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Win Sends Lady Yotes to NAIA Quarterfinals

Win Sends Lady Yotes to NAIA Quarterfinals

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Torrey Hulsey recorded a career-high 24 kills, including seven kills in a decisive fifth set, as The College of Idaho defeated No. 6 ranked Rocky Mountain 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12 at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, presented by CNOS Foundation, inside the Tyson Events Center.

With the win, the Lady Yotes (27-4) advance to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history, meeting No. 4 ranked Columbia (Mo.) later today at 4:45 p.m. (MT). The Yotes have met Columbia twice – both in 2006, losing a four-set match at the Best of the Best Challenge in Indiana and a three-set decision at the NAIA Championships.

After the Bears (30-5), the Frontier Conference regular-season and tournament champions, rallied to win Set 4, the two Northwest squads locked in a slugfest in the finale. Hulsey recorded five kills in a 5-1 C of I run to bolt out to an 8-3 lead, only to watch RMC get kills from Jillian Bates and Ashley Welborn to start a five-point push to deadlock the score at 8-8. Leading 10-9, the Yotes got a Ciciley Fox kill and a key Liz Myers/Kylee Nawahine block to take a three-point lead, with the teams trading side-outs the rest of the way – capped by a Hulsey kill to end the match.

Myers led the Lady Yotes in the early going, recording four Set 1 kills, but two Kristin Barrett spikes in a 4-0 run by Rocky gave the Bears a 10-8 lead – a margin they would not relinquish. RMC used a 6-1 spurt, helped by three C of I hitting errors to extend the margin to 21-14, and cruised to the one set lead.

The Coyotes turned the tide early in Set 2, as a pair of Kelsey Soos aces and three Myers kills helped The C of I scored 12-of-15 points to erase a 5-4 Rocky lead. The Billings, Mont., school got with 21-18, but a Myers block and a third Soos ace helped even the match at one set apiece.

Rocky looked to run away with Set 3, getting three Sara Brunner kills, opening a 12-6 lead. The Yotes responded behind three Hulsey kills and a Nawahine ace to tie the score at 13-13. A Myers/Nawahine block gave The C of I their first lead of the set at 19-18, with a Hulsey kill extending the margin to 22-19, as Hulsey closed out the period with a spike.

Set 4 saw the Yotes rally from a 17-13 deficit, as a pair of Myers kills and two combo blocks helped The C of I grab a 19-18 lead. Rocky would not fold, as Brunner hammed four-straight kills in a 7-1 run to close the set, forcing the winner-take-all set.

Myers continued her stellar play with 16 kills and seven blocks, with Nawahine adding seven kills, 15 digs, and six blocks. Dani Montalbo recorded nine kills and nine digs, Soos logged 55 assists and three aces, and Whitney Brigham had a match-high 28 digs.

Brunner led RMC with 21 kills and 11 digs, with Bates recording 13 kills. Esther Timofeyev had 11 kills, Welborn had 10 kills and a team-high 20 digs, and Barrott had seven kills, 51 assists, and 11 digs in the loss for the Bears.
 

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