BUTTE, Mont. - The Carroll College volleyball team split a pair of matches against ranked opponents falling to No. 8 Eastern Oregon 25-17, 25-23, 25-22 before bouncing back in the evening to topple 20th-ranked Concordia (Neb.) 27-25, 27-25, 25-23.

The Saints continued their hitting woes in the first match, notching a .059 hitting percentage with 27 errors but found a rhythm in the second match, hitting .286, nearly matching a season-high in the close win.

In the first match Holly Morehouse led the Saints with 10 hills and a .261 hitting percentage.  Paige Montgomery led Carroll with 14 kills in match two with a .423 percentage and Morehouse contributed 12 with a stellar .611 percentage.

"I love how our girls kept their composure in the second match after a tough loss in the first one," head coach Moe Boyle said. "Obviously we learned a lot in the match against Eastern Oregon playing back-and-forth volleyball against both schools. Both teams are very good and it was great to get the win over Concordia."

The big turnaround in the hitting department was big. The Saints notched just 16 errors in match two, 11 less than in the first. The Saints also got a momentum boost on the first play from a senior who needed to set the tone.

"Our hitters did a much better job of finding the court and our passing on the serve was commendable against Concordia," Boyle said. "Jonni Dorr's aces to start the second match really set the stage for serving which has come a long way in 24 hours. Paige Montgomery did a great job on the outside putting the ball away especially in critical times. Casey McInerney came in and made a big difference for us in the second match."

The Saints are back in action tomorrow for the second day of the challenge and it starts with a rematch of Corban at 11 a.m. The Warriors edged the Saints 3-1 in Portland last weekend. Carroll closes out the tournament at 3 p.m. in a match against Dickinson State.