It's the 'Rivalry Round' for CCC Volleyball Semis
CALDWELL, Idaho – Call it the “rivalry round” when the four semifinalists meet here on Friday for the right to play in Saturday’s title game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Volleyball Championships at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The eventual champion secures the league’s automatic bid to the NAIA Volleyball Championships, which get underway at campus sites Nov. 22, but the CCC’s four finalists first must get by their long-time league rivals on Friday.
At 4 p.m., second-seeded Southern Oregon University will take on third-seeded Oregon Tech. The Raiders swept the two-match season series, handing the Owls two of their four league losses. SOU won 3-0 in Klamath Falls in late September and posted a 3-2 win in Ashland on Oct. 28.
At 7 p.m., top seed and host College of Idaho, ranked 21st nationally, takes on fourth-seeded Eastern Oregon, a league rival situated about 150 miles to the northwest. The homestanding Yotes have won 28 straight vs. the Mountaineers, including a pair of victories this season.
The semifinal winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. for the championship.
TOURNAMENT NOTES (courtesy of C of I SID Mike Safford)
YOTES HOST CCC TOURNAMENT: By virtue of winning the regular season Cascade Collegiate Conference championship, The College of Idaho volleyball team has earned the host berth for the 2008 CCC Tournament, Friday and Saturday in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. It marks the second time that the Lady Yotes have hosted the tournament, The C of I hosted the CCC Tournament at the conclusion of the 2006 season.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: There will be one session per day at the tourney, with ticket prices set at $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors, and $2.00 for children 17-and-under and students from affiliated schools. Only NAIA passes will be accepted. Both The C of I and Southern Oregon received quarterfinal byes in the tournament, with third-seeded Oregon Tech advancing to the semis with a three-set win over Corban, and fourth-seeded Eastern Oregon advancing with a five-set win over Concordia.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: For the first time, the winner of the CCC Tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA Championships. In previous years, CCC teams had to advance to Nationals through the NAIA Region I – which was eliminated this year as the NAIA moved to conference-direct qualification. A total of 36 teams will advance to the National Tournament, with 28 teams receiving a bid through their affiliated conference, seven teams receiving an at-large berth based on the final national poll, and one host berth. The Top-12 ranked teams will automatically move to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, while the remaining 24 teams will play a first-round match at various campus sites on Nov. 22 to determine the remaining 12 spots to Sioux City.
PAST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: The Lady Yotes have won the last two CCC Tournaments (the event was not held in 2007), winning the tourney at Southern Oregon in 2005, and winning the tourney in Caldwell in 2006. Southern Oregon claimed the titles in 2003 and 2004, with Concordia dominating the league from 1999-02. Outside of the Lady Yotes victory in 2005, the tournament host has won the event every year since 1999.
ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Lady Yotes find themselves ranked in the NAIA Top-25 for the third-straight week, remaining at No. 21 in this week’s tabulation. It marks the 32th time in school history that the Yotes have been nationally ranked – once in 2000, two times in 2001, every poll from Nov. 16, 2005 to Aug. 19, 2008, along with the last three polls. It also marks the 43rd-straight week that the Coyotes have received votes in the national poll. Other C of I opponents were in the ranking – No. 3 Concordia-Irvine, No. 11 Madonna, No. 13 Lewis-Clark State, No. 14 Point Loma Nazarene, with Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech receiving votes. The final Top-25 poll will be released this Sunday. The Lady Yotes have played nine matches this season against teams ranked in the Top-25 and have a 4-5 mark. The Yotes have defeated Eastern Oregon in four sets, along with Southern Oregon, Oregon Tech, and Westminster in three sets - but have lost matches to SOU and Concordia-Irvine in four sets, while losing to Point Loma Nazarene, Madonna, and Lewis-Clark State in five sets. Since the 2005 season, the Lady Yotes have won 15 matches against teams ranked in the NAIA Top-25. With wins over Northwest and Evergreen State on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the Lady Yotes ran their conference home win streak to 35 matches, dating back to September of 2005. The C of I has recorded an undefeated CCC mark at home each of the last three seasons – going 9-0 in league play in 2006, and 10-0 in CCC play each of the last two years.
ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: The Mountaineers (20-9) are having their best season in recent memory – riding a 10-2 mark at home to a fourth-place finish in CCC play. Eastern has a quality front line, paced by All-CCC candidate Grace Deboodt (3.5 k/s, 2.4 d/s) and Melanie Cecilani (2.5 k/s, 0.5 b/s), while libero Sareena Simpson (4.5 d/s, 41 aces) is among the league leaders in digs and aces. EOU will have to get a big monkey off their back to reach the title game – the Mountaineers have dropped 28-straight matches to The C of I, dating back to 1996 and trail the all-time series 57-20.
ABOUT SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (19-9) look to return to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since the 2004 season and have spent time this season in the NAIA Top-25. SOU is led by a pair of All-Americans – 2007 CCC Player of the Year Lindsey Stone (10.8 a/s, 34 aces), who leads the league in assists, and three-time All-CCC middle Mia Wortel (2.9 k/s, 1.0 b/s), who is hitting at a .391 clip this season. Southern has won six matches in a row coming in and 16 of their last 17 overall – and lead the all-time series with the Coyotes 53-16.
ABOUT OREGON TECH: The Owls (22-9) have had a banner 2008 season and look to make their first-ever trip to the NAIA Championships. OIT is led by the CCC’s leading hitter in Krista Wooley (3.9 k/s, 2.9 d/s), along with Megan Christiansen (2.9 k/s, 0.9 b/s), and Nicole Andrews (2.2 k/s). Setter Lizzie Law (9.5 a/g) is among the league leaders in assists, while libero Krystie Vea (3.6 d/s) has a tough left-handed serve. The Yotes and Owls have met 49 previous times, with The C of I holding a 31-18 series edge.
TEAMS AGAINST EACH OTHER: Each of the four teams has had varying success against the other foes, with the Lady Yotes the lone team to defeat all three (going 2-0 vs. EOU, and 1-1 vs. both OIT and SOU). Southern Oregon has swept OIT, split with the Yotes, but lost both to Eastern, while Tech has swept EOU, split with the Yotes, but lost both to SOU. EOU has swept Southern, but been swept by both OIT and C of I.