(Editor’s Note: Carroll College Press Release)
HELENA – The Carroll College volleyball team had to battle back-and-forth on its way to what would be a decisive 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 home victory over Evergreen State College late Wednesday afternoon at the P.E. Center.
The Saints started the first match with a kill by Aliyah Williams off a set from Rayna Pilgeram, but were never able to burst out to a comfortable lead. Both teams battled back-and-forth until late in the match when Carroll went on a 7-1 run to build a 23-17 lead. Head coach Moe Boyle noted that the Saints’ runs need to come sooner.
“I think we’re still struggling through our lineups and figuring out what we’re doing, so the comfort level isn’t where we want it to be,” Boyle said. “Coming in against a team that we don’t really know a whole lot about is always a bit concerning, so I wasn’t sure how we’d start out. I was glad to see that we started better than we did against Montana State. Moving forward, we’ve got to try and get away from the point-for-point play. We need to get on earlier runs so we can create a bigger gap earlier rather than later.”
Rayna Pilgeram, Morgan Christy and Brielle Bumgarner were key to the Saints’ success Wednesday. Pilgeram had 37 assists for the night, complemented with four kills. Bumgarner led the team with 12 kills, while Christy had a team-high .571 attacking percentage off eight kills and no errors.
“I think our seniors really took charge tonight,” Boyle said. “Rayna ran the court really well and Morgan Christy had a great match. Jenna Starke touched a ton of balls on the block and Brielle Bumgarner just brings that energy that exudes throughout the team. So I was proud of those guys to be able to play in front of the home crowd the way that they did and perform at a high level.”
The Saints travel to Butte on Friday for a weekend tournament starting with a game against College of Idaho.
