HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College volleyball team faces another stiff test on the road, as the Fighting Saints head down I-15 to Butte, Montana, to face the No. 18 Montana Tech on Wednesday.
"It's going to take discipline," Saints coach Moe Boyle said. "We're really going to have to focus on our side of the net and find a way to put us in a position to have a chance in each of the sets. We've done that a lot this year. We've given ourselves a chance. The belief is growing."
The Saints (7-7, 2-2 Frontier Conference) opened the first two weeks of conference play with a pair of splits. The Saints swept Montana Western before suffering a sweep by the Battlin' Bears of Rocky Mountain College. Last week, Providence swept the Saints before Carroll earned a 3-0 sweep of Montana State-Northern.
"You gain confidence with every set win," Boyle said. "With a match win, it helps even more."
The Saints will need to put together a strong game to come away with a win in the Butte, America. The Orediggers (15-3, 3-1) started the conference season out with three consecutive wins but suffered a 3-0 setback at No. 23 Rocky Mountain College last week. Tech has not lost at home this season.
"Our focus really has to be on continuing to progress in our game so we're playing our best ball in November," Boyle said. "If we're giving ourselves a chance in these sets now and we find a way to take those sets, that's even better and our confidence can grow quicker."
The Orediggers rank No. 11 in the NAIA in blocks per game at 2.5.
MTU's Sabrina Hopcroft is ranked No. 18 in the NAIA in digs per game at 5.5. She leads the Frontier Conference in the stat, while Carroll's
Ayla Carpenter is third in the conference at 5.2.
The Saints enter Wednesday evening's contest averaging the second-most blocks per game in the NAIA at 2.7. Carroll senior
Hannah Dean is No. 3 in the NAIA in blocks per game at 1.5.
Tech's McKenna Kaelber is No. 1 in the Frontier Conference in assists per set at 9.6, while Carroll's Ali Williams is third-best at 8.3.
"We have some veterans who are playing well right now," Boyle said. "We're counting on a lot of young girls to produce and they're feeling the pressure, but I believe it's good they feel it because it's the only way to grow."
For the Saints to be successful, it will be a matter of staying consistent and capitalizing on their momentum.
"It's another good opportunity for us to get better as a team," Boyle said.
The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Kelvin Sampon Court.
A live stream is available here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRwf7DyE0lyK2nNjaAL8BMw?view_as=subscriber
