Yotes Picked To Repeat as Volleyball Champs
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Earning eight of ten possible first place votes, the College of Idaho Coyotes are the favorites to win the 2013 Cascade Conference volleyball championship according to the coaches’ preseason poll.
Eastern Oregon earned the other two first place votes to secure second in the prognostication. Southern Oregon was picked third while Concordia earned fourth among the coaches’ vote. Northwest Christian and Warner Pacific tied for fifth in the selections. Northwest, Oregon Tech, Corban and Evergreen rounded out the poll.
The Yotes return five starters from the 2012 team that went 24-8 overall and 16-2 in CCC play under head coach Liz Mendiola. Mendiola, now in her 13th season leading her alma mater, is 13 wins shy of 300 for her career.
On the court, C of I will be led by All-CCC selections Liz Myers, Sierra Porter and Kylee Nawahine. The Yotes open up the 2013 campaign against Westmont (Calif.) on Aug. 22 at the Biola SummerSlam.
Eastern Oregon comes into the 2013 season having earned a pair of first-place votes following the most successful year in school history in 2012. Head coach Kaki Morehead leads the Mountaineers into battle with a record of 101-62 in her seventh year in La Grande and is just 22 wins away from becoming the all-time wins leader at EOU.
The Mounties will need to replace All-CCC selection Kaitlyn Duncan but return First Team All-CCC honorees in Casey Loper and Stefani Sorensen. EOU opens the season on Aug. 22 against Montana Tech as part of the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge in Spokane, Wash.
Southern Oregon, picked third, returns four starters this season after going 19-11 last season. The Raiders will be led this season by All-CCC libero Renee Yomtob, who returns for her senior season in Ashland.
The top six teams in the CCC’s final regular season standings will earn spots in the conference’s postseason tournament, which begins Nov. 12. The regular season champion and the runner-up will earn a berth in the tournament semifinals against the winner of the quarterfinals, which matches the No. 3 and 6 seeds and the 4 and 5 seeds. Quarterfinals will be held on campus sites while the regular season champion will host the semifinals and finals. The CCC’s tournament champion will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships, which begin Nov. 23.
CCC Coaches' Poll
|
Team |
Points |
|
College of Idaho (8) |
97 |
|
Eastern Oregon (2) |
88 |
|
Southern Oregon |
79 |
|
Concordia |
74 |
|
Northwest Christian |
51 |
|
Warner Pacific |
51 |
|
Northwest |
45 |
|
Oregon Tech |
29 |
|
Corban |
22 |
|
Evergreen |
14 |
first place votes in parentheses