Sarah Harris had 13 kills and five blocks in Lady Yotes win
CALDWELL, Idaho - A monster hitting night by The College of Idaho volleyball team helped the Lady Yotes notch their 50th-straight Cascade Conference home win in a row, a convincing 25-13, 25-16, 28-26 victory over first-place Southern Oregon, in a battle of nationally-ranked teams inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The win for the No. 17 ranked Coyotes (12-4, 9-1 CCC) was their seventh-straight win overall and evens the season-series with the No. 12 ranked Raiders (12-3, 9-1 CCC) – with both teams earning straight-set victories over the other on their home floor. The two teams, who have combined to win the last seven CCC regular-season titles, are now tied atop the loop standings.
The Yotes opened the match with a bang, busting open a close set with a nine-point push, helped by a quartet of kills from Madison Curtis, to build a 16-5 edge. Nathy Neres added four kills in the period for the easy win.
Set 2 was more of the same, as the Lady Yotes sprinted out to a 7-2 lead, extending the lead to 17-6 after six-straight points on the serve of Madie Machurek. SOU would get within 18-10, but a Sarah Harris stuff block of a Megan Bartling attack staved off any rally by the visitors.
The final frame brought the crowd of over 700 fans to their feet, as The C of I took a 16-12 lead on a Harris kill, but the Raiders responded, pulling even at 17-17 on a Coyote hitting error. Southern would take their first lead of the match at 22-21 on a Renee Yomtob ace and serve for the set at 24-23, but a Harris kill tied the score. After both teams’ squandered set points, the Coyotes closed the game with kills from Harris and Lauren Bourgeau, and a combo-block on a Sarah Holgen attack.
The C of I pounded out 54 kills – their highest total in a three-set match since the 2007 season. Harris led the way with 13 kills and five blocks, while Ciciley Fox added ten kills. Neres had a career-high nine kills, with Curtis adding eight. Machurek had 22 assists and eight digs and Naomi Reimer logged 21 assists and seven digs in the victory, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 18 digs.
Liz Madden led Southern, who saw a nine-game win streak snapped, with eight kills and three digs, with Bartling adding six kills and five blocks – as the Raiders, the CCC’s most efficient hitting team, recorded their second-worst hitting night of the season (.089). All-America setter Lindsey Stone led all players with 25 digs, with Stone and Natalie Scheller each recording nine digs for SOU.
The Coyotes return to action tomorrow night, hosting Oregon Tech at 7 p.m.