Lady Yotes Prepare for NAIA Volleyball Finals
LAST WEEK: Opening Round of NAIA Volleyball National Tournament vs. Menlo (W 3-1)
COMING UP: at NAIA Volleyball National Tournament, Sioux City, Iowa – Pool Play vs. No. 6 Georgetown (Ky.), Tuesday (12/2), 11 a.m. (CST); vs. No. 7 Cal Baptist, Wednesday (12/3), 1:45 p.m. (CST); vs. No. 18 Indiana Tech, Thursday (12/4), 11 a.m. (CST); Bracket Play – Friday and Saturday, TBA.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: A total of 24 teams have advanced to the NAIA Volleyball National Tournament Final Site at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa – split up into six pools of four. The top four seeded teams that advance out of Pool Play will receive a bye into the quarterfinal round, while the remaining eight teams (top two teams in each pool) will play a quarterfinal play-in match to reach the quarters. Tickets for the event are $10 per day or $35 for a weeklong pass. For information, contact the Sioux City Visitors Bureau at (712) 279-4800.
TRAVEL INFORMATION: For fans headed to Sioux City, Northwest Airlines flies directly into the host city, while Frontier, United, Northwest, Delta, and U.S. Air all fly into Omaha, Neb., 83 miles south of Sioux City.
LIVE STATS: Currently, no live stats will be available from the tournament. However, as soon as games are completed, box scores will be posted on the NAIA website at http://naia.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/100608aad.html.
LIVE VIDEO: Live Video is not available for Pool Play games, however, if the Yotes advance to the quarterfinals, all matches will be carried online through WatchNAIA.com. Matches can be purchased online at http://www.watchnaia.com//liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?db_oem_id=5901.
SURVEYING THE POOLS: Of the 12 teams that advanced Saturday through Opening Round sites, all 12 top seeds moved on to the Final Site. With seven teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference – all but one pool (Pool D) has a GSAC team. Rival Lewis-Clark State finds themselves in Pool B – with Biola, Madonna, and Lubbock Christian.
HISTORY AT NATIONALS: For the Lady Yotes, it marks the fourth time in program history that they have advanced to Nationals – joining the 2000, 2005, and 2006 squads, with a current 6-7 all-time mark (including Saturday’s win over Menlo). In 2000, the Yotes went 1-3 in Pool Play and did not advance, in 2005, the Yotes went 2-2 in Pool Play and did not advance. Their last trip, in 2006, saw the Coyotes go 2-1 in Pool Play, advancing into a quarterfinal play-in game, where they lost in three sets to Columbia (Mo.).
ABOUT GEORGETOWN: The Tigers (33-6) have had a quality year – including wins over tourney teams Azusa Pacific and Columbia (Mo.). GT, the Mid-South Conference champs, are led by Erica Janszen (3.40 k/s, 2.59 d/s), Kristy Hock (2.11 k/s, 0.80 b/s), Jessy Hoeh (2.33 k/s, 3.53 d/s), and Jenna Gronotte (10.63 a/s). The two teams met at the 2005 NAIA Tournament, with the Yotes winning in five sets.
ABOUT CAL BAPTIST: The Lancers (24-8) look to advance to the Final Four for the fourth straight season – having won the NAIA title in 2004 and 2005, while finishing as the national runner-up last year. CBU is led by all everything hitters Shi Fei (4.25 k/s, 2.45 d/g) and Noelle Dyk (3.17 k/s, 2.18 d/s), with libero Katrina Clark (4.21 d/s, 56 aces) among the best in the tournament. It is the third meeting between the teams, with CBU defeating the Yotes at the 2006 NAIA Tournament, with the Yotes topping the Lancers at the 2001 Seaside Invitational in California.
ABOUT INDIANA TECH: The Warriors (32-3) opened the season with 24 straight wins – with two of their losses to Madonna, who topped the Yotes in five sets in early September. IIT had four players named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference team – Ashtyn Homerichhouse (3.01 k/s, 1.57 d/s), Laura Booker (10.54 a/s, 1.96 d/s, 69 aces), Erika Stouder (2.36 k/s, 0.93 b/s, .365%), and Ashley Hamilton (3.23 k/s, 2.82 d/s).
YOTES FINISH RANKED FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR: The Lady Yotes find themselves ranked in the NAIA Top-25 for the fourth-straight week, climbing two spots to No. 19 in the final poll of the season. It marks the 33rd 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 four polls. It also marks the 44th-straight week that the Coyotes have received votes in the national poll and the fourth straight season that the squad has finished the year in the Top-25. Other C of I opponents were in the ranking – No. 3 Concordia-Irvine, No. 6 Georgetown, No. 7 Cal Baptist, No. 11 Madonna, No. 13 Point Loma Nazarene, No. 14 Lewis-Clark State, No. 18 Indiana Tech, with Southern Oregon, Menlo, and Oregon Tech receiving votes.
AGAINST TOP-25 TEAMS: 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.
CCC HOME WIN STREAK AT 35: With wins in their final two league matches, 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. Overall, the Lady Yotes have won 49 of their last 50 home matches, dating back to the 2005 season.
20-WIN SEASONS: The Lady Yotes have recorded four-consecutive 20-win seasons and can secure their fourth-straight 25-win season with one victory at the NAIA Tournament Final Site.
CAREER RECORD BOOK: Five C of I players currently rank among the Top-10 in the all-time career record book. Leading the way is Kathryn Ely (La Grande, Ore. / La Grande HS), who is fifth in school history with 1,199 kills. Also Kristin Henning (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) ranks No. 5 all-time in blocks with 370, Madie Machurek (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) is sixth in assists with 1,208, Naomi Reimer (Killarney, Man. / Killarney SS) is eighth in assists with 954, and Sarah Buhler (Middleton, Idaho / Middleton HS) is now No. 10 in blocks (225).
RECAP – C OF I 3, MENLO 1: Naomi Reimer recorded her second triple-double of the season, helping The C of I defeat Menlo College, 25-22, 28-26, 26-28, 25-12, in an NAIA National Tournament Opening Round match Saturday inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. With the win, the No. 19 ranked Lady Yotes advance to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, Dec. 2-6. Set 1 saw the Coyotes get a pair of Sarah Buhler kills in a 6-1 run early in the frame to erase a 5-4 Oaks (20-9) lead - a margin that would reach 22-14 on a Marcella Hernandez (Torrance, Calif. / El Camino CC) kill, before Menlo made it close. Set 2 saw the Yotes jump out to a 6-2 lead, but the Oaks responded with a 6-1 push of their own, helped by four C of I hitting errors, to lead 10-8. The teams would pull even six times, before the Oaks grab a 24-22 lead on a Sarah Poole kill. The C of I would not quit, taking advantage of a pair of Menlo errors and a Hernandez kill to take a 25-24 lead. The Oaks would stave off two set points, before a Kristin Henning kill ended the frame. The third set saw Menlo jump out to a 15-11 lead, before the Yotes rallied again, tying the match at 24-24, 25-25, and 26-26, before back-to-back Poole kills gave the California Pacific Conference champions the set. The finale was all C of I, getting three Jessie Link (Tonopah, Nev. / Nicholls State U.) kills in a 9-0 run to build a 10-2 lead - as the Yotes hit .520 as a team in the clincher. Reimer had 11 kills, 33 assists, and 12 digs in the win, with Henning recording 14 kills and five blocks. Link and Buhler each had 13 kills, with Whitney Owen (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) recording 21 digs.
ABOUT THE COACH: Liz Mendiola is in her eighth season as head volleyball coach at The C of I. During her first six seasons at the helm, the Coyotes have advanced to seven consecutive Cascade Conference tournaments, four NAIA regional tournaments, three trips to the NAIA National Tournament. Last season, the squad won their second-straight CCC title and advanced to the NAIA Region I Tournament semifinals - while being ranked as high as No. 6 in the national poll. During her career, she has amassed a record of 183-71, the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history and has been named CCC Coach of the Year in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008.