Lady Yotes finish season 25-7
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Ingrid Carmona recorded a match-high 22 kills, as Cal Baptist used tough serving to eliminate The College of Idaho 25-16, 25-20, 25-15, in a first-round single-elimination bracket match-up this morning at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, presented by Siouxland Sports Medicine Foundation, inside the Tyson Events Center.
With the win, the fifth-ranked Lancers (33-5) move on to face fourth-ranked Columbia (Mo.) tonight in the national quarterfinals, while the Lady Yotes season ends with a ninth-place finish for the third time in five years.
The opening set saw five ties through the first half of the frame, with CBU clinging to a 15-14 lead, when Bree Rauschenbach logged a kill, then notched the first of her five service aces, and got a Carmona spike to push the margin to 18-14. The Lancers closed the set out by forcing three-straight hitting errors by the Coyotes (25-7).
Set 2 was a see-saw battle, featuring 14 ties, the final deadlock at 17-17 after a kill from the Yotes Sarah Harris. However, Carmona recorded back-to-back kills to start a four-point push, with a Rauschenbach ace ending the set.
Carmona gave CBU a quick 6-1 lead in Set 3 with three kills, but The C of I battled back, using a 6-1 run of their own, capped by a Liz Myers solo block, to take a 9-8 lead. It was short-lived, as three-straight Rauschenbach aces started a 12-2 run by the Lancers to put the match out of reach.
Jessica Kalama had seven kills and 13 digs in the win for CBU, with Linjun Ji, Jelena Dragovic, and Rauschenbach each adding six kills. Nevena Dragovic led the Lancers with 38 assists.
The Lady Yotes were led by nine kills and four blocks from Harris – one of five seniors playing their final game for The C of I. Naomi Reimer closed her career with six kills, 13 assists, and six digs, Madie Machurek had 13 assists, Whitney Owen recorded 13 digs, and Lauren Bourgeau had one kill and two blocks. Junior Ciciley Fox had eight kills for the Coyotes – who were victimized by eleven CBU aces, equaling the most the squad had allowed all season.
The C of I closes the season with 25 wins – the sixth-straight season that the squad had posted 24-or-more wins.