HELENA, Mont. – Carroll College volleyball started off season off right with a 25-11, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21 home win over Pacific Union College Wednesday evening at the PE Center.
 
The Saints began with a bang in the first game and came out on fire, dominating the first set. It was a back and forth battle until the Saints took a 10-6 lead on a service error and never looked back. The Saints went on a 14-1 streak to take command of the match before closing it out on a kill from Holly Morehouse.
 
"They came out ready to go," head coach Moe Boyle said. "They put in a lot of work to get where we were in the first game. You can see the effort from the summer paying off in the first set. They were ready to go physically when they came into practice and we have been able to focus on the cerebral part of the game."
 
The second set was a much tighter contest but the Saints finished off the last three points to earn the 25-20 victory before falling in the third set 25-18.
 
"We were bound to have a little lull and saw that in the second and third games," Boyle said. "The first match of the year is a pretty mentally draining thing  and you can have some ups and downs. But we rode through and got the win."
 
Boyle also used the third set as an opportunity to play some younger players and that was a big factor in the loss.
 
"We put in some young players to get some court time," Boyle said. "It was a great opportunity for them to see the pace of play. It is so much faster than anything they have seen before and there is no way to replicate game speed. As a college player you have to take your lumps with that but hopefully it will help us build the depth that we need."
 
The Saints took an 11-4 lead in the fourth set and rode that lead to 25-21 set win to close out the match victory.
 
Boyle was pleased with the play including setters Jonni Dorr and Rayna Pilgeram.
 
"Jonni and Rayna did a really nice job setting the offense," Boyle said. "At times, especially in the first set, you could see us really attacking the net and they were putting the ball right where it needed to be."
 
Freshman Emily Sullivan also had six kills in her first-ever college match.
 
"Emily Sullivan started and played most of the match and she was impressive. It didn't feel like it was her first college match," Boyle said. "She is going to be a great player for us moving forward."
 
The Saints have about 36 hours from the end of Wednesday's match until Friday's match against No. 6 Eastern Oregon at 9 a.m. Friday in the opening game of the Big Sky Challenge at the PE Center. The Saints are slated to play four games in two day during the tournament.