College of Idaho captured the CCC regular season and tournament titles, and claimed an automatic berth in the upcoming NAIA Championships. (Photo by Jon Nishioka)
Lady Yotes Win 3rd Straight CCC Tourney Title
Box Score
CALDWELL, Idaho - Megan Spinks had a match-high ten kills and The College of Idaho recorded just seven hitting errors in the contest, as the Lady Yotes won their third-straight Cascade Conference Tournament championship with a convincing 25-20, 25-17, 25-10 victory over Southern Oregon in a raucous J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the No. 21 ranked Lady Yotes (23-7) advance to the NAIA National Championships for the third time in the last four years and extend their overall win streak to 12 matches.
Set 1 saw the Coyotes and Raiders (20-10) trade side outs - with neither team taking a lead bigger than four, with a Leah Bergstrom kill drawing SOU within 19-18. However, a Spinks spike started a four-point push, helped by a trio of Southern errors, to pull away for the win.
The middle set saw the Raiders jump out quickly to a 6-2 lead, but the Yotes would battle back, taking their first lead at 11-10 on a Marcella Hernandez ace. The teams would draw even on six occasions, until The C of I took the lead for good at 17-16 on a Jessie Link kill - with the hosts scoring the last seven points of the period.
Set 3 was a runaway, as the Yotes forced SOU into nine attack errors. A Sarah Holgen kill pulled the Raiders within 7-6, but The C of I went on a 12-1 run to take control, with a Southern hitting error ending the match.
Hernandez had six kills and five blocks in the win, Kristin Henning added six kills and three blocks, with Madie Machurek recording 13 assists and seven digs.
Southern was led by Leah Bergstrom with seven kills, with setter Lindsey Stone recording a match-high 24 assists. All-America middle Mia Wortel was limited to just two kills on five swings by the Lady Yote defense, who recorded eight team blocks.
The draw for the NAIA Championships will be revealed late tomorrow afternoon, with opening round games to be played at campus sites. If the Lady Yotes were to host a match, it would be Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Information will be posted on www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/vball.htm as soon it is released by the NAIA.