girls played with a lot of confidence and that showed in the results.

"There's a lot of camaraderie on this team, which is going to carry over into the regular season."

Carroll plays its first home matches, Sept. 5-6.

Frauenholtz, a 5-foot-6 defensive specialist, helped the Saints tally nine aces in the Dickinson State upset. Junior Christina Smetana also had three aces along with eight kills and four blocks. Senior Nicole Rowan and sophomore Haylee Otteson both finished with seven kills and freshman Sarah James had five kills and three blocks in her first varsity action.

The Saints finished with just two service errors.

In the second match, Smetana had 11 kills, seven blocks and a pair of aces to lead the Saints. Rowan had eight kills and six blocks, Otteson had seven kills and eight blocks and setters Katie St. John and Caitlin Tocci combined for 31 assists.

Carroll begins Frontier Conference play Sept. 11 at Rocky Mountain College.