CCC Volleyball Final Four Gets Underway on Friday
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CALDWELL, Idaho – For the second straight year, College of Idaho plays host to the Cascade Collegiate Conference Volleyball Championship and all four teams involved plan on bringing their top game to the J.A. Alberston Activites Center in Caldwell, Idaho.
Top-seed College of Idaho earned hosting honors after winning the regular season title for a seventh straight year. Ranked 14th in the latest NAIA Top 25, the Yotes finished the regular season with a record of 19-6 and 16-2 in CCC play. They will be led into the postseason by senior Torrey Hulsey, who ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage, earning kills on 30.3% of her attempts.
The Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University earned the second seed and enter the postseason holding a 10-match winning streak. EOU finished the regular season with a record of 22-6 overall and 14-4 in CCC play after leading the conference in hitting percentage at .230 and kills at 13.20 per set.
"We are very excited to be a part of the Conference Tournament this season,” said Eastern Oregon head coach Kaki McLean Morehead. “We are looking forward to playing tough games against tough opponents and to hopefully take our success beyond this conference tournament.”
Southern Oregon earned the third seed and will be making the trip to Caldwell for the second straight week after wrapping up the regular season at College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon last weekend. The Raiders opened up the postseason on Tuesday night, defeating Warner Pacific in straight sets to advance to the final four. Last year in the CCC Championship match, the Raiders earned a straight-set victory that punched their ticket to Sioux Falls, Iowa for the NAIA tournament.
Concordia is the final team earning a trip to Caldwell after the Cavaliers earned a four-set win over Northwest Christian on Tuesday night. Despite being considered the underdog heading into the tournament, the Cavs have already beat their semifinal opponent once this season, earning a 3-1 win over College of Idaho on Oct. 26 in Portland.
“It’s been a pleasure to watch our team grow and develop during the course of this season,” said Concordia head coach Melanie Hambelton. “It’s a privilege to represent Concordia at the CCC championships and we are excited for this opportunity to compete as a team and enjoy playing this sport that we love!”
The action will get started on Tuesday afternoon with second-seed Eastern Oregon taking on third-seed Southern Oregon at 4 p.m. MST. The top-seed College of Idaho will then host fourth-seed Concordia at 7 p.m. The two winners will face off at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the automatic ticket to Sioux Falls, Iowa for the NAIA Championships.