Whitney Brigham tied a school record with 41 digs in win over EOU
CALDWELL, Idaho - Whitney Brigham tied a school record with 41 digs, as The College of Idaho used a gutsy performance to turn away upset-minded Eastern Oregon in five emotional sets, 26-28, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The win for the sixth-ranked Lady Yotes (19-1, 14-0 CCC) puts The C of I in the drivers’ seat in the race for the Cascade Conference title – holding a two-match lead over both Eastern and Southern Oregon with four matches to play. It was the Yotes 35th-straight win over EOU, their 39th-straight home win, and their 60th-straight home CCC victory. It was C of I's 16th-straight win overall.
Trailing two sets to one and locked in a 19-19 tie in Set 4, an Alisha Crane hitting error gave the Yotes the lead. However, on the play, C of I middle blocker Madison Curtis sustained a lower leg injury – causing a 20-minute delay in the action. The Coyotes regrouped, getting a pair of Kylee Nawahine spikes, part of a 5-1 push, to force a decisive final set.
It was all C of I in Set 5, as a combo block and a pair of Dani Montalbo kills helped the Yotes to a quick 4-0 lead. The Mountaineers (14-9, 12-2) would get within 7-5 on a Rebecca Haight kill, but the hosts would not fold, getting a pair of Torrey Hulsey kills late in the frame, and a Ciciley Fox spike down the line to close out the match.
The see-saw match started from the get-go, as the Yotes squandered a trio of set points in the opening period, as kills by Haight and Taylor Stewart broke a 26-26 tie, giving EOU the early lead. The Yotes used an 8-0 push early in Set 2, including three blocks from Hulsey, to grab a 10-4 lead – an advantage they would not relinquish.
The Coyotes took a 7-3 lead in Set 3, only to watch Eastern use a 7-1 surge, capped by a Lilia Najera kill, to take a 10-8 edge. The C of I would battle back, getting a trio of kills by Curtis and two Fox blasts to lead 20-17, but EOU turned up the defense – forcing the Yotes into four-straight hitting errors to take the lead, closing the set on a Stewart kill.
Nawahine led the Yotes with 21 kills and a season-high 18 digs, while Hulsey recorded 17 kills and seven blocks. Fox had 13 kills, Montalbo recorded 10 kills, and Liz Myers added nine – as The C of I logged 75 kills on the night. Setter Kelsey Soos recorded her third double-double of the year, recording 63 assists and 10 digs, while Brigham tied her own school-record for digs in a match, equaling the mark she established against Lewis-Clark State in the 2009 NAIA National Tournament.
Haight had a monster night for EOU, recording 21 kills and 25 digs, with Stewart adding 12 kills and 11 digs. Jessica Lea added a third double-double with 28 assists and 17 digs, with libero Kaitlyn Duncan registering 20 digs in the losing cause.
The C of I closes out the home regular-season schedule next weekend, hosting Concordia on Friday and Warner Pacific on Saturday. Friday is the annual “Dig for the Cure” night – as the Yotes ask fans to wear pink as the squad looks to raise awareness for breast cancer research.