HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College volleyball team has won seven straight matches and is 4-0 in Frontier Conference play. The Saints would like improve on both of those marks Friday when they host No. 20 Montana Tech at 7 p.m. at the PE Center.
The Saints are 21-2 in games over the seven-match win streak and face an Oredigger team that won two straight after losing four in a row.
Carroll has the win streak, Montana Tech has the higher ranking and the rivalry is as strong as ever.
"We have to believe that we are prepared to play a battle like this." Head coach Moe Boyle said. "I think that we have come a long way but obviously we need to be prepared to do what we need to do. We need to convey to our players that we are prepared to play this match."
Carroll and Rocky Mountain sit atop the conference at 4-0 but Tech is second with a 2-1 conference record. The Orediggers are 14-6 overall compared to the Saints 10-7.
Montana Tech brings a style to the match that is different than most teams the Saints play.
"They don't make many mistakes, they are extremely solid, their hitters keep the ball in the court, they have a tremendous consistency in setter and they don't have a big super star," Boyle said. "They are all very good across the board so you can't focus on one player. They are very well rounded and you have to play your best to get the win."
Boyle knows that the Saints are playing the best volleyball of the season but the Saints still have room to improve.
"We have to continue to believe in ourselves. It took us a while to convince our players that we don't have freshmen through seniors, we have volleyball players," Boyle said. "If we can keep moving forward in that direction then we will continue to improve."
Regardless of the sport, Carroll-Tech is a rivalry and the Boyle, a Butte native, knows the rivalry more than most. Her goal is to have the Saints ready to go Friday evening.
"This is always a really good matchup. Tech is a really well coached team and they are going to come to play," Boyle said. "We have to be prepared and our players have to believe that we are mentally ready for this game."
