HELENA, Mont. – Senior Setter Jonni Dorr began Friday's match with a pair of service aces right at the heart of MSU-Northern's defense. The early lead set the tone as Carroll played their best match of the season en route to a 25-20, 25-11, 25-13 home win.
 
The Saints dominated the net, hitting .345 to MSU-Northern's .058. Carroll tallied 43 kills to the Skylight's 20 and tallied just 13 hitting errors on the match.
 
Carroll also came up big on the back line with 51 digs to the Skylight's 31.
 
Holly Morehouse led the way with an outstanding 11 kills and just two errors for a .529 hitting percentage. Paige Montgomery notched 10 kills with just four errors for a .300 percentage. Middle hitters Mallory Arbizanni and Brielle Bumgarner combined for 10 kills with just one error.
 
Natalie Kassa tallied 11 digs. Dorr notched 34 assists, 11 digs and four aces, the bulk of the seven that the Saints had as a team.
 
Even when Dorr's serves weren't aces they were not easy to handle. She often forced the Skylights to return free balls which set the Carroll attack up for success.
 
"I think she set the tone for the serving in the match," head coach Moe Boyle said. "That is the statement we want to make. When we serve aggressively, the rest follows. We had some great serving across the board and it made a huge impact."
 
The Saints were in control from the first serve and won convincingly in the first set 25-20 before dominating the final two sets 25-11 and 25-13.
 
"This is how I see our team play. It is confidence and team chemistry," Boyle said. "We are used to that level of play but not the consistently at that level. We need start tomorrow's match right were we left off tonight."
 
Carroll notched the highest team hitting percentage of any match this season. Boyle is pleased with the performance of the hitters, especially Morehouse and Montgomery.
 
"Paige Montgomery is playing really well. She is just letting the game come to her and making great decisions," Boyle said. "Holly is doing a really nice job on the right side, she touches a lot of balls from the opponent attack and really frustrates hitters."
 
The Saints close out the weekend Saturday at the PE Center against the University of Great Falls and Carroll is ready for a battle from the Argos.
 
"It is always a tough match," Boyle said. "They come here ready to play. Our goal is to pick up where we left off and continue tomorrow night because UGF will bring their 'A' game.