SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The 18th-ranked Carroll College volleyball team fell to No. 15 Doane (Neb.) 25-14, 25-19, 25-22 in the first of three pool play matches at the NAIA Volleyball Championship Tuesday in Sioux City.
 
The Saints struggled to find a groove on the attack, hitting .115 for the match while the Tigers notched a .287 hitting percentage.
 
Doane took early leads in the first two sets and it was obvious that Doane was ready to play while the Saints looked sluggish.
 
"I don't think we came out ready to go," head coach Moe Boyle said. "The nerves hit us pretty hard and we had our worst match of the year, without question. We had a big lack of confidence and we have to find a way back tomorrow."
 
The Doane serve was a big boon for the Tigers. DU notched eight aces on the match, including three by setter Alex Neff. Along with the aces, the serve put the Saints back on their heels and didn't allow Carroll to get into an effective attack.
 
"If our serve-receive can get the ball up to our setter, I think that we would have a better opportunity to get our offense going a little bit," Boyle said. "We need to pass the ball better and show better ball control before we can get what we want going. Our hitters need to hit better but it starts in the back row for us."
 
Carroll notched the lowest kill numbers of the season by a large margin with just 24 and hit its lowest percentage since August.
 
Paige Montgomery led the Saints with six kills, Casey McInerney came off of the bench to grab five kills and Brielle Bumgarner also had five kills.
 
Jonni Dorr had 21 assists for the Saints and Natalie Kassa had a game-high 14 digs.
 
The road doesn't get easier for the Saints. Carroll plays No. 2 Viterbo tomorrow in the second of three pool play matches. The Hawks bring a 40-2 record into the match after topping the College of the Ozarks 3-0 in their first match of the tournament.
 
Boyle knows the task at hand is a tall one but believes the Saints will be up to it.
 
"We don't look at what number they are, everyone here is good and anyone can beat anyone on a given day," Boyle said. "We are just looking to get our side of the net playing our kind of ball and we didn't do that today. We have to get back to playing Carroll College volleyball and see what happens."
 
The Saints and Hawks take the court at 12 p.m. MST. The game will again be broadcasted on 94.9 FM ESPN Radio and streamed on ESPNMontana.com. Live Video will be available via the NAIA Network and live stats are available via Dakstats.