HELENA, Mont. – The 17th-ranked Carroll College Volleyball team plays two home matches this weekend including a battle of ranked teams Thursday when the Saints host No. 23 Montana Tech at the PE Center, before welcoming Lewis-Clark State Friday in hopes to avenge the only conference loss of the first-half of the conference season.
Carroll is on a five-match win streak, four of those were conference matches which the Saints won 3-0 each time. Carroll is 17-4 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. As the Saints begin the second half of the conference season, they will have to adjust as opponents adjust to them.
"We really have to start early," head coach Moe Boyle said. "Jonni (Dorr) has been running our offense well and our hitters have been able to put the ball away and these teams. Now, in the second half, are going to be taken away some of our strengths and we're going to have to be able to do something else. I'm excited to see how we respond to that because I believe that's something we continue to work on but with the leadership that we have, all of them have gotten better as the season has progressed."
Montana Tech is on a six-match win streak with four of those coming on a road trip to California last weekend, including a win over No. 16 Biola. The Saints topped Montana Tech 3-1 in the first match up.
"We have worked hard to improve in all aspects of our game, from serving to defense to blocking and certainly the hitting part of our game," Boyle said. "We are trying to eliminate errors so we hope to be more solid than the first time we played them. We are certainly more experienced playing together, last time we played them it was early in the season. I think all of our players have to be in the match at all times, ready to go."
Lewis-Clark State brings a 7-10 record into the match, including a 2-5 record in conference play. The Warriors opened conference with two wins, including a win over the Saints but since that match they have dropped six of seven matches. Injuries have led to inconsistent play on the back line which has created problems in the LCSC attack.
Boyle doesn't want her team to overlook the Warriors. LCSC has a winning tradition and a win in their last match, a non-conference tilt against Whitworth College.
"They're going to be tough, it's a battle," Boyle said. "It doesn't matter what happens, each day anybody can beat anybody at any time, again we're going to have to be prepared to play from start to finish and LC is going to come to play. We've been circled on that calendar, I'm sure, since we played Tech, we've been circled on that calendar since we played them and for LC. I'm sure they have some confidence coming in here, and we have to be able to take care of our business."
Live stats will be available via Dakstats and live video will be available via the Carroll College Youtube channel.
