HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College women's volleyball team fell 17-25, 25-14, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12 to 17th-ranked Montana Tech Thursday night at the PE Center in a back and forth battle.

The Saints looked in total control in their first and fourth set wins, but completely out of sorts in the second and third set. 

"We are not playing consistent enough," head coach Moe Boyle said. "Our ups are really up, and our downs are really down. The way momentum goes in volleyball; we have got to get out of the rough stretches faster. I don't think that we are making the adjustments quick enough."

The Saints took control early, going 8-2 in the first set en route to the 25-17 first-set win in which they force Tech into 13 hitting errors. The Diggers would have just 14 for the remainder of the match. 

In the second set, it was Carroll who failed to get out of the blocks as Montana Tech built a 5-2 lead en route to a 25-14 win. The Saints had their worst hitting set of the match with nine errors on the set. 

Montana Tech built a 5-0 lead thin the third set, and that would be the difference as they went on to win the set 25-21.

The Saints went on the attack in the fourth set, notching 15 kills to two errors in the 25-20 win. 

The fifth was back and forth point to point until, tied at 10, the Diggers closed on a 5-2 run to win 15-12.

"Our team is working hard, but we are missing a little bit of the chemistry that we had last year," Boyle said. "When we can get everyone trusting and believing in each other it is going to click."

Boyle was also quick to credit the 17th-ranked team in NAIA.

"We battle with Tech every year," Boyle said. "Nothing is a gimme ever, in this league you are up for a fight every night. They are a great team, they are consistent all the way around and they've got great outside hitters."

Brielle Bumgarner led the Saints with 10 kills with just two errors. Rayna Pilgeram tallied 41 assists, and Casey Berry tallied 29 digs. The Saints notched 10 blocks, Bumgarner tallied two solo blocks and three block assists. 

The Saints play the second of a back-to-back Friday at the PE Center when they host Lewis-Clark State. The Warriors are 5-6 but have won five of their last six. Live stats will be available via Dakstats and Live Video will be available via the Carroll Youtube channel.