Northwest Drops Match to #6 Yotes in Four
KIRKLAND, Wash. - No. 6 College of Idaho came back from a one set deficit to defeat Northwest University in 4 sets, 3-1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-18, 25-19), to win their 15th match in a row and 13th conference win without a loss.
Northwest U. (9-8, 7-5 CCC) came out ready to play in the first set and held a 12-8 lead after an Arika Zwack kill. The Eagles would increase their lead to 18-12 lead after a kill by Molly Boyle, but C of I would battle back to within three points, 21-18, before a kill by Sarah Stoker and an error by C of I would make it 23-18, Northwest. With the Yotes trimming NU’s lead to 23-21, a kill by Stoker and an attack miscue by C of I would give the set to NU.
The second set was a battle all the way with 14 ties as neither team could gain the upper hand until a Madison Curtis kill and a Northwest attack error would give the College of Idaho the set after being tied for the final time at 25-all.
C of I and Northwest would go back and forth in the third set as well, but with the set tied at 10-10, C of I would begin to put some distance between themselves and the Eagles with an 8-0 run capped off by two kills by Kylee Nawahine, to make it 18-10, Yotes. C of I would maintain that distance the remainder of the way and close the set out with a kill by Madison Curtis.
The final set would see the College of Idaho pull out to an early 16-8 lead and then maintain a five point lead until Northwest would pull to within three at 18-15, but the Yotes would outscore NU 4-1 to build their lead back up to six, 22-16, as Torrey Hulsey would close out the set and the match with her kill.
Molly Boyle led Northwest with 12 kills, hitting .364 for the night. Lauryn Ernster had a team high 40 assists while Heather Shulke had the team high in digs with 20. Breanna Covey added 11 kills for the Eagles.
Three College of Idaho players combined for 43 kills as they would win their 18th match of the year against one defeat (18-1, 13-0 CCC). Danielle Montalbo and Kylee Nawahine each had 13 kills for the Yotes while Torrey Hulsey had a match high 17 kills while hitting .467 for the match. Kelsey Soos had a match high 55 assists and teammate Whitney Owen had a match high 22 digs.
Said Jessie Dietrich, Eagle head coach, "We came out again with a lot of intensity, but we couldn't hold on to it to pull off the match"
The Eagles will now be on the road next weekend as they head to Portland to take on Warner Pacific and Concordia. Both matches are scheduled for 7 pm starts.