San Diego, Calif. - The Carroll College volleyball team picked up a win in their opening match of the Saint Katherine Invite, beating UC-Merced in a five set thriller, but lost their second match of the day in four sets to No. 24 Ottawa (Ariz.).

The Fighting Saints (5-5) played nine out of a possible ten sets in total on Friday, earning a come from behind victory over UC-Merced (1-8) this morning, before falling in four sets to No. 24 OUAZ (5-3) in the nightcap.

CARROLL vs. UC-Merced 

The Saints' first match of the event would prove to be a back-and-forth five set battle, but Carroll would find a way to grind out the full-frame win over the Bobcats from Northern California.

Carroll would win the opening frame, 25-20, and from that point on neither team would find a way with win consecutive sets in the match.  

UC-Merced scored the final three points of set two, winning 25-23 before Carroll retaliated with a lopsided 25-15 set three win. The fourth frame would go into extra points, where the Saints would eventually fall, 25-27, setting up a deciding fifth frame.

Carroll would jump all over the Bobcats in the final set, starting the game on a 10-2 run en route to a 15-12 win to close out the match.

Sidney Gulick (Kalispell, Mont. / SO) led the Saints in kills, finishing with 12 in the tournament opener. Maddie Wilkes (Pocatello, Idaho / SR) posted a game-high 29 assists, while Julia Carr (Portland, Ore. / SR) led all players with 39 digs.

UC-Merced's Alexa Ultreras finished with 15 kills to lead the Bobcats.

CARROLL vs. No. 24 OUAZ

Carroll faced their third ranked opponent in the last seven days to wrap up day one of the event.

The opening set of the match was a wild one. Tied at 19-19, the two teams would go on to trade points back-and-forth until Carroll's Mara Lynch (Bozeman, Mont. / SR) finally provided the deciding point in favor of the Saints, 30-28.

Unfortunately for the Saints, they would not be able to capitalize on the marathon-opening frame win, and OUAZ would win the next three sets to secure the victory (25-15, 25-17, 25-17).

Lauren Heuiser (Helena, Mont. / FR) had a good showing, leading both the Saints and all players with 14 kills, while another freshman, Norah Allen (Great Falls, Mont. / FR) would post a team-high 20 assists.

Cristal Carizzoza had an outstanding match for OUAZ. The setter tallied an impressive 40 assists in the win.

Carroll will turn around for another two games tomorrow, starting with host school Saint Katherine at 11 a.m., and finishing with a 5 p.m. tilt with No. 19 Vanguard (Calif.)

Visit www.carrollathletics.com tomorrow for a full recap of those games, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.