Kylee Nawahine had 12 kills and 12 digs in Lady Yotes loss to top-ranked Concordia
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Brooke Marino and Maddy Ekis combined for 37 kills, leading top-ranked Concordia-Irvine to a four-set victory over upset-minded College of Idaho, 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, on the final day of Pool Play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, presented by CNOS Foundation, at the Tyson Events Center.
The Eagles (35-1) extended their win streak to 34 matches in a row with the victory and claimed the Pool A crown, while the No. 12 ranked Lady Yotes will move into Bracket Play needing four victories for their first national title.
CUI will be bracketed through to tomorrow evening’s national quarterfinals, while the Lady Yotes (26-4) will play a first-round match at either 10 a.m. (CT) or 12:30 p.m. (CT) Pairings will be unveiled tonight following the conclusion of Pool Play action – around 11 p.m. (CT)
Marino dominated play early for CUI, rocketing seven kills in the opening set. The Coyotes (26-4) kept the score close, thanks to 11 Eagle errors, cutting the margin to 14-11 on a service error. But three quick Marino kills started a 9-2 surge that pushed the margin to 23-13. The C of I staved off five set points, including a pair of Bryanne Gribble aces, before a Fei Gao kill ended the period.
Concordia jumped out to a 12-4 lead in Set 2, as Ekis had four kills in the rally, before the Yotes responded with a four-point push, capped by a Torrey Hulsey/Kylee Nawahine combo block. However, it was as close as The C of I would get, as four Marino kills helped CUI open the lead to 18-10 and were never threatened.
The Eagles started quickly in Set 3, getting a pair of aces and an Ekis kill to lead 5-1 – but a Hulsey stuff block evened the score at 8-8. CUI would push the lead to 13-10 on a Gao kills, but a Nawahine kill punctuated a three-point Coyote rally to tie the score at 13-13. Trailing 17-15, the Yotes would take their first lead of the match on a Nawahine kill at 18-17 and never trail again, closing the frame on a 10-4 surge. The Yotes hit a blistering .464 percent in the period.
Set 4 was back-and-forth early – as the Yotes grabbed a 7-4 lead on a Dani Montalbo kill, but CUI rallied to tie the set at 12-12, one of nine ties in the frame. A block by Gao and Brianna Hughes started a 4-0 Eagles run that gave the Golden State Athletic Conference champs the lead for good. The C of I cut the margin to 20-18 on a Liz Myers/Ciciley Fox block, but could not get closer.
Ekis led CUI with 19 kills, with Marino, the GSAC Player of the Year, adding 18 kills and 10 digs. Gao recorded nine kills and five blocks, with setter Liz Younglove recording a team-high 26 assists.
Nawahine recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 12 kills and 12 digs, with Fox notching eight kills and 11 digs. Myers had seven kills and five blocks, Montalbo added seven kills, Kelsey Soos led all players with 31 assists and eight digs, with Whitney Brigham registering a match-high 19 digs.