The 2011 Cascade Collegiate Conference Volleyball Championships will take place Friday and Saturday, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO: All CCC Tournament matches will have Live Stats and Live Video available for those not in attendance. Live Stats can be accessed online at http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/livestats/xlive.htm, while the Live Video Broadcast can be accessed online at http://www.uppersports.com/broadcast_iframe/4415.
YOTES HOST CCC TOURNAMENT: By virtue of winning the regular season Cascade Conference championship, The College of Idaho volleyball team has earned the host berth for the 2011 CCC Tournament, Friday and Saturday in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. It marks the fourthtime that the Lady Yotes have hosted the tournament, The C of I hosted the CCC Tournament at the conclusion of the 2006, 2008 and 2009 seasons.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: There will be one session per day at the tourney, with ticket prices set at $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors, and children ages 5-17. Only NAIA passes will be accepted. The semifinal winners from Friday will meet for the championship on Saturday afternoon and the league’s lone automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: For the fourth-straight year, the winner of the CCC Tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA Championships. A total of 36 teams will advance to the National Tournament, with 26 teams receiving a bid through their affiliated conference, nine teams receiving an at-large berth based on the final national poll, and one host berth. The Top-11 seeded teams (plus the host institution) will automatically move to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, while the remaining 24 teams will play an Opening Round match at various campus sites on Nov. 19 to determine the remaining 12 spots to Sioux City. The nine at-large berths will be allotted to teams not securing their conference’s automatic berth, selected in descending order by the NAIA Top-25 Poll released on Nov. 13.
QUALIFIERS ANNOUNCED: The 36 teams to advance to the NAIA National Championships will be released on Sunday morning, with the 12 teams advancing to the Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, and the 12 Opening Round pairings to be released on Sunday afternoon.
PAST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: The C of I has won the last four of the past five CCC Tournaments (the event was not held in 2007), winning the tourney at Southern Oregon in 2005, and winning the tourney in Caldwell in 2006, 2008, and 2009. SOU claimed the titles in 2003, 2004, and won the crown last season – all at home, with Concordia dominating the league from 1999-02. Outside of the Lady Yotes victory in 2005, the tournament host has won the event every year since 1999. The C of I and Southern have played for the league crown each of the past five seasons.
ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Lady Yotes (22-2) secured their sixth-straight CCC title this season, thanks to a potent offensive attack and a stellar defense. The C of I, which had an 18-match win streak halted on Friday at Southern Oregon, have lost two matches this season – both in five sets against Top-15 teams, both with final set scores of 19-17. Kelsey Soos (11.28 a/s, 1.68 d/s) ranks second in the NAIA in assists per set, directing a multi-faceted attack, including outsides Ciciley Fox (3.08 k/s, 0.33 b/s) and Dani Montalbo (2.73 k/s, 0.52 b/s), opposite hitter Kylee Nawahine (3.08 k/s, 1.99 d/s, 0.62 b/s), and blockers Torrey Hulsey (2.80 k/s, 1.12 b/s) and Liz Myers (2.06 k/s, 0.71 b/s). Libero Whitney Brigham (6.22 d/s) ranks second in CCC history in career digs (2,154). The C of I takes a 41-match home win streak into the tournament and will take a 61-match CCC home win streak into 2012.
ABOUT SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (19-4) are the hottest team in the loop heading into the tournament, winning 13-straight matches, including five-set home wins last weekend against C of I and Eastern Oregon. Southern, which advanced to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site last season, is paced by the league’s top hitter in Sarah Holgen (4.45 k/s, 2.86 d/s) – who ranks third in the NAIA in kills per set. Josh Rohlfing’s bunch will look to outside hitter Natalie Scheller (2.33 k/s, 1.32 d/s) and blockers Megan Bartling (2.48 k/s, 1.15 b/s) and Haley Fikso (1.65 k/s, 0.59 b/s) to compliment Holgen, who has taken nearly 30-percent of SOU’s swings. The Raiders use a 6-2 offensive attack, led by setters Caryn Westrick (6.32 a/s, 1.73 d/s) and Angela Spieker (4.79 a/s), along with libero Becky Johnstone (4.31 d/s).
ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: The Mountaineers (17-10) are having one of their best seasons in program history – dedicating the year to their former coach, Hailey Pearce, who was tragically killed in a car accident this summer. After a 0-6 start to the year, EOU rattled off 17 wins in their next 21 matches – with their lone loop losses to nationally-ranked C of I and SOU. Two-way player Jessica Lea (2.69 k/s, 5.42 a/s, 2.65 d/s, 0.68 b/s) is the leader of the Mounties, joined in the front row by hitters Rebecca Haight (3.16 k/s, 3.24 d/s) and Stefani Sorensen (2.75 k/s, 1.23 d/s), and blockers Katie Showers (1.77 k/s, 0.83 b/s) and Alisha Crane (1.95 k/s, 0.95 b/s). Front-row setter Emily Samson (5.69 a/s, 2.18 d/s, 34 aces) and libero Kaitlyn Duncan (4.76 d/s, 27 aces) are very good defensively.
ABOUT NORTHWEST: The Eagles (12-11) return to the postseason in 2011, winning a tie-break with Concordia for the final spot in the tournament (percentage of sets won in CCC play). NU, which advanced to the NAIA Region I Championship match in 2005, is very good defensively, leading the CCC in blocks per set (2.25) and digs per set (18.39). Setter Lauryn Ernster (9.39 a/s, 2.92 d/s) leads the Eagles attack, looking on the outside to Breanna Covey (2.98 k/s, 0.47 b/s) and Molly Boyce (2.52 k/s, 0.73 b/s), while blocker Sarah Stoker (2.12 k/s, 1.28 b/s) leads in the CCC in blocks per set. Libero Heather Shulke (6.27 d/s) leads the CCC in digs per set – including a league-record 48 digs in a five-set loss on Saturday at Northwest Christian.