Madie Machurek had a match-high 20 assists in the Yotes win
NAMPA, Idaho - The College of Idaho forced rival Northwest Nazarene into 27 hitting errors, as the NAIA Coyotes routed the NCAA Division II Crusaders, 25-7, 25-12, 25-23, at the Johnson Sports Center.
The Lady Yotes (8-4), ranked No. 17 in the NAIA Top-25 poll, used a pair of 10-0 spurts in the opening set to notch their most lopsided single-set victory over their Canyon County rival since rally scoring began in 2001 - extending their win streak in the series to eight matches. The C of I jumped to a lead of 14-3 in the frame, then scored the final ten points of the set.
In the middle set, the Coyotes never trailed, using a 6-1 push early in the frame, keyed by back-to-back Nathy Neres kills, to jump out to a 13-6 lead and never looked back.
NNU (3-8) showed some life in Set 3, taking their first lead of the match at 12-11 on a Jordyn Glorfield solo block, extending the margin to 20-16 on a Reisa Fessler kill. However, the Yotes responded with a 7-1 run, helped by a pair of Sarah Harris kills and three Crusader hitting errors, to retake the lead, with a Ciciley Fox blast ending the match.
Fox led all players with nine kills and three blocks, with Harris and Madison Curtis each logging six kills in the victory. Madie Machurek had 20 assists for the Lady Yotes, Naomi Reimer had 12 assists and seven digs, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 19 digs.
Fessler led the Crusaders with six kills – as the NNU side struggled to a (-.106) hitting percentage. Leticia Lehman had nine assists and four digs, while Haley Hevern had 16 digs in the loss.
The Lady Yotes return to action on Friday, meeting Eastern Oregon at 7 p.m.