HELENA, Mont. – The 18th-ranked Carroll College volleyball team clinched at least a share of the Frontier Conference regular-season title for the second-consecutive season when the Saints topped Montana Western 25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23 in Dillon Thursday night. The win moves Carroll to 20-6 on the year and 8-3 in Frontier play.
It is the seventh 20-plus win season for head coach
Maureen Boyle in her 12 years at Carroll.
The Saints shook off the early-match struggles that plagued them for the last few matches, hitting .325 with just three hitting errors with 16 kills in the first set to earn the 25-19 win.
The Bulldogs battled back with a 20-25 win in the second set, the Saints hit their worst percentage of the match, .077, with only 10 kills and seven errors on 39 attempts. The Bulldogs capitalized to earn the win and tie the match up at 1-1.
Carroll regained the lead in the third set with their largest win, a 25-17 decision. Carroll's defense was the deciding factor, holding the Bulldogs to just nine kills for a .058 hitting percentage and forcing six errors.
The fourth set was a back and forth battle. Western led 22-20 before Carroll closed on a 5-1 run, spurred on by serving from
Rayna Pilgeram to close out the win.
Paige Montgomery led the Saints with 18 kills and
Holly Morehouse tallied 15 for the Saints. Dorr had 47 assists and
Natalie Kassa notched 34 digs. Dorr had 15 digs and
Catherine Sloan also added 17.
The improvement early in the match came with a lineup change. Head coach Moe Boyle kept her starting seven on the floor but moved players into a different rotation. The change paid dividends immediately.
"We switched a couple things around with our lineup and it really made a big difference," Boyle said. "We snagged the momentum early, we lost it a bit in the second set but we battled through it and did what we needed to do. Ultimately, that 'W' is very important and everyone did something that helped put us over the top and get a win. It was a team effort up and down the lineup."
The win was another hard-fought match against a tough Western team. The Saints swept UMW in the first match of the year but neither match was a blowout, every point was a battle.
"We had rallies that lasted minutes," Boyle said. "Western doesn't give you a lot. They are very stingy and play very steady. We were able to put the ball away more tonight and that was the difference but it was not easy and Western will have an impact on the tournament next week."
The Saints now turn their attention to Rocky Mountain. Carroll hosts the Bears Saturday at 2 p.m. at the PE Center. The Bears play tomorrow against Western but a win in Dillon would put Rocky in the same position that Carroll was in last year, with a chance to steal a share of the conference title on the road. Montana Tech can still earn a share of the title as well with a Rocky Mountain win.
The match will be live streamed on the Carroll youtube channel. Live stats will not be available for Saturday's match.
