Lady Yotes loss to UTB-TSC ended the careers of six seniors
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College rallied from a late deficit in Set 4 to defeat The College of Idaho 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 27-25, in a bracket elimination game at the 2009 NAIA Volleyball National Championships inside the Tyson Events Center.
Leading two sets to one, the No. 9 ranked Scorpions (33-2) trailed by as many as seven points in the deciding set, as The C of I held a 23-19 edge on a Jessie Link kill. However, UTB-TSC ran off six of the next seven points, including three kills from Daimarah Bracero, to earn match point – and after staving off a Coyote kill, spikes by Valquiria Caboclo and Bracero ended the match.
With the victory, UTB-TSC will move on to face top-ranked Fresno Pacific this evening in the national quarterfinals, while the Lady Yotes (26-4) saw their season ended in an elimination game for the second time in four years.
The opening set was a see-saw affair, with the Scorpions jumping out to a 7-3, before the Coyotes used a 5-0 run, keyed by a trio of Kathryn Ely kills, to give The C of I the lead. The Yotes would build the margin to 23-19 on a Marcella Hernandez ace, but UTB-TSC got back-to-back Judith Boel kills and a pair of C of I hitting errors to tie the score. The Scorpions could not complete the comeback, as a hitting error and a bad set gave the Yotes the set win.
The C of I bolted out to a lead in Set 2, pushing the margin to 14-11 on a UTB-TSC hitting error. However, the Scorpions grabbed control of the match, as Erika Chimak had four kills in a 7-2 run that gave the Texas squad the win.
UTB-TSC, coached by Todd Lowery – who won NAIA titles in 2002 and 2006 while at National American, rolled in Set 3, taking advantage of four C of I hitting errors to sprint out to an 8-1 lead. The Yotes would get within16-12 on a Hernandez ace, but three straight aces by Talita Milasauskas in a 5-0 run gave the Scorpions the frame.
Caboclo led UTB-TSC with 15 kills, with Chimak adding 12 kills and eight digs, and Arlene Ferreira spiking home 11 kills with 13 digs. Bracero had nine kills, 42 assists, and 11 digs, with Milasauskas recording nine kills and four blocks.
The Lady Yotes were led by Ely with 11 kills, with Naomi Reimer adding eight kills, 21 assists, and 12 digs. Madie Machurek had 18 assists and ten digs, with Whitney Owen recording 22 digs.
It marked the final match for six C of I seniors – Ely, Hernandez (6 kills, 3 blocks), Link (6 kills), Kristin Henning (9 kills, 4 blocks), Stacie Drumm (7 digs), and Courtney Combe (6 digs), who were making their fourth appearance to the NAIA Tournament in five years. The Yotes equaled their furthest advancement at Nationals, equaling the 2006 squad which lost to Columbia (Mo.) in the bracket play opening round.