Lady Yotes rally to top EOU
Lady Yotes Survive EOU Upset Bid
Mike Safford - SID
CALDWELL, Idaho - Sarah Harris had a career-high 24 kills, as The College of Idaho withstood an outstanding effort from Eastern Oregon, defeating the Mountaineers 19-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11, before over 500 boisterous fans in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The No. 17 ranked Lady Yotes (9-4, 6-1 CCC) were able to keep a pair of long win streaks intact - defeating EOU for the 32nd-straight time, while winning their 49th-straight Cascade Conference home game.
Set 1 saw Eastern (8-5, 4-3) use an 8-1 push early in the frame to take a 10-4 lead, including a pair of kills from Irene Walters. The C of I got within 20-17 on a Harris kill, but back-to-back kills from Walters and Katie Shower, gave EOU the early edge. Set 2 was all C of I, sprinting out to an 11-4 lead and never saw their opponent get closer than three points.
The Mounties never trailed in Set 3, though the Yotes clawed within one point on 12 separate occasions, but could not get over the hump. EOU had a chance to close out the match in Set 4, as a combo-block from Shower and Alisha Crane gave the visitors a 19-15 lead, but the Coyotes responded with an 8-1 push, keyed by a pair of blocks and three Eastern hitting errors, with another block evening the match at 2-2.
In the clincher, the Coyotes took an early 3-0, only to watch EOU even the score at 9-9 on a Kaitlyn Duncan ace. However, kills by Lauren Bourgeau and Harris gave The C of I a lead it wouldn't relinquish, with a Naomi Reimer ace ending the match.
Harris had seven digs and a pair of blocks in her big performance, with Ciciley Fox adding 13 kills and seven digs. Newcomer Danielle Montalbo had a career-high eight kills, with Bourgeau adding nine kills and six blocks. Madie Machurek had 30 assists and 14 digs, while Reimer had 23 assists and seven digs. Whitney Owen led all players with 39 digs - one of four players with double-digit digs.
EOU had a monster night from Walters, who finished with 17 kills and 15 digs, with Showers adding 11 kills and five blocks. Jessica Lea had eight kills 24 assists, and 16 digs, with fellow setter, Emily Sampson logging 19 assists and 12, while Duncan had a Mountie team-high 28 digs.
The Lady Yotes return to action next weekend at Northwest and Evergreen State.