Lady Yotes won their 44th-straight CCC home match on Senior Night
CALDWELL, Idaho - Four College of Idaho senior hitters combined for 33 kills and 14 blocks, as the Lady Yotes clinched a share of their fourth-consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season championship with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-14 victory over Warner Pacific inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the No. 8 ranked Lady Yotes (22-2, 17-1 CCC) earned the right to host the 2009 CCC Tournament, beginning Friday afternoon. The C of I shares the league crown with Southern Oregon, but won the fourth tie-break between the teams - highest sets won percentage in CCC play.
Set 1 saw the Yotes jump out to a 10-2 lead on the strength of three Kristin Henning kills. The Knights (11-13, 7-11) would battle back, closing within 17-14 on a Claire Van Meer spike, but The C of I got back-to-back Ciciley Fox kills to put the period away.
The middle frame saw the Lady Yotes break a 6-6 stalemate with a seven-point push and were never threatened, as senior Marcella Hernandez had four kills and three blocks in the set. The Coyotes led 12-9 in the finale, before a 12-3 run put the match away.
The senior Henning led all players with 12 kills and three blocks, while Hernandez added eight kills and six blocks. Seniors Kathryn Ely (seven kills) and Jessie Link (six kills, three blocks), along with Stacie Drumm (12 digs) and Courtney Combe (two kills) played their final home regular-season match. Madie Machurek had 21 assists and eight digs, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 19 digs.
WP was paced by six kills each from Samantha Kolakowski and Megan Marineau, with setter Whitney Valenta recording a team-high ten assists and 11 digs.
Next weekend's tournament will open with No. 2 seeded Southern Oregon meeting No. 3 seeded Eastern Oregon at 4 p.m., followed by the Lady Yotes against No. 4 seeded Concordia at 7 p.m. The winners will meet Saturday at 3 p.m. to determine the league's automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament.