Ciciley Fox led the Yotes with 24 kills in win over Indiana Wesleyan
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Ciciley Fox slammed a career-high 24 kills, leading The College of Idaho to a come-from-behind 26-28, 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12 victory over Indiana Wesleyan on the first day of Pool Play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, presented by CNOS Foundation, inside the Tyson Events Center.
The No. 12 ranked Lady Yotes (25-3) join No. 1 ranked Concordia-Irvine with 1-0 records atop Pool A at the conclusion of Day 1.
It wasn’t easy, as The C of I fought from a two-sets-to-one deficit, as the No. 13 ranked Wildcats (35-5), the champions of the Mid-Central College Conference scored the final six points of Set 3 to take control of the match.
Fox hammered four kills and Torrey Hulsey had two aces in an eight-point push midway through Set 4 to take a 17-10. Leading 19-12, IWU got back-to-back Alijah Mulitauopele kills and three Coyote hitting errors to pull even at 21-21. Fox broke a 22-22 tie with a kill, with a Wildcat error pushing the frame to set point, with a Fox kill sending the match to a winner-take-all finale.
The Yotes got a pair of Liz Myers kills in a 5-0 run to take a 8-4 lead in the deciding frame, pushing the margin to 12-7 on a Hulsey kill. IWU would not fold, as a Peyton Thompson kill off a long rally and two Lauryn Barfell aces pulled the Wildcats within 12-10. The C of I responded with back-to-back Dani Montalbo kills, with Hulsey slamming down the match winner, as the Yotes improved to 4-2 in five set matches.
The opening set featured 14 ties, with the Yotes biggest lead coming at 4-2 and IWU’s at 11-8. Tied at 15-15, the two teams would exchange side-outs to 26-26 – with The C of I holding one set point at 24-23, but a Thompson kill tied the period, and a Rae Brandes block gave IWU the set win.
Set 2 saw the Yotes break a 7-7 tie with a 12-5 run, fueled by five Fox kills. However, two Thompson spikes and three C of I hitting errors got the Wildcats deadlocked at 20-20, before kills from Montalbo, Hulsey, and Fox, and a Myers stuff block, evened the match at 1-1.
Fox broke her career-high of 20 kills set against Northwest last season and this year vs. Southern Oregon. Montalbo added 16 kills, Myers had 12 kills and a team-high seven blocks, and Hulsey notched 12 kills. Kelsey Soos had 60 assists and 16 digs – her seventh double-double of the year, with Whitney Brigham logging 34 digs, her 14th-career 30-or-more dig match. Kylee Nawahine ha d a season-high 22 digs, with Janel Porter recording 18 digs.
Brandes led IWU with 15 kills, 9 digs, and five blocks, with Barfell recording 12 kills, six blocks, and match-high five aces. Setter Yui Iwase had 53 assists and 13 digs, with libero Kelsey Masuda recording 28 digs – as the Wildcats saw their 17-match win streak snapped.
The Lady Yotes return to action tomorrow, meeting Kansas Wesleyan at 3:15 p.m. (CT)