Whitney Owen and the 10-ranked College of Idaho Yotes won three of four matches at the Summer Slam in southern California.
Yotes Knock Off 5th-Ranked Biola (Calif.)
LA MIRADA, Calif. -- Staving off nine match points in an epic fifth set, The College of Idaho notched the biggest upset win in over a decade, defeating fifth-ranked Biola, 25-23, 27-25, 15-25, 21-25, 21-19, at the Holiday Inn Summer Slam.
Unfortunately, the Yotes were not able to complete a weekend sweep, as Bellevue University rallied from two sets down to win the late match, 23-25, 24-26, 31-29, 25-21, 15-13.
Match 1 marked the highest-ranked team the Lady Yotes (3-0) had ever defeated – eclipsing No. 8 Southern Oregon in 2005 and No. 9 Palm Beach Atlantic in 2001. It was also their first ever victory over Biola and their second-straight win over a Golden State Athletic Conference team after losing 22-of-25 matches in the last 10 years.
Set 5 saw the Eagles (5-2) jump out to a 6-2 lead and extended the margin to 14-9, before the Yotes battled back. A service error, a pair of Coyote spikes, a hitting error, and a big tandem block from Liz Myers and Kylee Nawahine got The C of I even. BU had leads of 15-14 and 16-15 before the Coyotes got a Danielle Montalbo kill and an Eagle hitting error to record their first match point – however, two straight C of I hitting errors put the ball back in the host’s court. Tied at 19-19, a hitting error gave the Yotes their second match point, with a Torrey Hulsey spike capping the comeback.
The C of I jumped out to a two sets to none lead in the match – breaking a 22-22 tie in Set 1 with a three point surge ending with a Myers/Nawahine block to grab the lead. Set 2 saw the Yotes rally from a 18-12 deficit to take the lead, with Biola battling back from three set points to tie the score at 25-25, before a pair of Montalbo kills gave the set to the Coyotes.
The Eagles used a pair of late runs to win Set 3 and Set 4 – using an 8-2 push in the third frame, breaking a 10-10 tie, thanks to five Sarah McAtee kills, and after 10 ties in the fourth, used a 4-0 run to break a 21-21 stalemate, to force a fifth set.
Montalbo had a career-high 16 kills for the Coyotes, with Ciciley Fox adding 15 kills, Myers 11 kills and eight blocks, Nawahine 12 kills and 11 digs, and Hulsey 10 kills and five blocks. Kelsey Soos led all players with 58 assists, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 33 digs.
McAtee had 21 kills and 12 digs in the loss for the Eagles, with Christine Douglas adding 18 kills.
The second match was tight against the Bruins (2-2), from Nebraska, as The C of I grabbed the first two sets by rallying late. Bellevue led 15-14 in Set 1, before a six-point run by the Yotes, keyed by a pair of Nawahine kills, gave The C of I a 20-15 lead. BU would respond with three Kali Schnacker spikes to pull even at 22-22, before a service error, a hitting error, and a Hulsey kill gave the frame to the Lady Yotes. Set 2 was back and forth, as the Yotes led 20-14, but a 10-1 run, helped by two kills each by Schnacker and Maureen Wardian and three C of I errors, gave the Bruins set point at 24-21. The Coyotes did not falter, scoring the last five points – the last two on BU hitting errors, to take a two set lead.
Set 3 saw Bellevue jump out to a 11-3 lead, but a Fox/Hulsey combo block tied the period at 17-17 and the two teams would play side-out volleyball from 20-20 to 29-29 – the Yotes having two match points in the mix, before a hitting error and a Schnacker kill helped BU survive. The Yotes led 5-0 in Set 4, before three Sunny Bell kills helped Bellevue take the lead at 9-8 and never trailed again.
The deciding set was tight throughout, with the Yotes getting a side out at 14-12 – but following a Bellevue hitting error, an Owen service error ended the match.
Nawahine led the Yotes with 18 kills, Montalbo registered 15 kills and five blocks, Myers had 14 points and four blocks, Hulsey had 12 kills and seven blocks, and Fox logged 11 spikes. Soos had 51 assists in the loss, with Owen adding 30 digs. Schnacker led all players with 26 kills and Wardian added 15 kills for Bellevue, with setter Jordan Broady registering 62 assists and nine digs.
The Lady Yotes return to action on Friday, opening up Cascade Conference play against Evergreen State at 7 p.m.