Sarah Harris had 10 kills in Lady Yotes win
CALDWELL, Idaho - Whitney Owen established a new school record for digs in a career, as The College of Idaho defeated the University of St. Thomas, 25-12, 25-15, 25-12, in Match 5 of the NAIA Volleyball National Championships Opening Round, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the No. 16 ranked Lady Yotes (23-5) advance to the NAIA Volleyball National Championships Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 29-Dec. 4. It marks the third-straight year that The C of I will compete at the Final Site and the sixth time in program history.
Owen logged 19 digs in the match, as the Cascade Conference Libero of the Year pushed her career total to 1,607 – surpassing the mark of 1,600, set by Kristyn Price, from 1999-02.
The C of I sprinted out of the gates in the opening set, as Sarah Harris notched three kills in a 10-4 run to open the frame. The Lady Celts (24-16), champions of the Association of Independent Institutions, got within 10-6 on a solo block from Evon Welch, but the hosts pulled away, with a pair of combo-blocks closing out the period.
Set 2 saw the Coyotes grab a quick 3-1 lead, but a combo-block by UST’s Welch and Mallory Wendel tied the score at 4-4. The C of I would regroup, scoring nine of the next 11 points to put the set away, as Ciciley Fox slammed six spikes in the period.
The final set saw the Lady Celts grab their first leads of the match at 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 – but the Coyotes used a 7-1 spurt, aided by a pair of Harris kills, to take the lead for good, winning the match on a UST hitting error.
Fox led a potent C of I attack with 11 kills and three blocks, with Harris adding ten kills and three blocks. Liz Myers had five kills and a match-high seven blocks, while Naomi Reimer, seeing front-row action for the first time in three months, had five kills, 14 assists, and 13 digs. Madie Machurek had 18 assists and ten digs in the victory, as the Lady Yotes logged 40 kills and just four attack errors – swinging at a .353 clip.
The Lady Celts, from Houston, Texas, got eight kills and 14 digs from Kinzie Van Voorst and five kills from Lauren Poe. Sarah Curiel-Thompson had 15 assists and nine digs for UST, with libero Brittany Downs recording 13 digs.