Oregon Tech and College of Idaho battled through five sets with the Yotes taking the five set thriller tonight at Danny Miles Court 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11).
Oregon Tech Upset Bid Falls Short in Five Set Loss to College of Idaho
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - College of Idaho escaped an Oregon Tech upset bid, posting wins in the final two sets, and winning the five-set thriller 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11) tonight in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech falls to 15-5 overall and even in CCC action at 3-3. C of I improved to 8-7 on the season and 5-1 in the conference standings.
The Owls, trailing the Yotes in the opener 15-16, saw Kylie Porter tally three-straight kills, while a Katy Robinson spike put the visitors up 21-15. The Owls never got back on track after dropping set 1 by a 25-22 score.
Trailing 16-12 in set 2, Oregon Tech benefited from five-straight attack errors by C of I, taking a 17-16 advantage. Back-to-back Renee Baumann kills, followed by another from Mykala Rubey spike, pushed the Owls out to a 21-18 lead. Leading 24-22, a Tech miscue, along with a Porter kill, tied it up at 24-all. Tech, however, would get kills from Linsey Jones and Madisen Garlie to tie the match at 1-1, winning 26-24.
Tech, up 8-6 in set 3, would ride the arm of Renee Baumann, going up 11-6 after three-straight kills from the senior outside hitter. C of I would tie the set at 16-16 behind kills from Sierra and Kylie Porter. Tied at 23-all, the Owls used back-to-back miscues to go up 2-1 in the match after the 25-23 win.
Set 4 saw Tech’s Rubey close the Owls’ gap to 19-16, but a pair of Robinson kills, as well as a Sierra Porter spike, gave the Yotes an insurmountable 22-16 advantage. The Owls were able to battle back to within three points before the match was tied 2-2 with the 25-21 win for Idaho.
Tech, looking for the upset, kept it close in set 5, as the teams were tied at 5-5 before C of I made a push. Sierra Porter and Bailee Kendall kills, along with a trio of Owl errors, gave the Yotes a 10-6 lead. Tech, however, rallied back to tie it up 11-11 behind Garlie, Baumann and Kelsey Sampson kills. The Yotes would show why they belong at the top of the conference, tallying the next four points, and escape with a 15-11 win in the finale.
Renee Baumann notched a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs. Mykala Rubey added 14 kills with Kelsey Sampson following with 13 kills in the loss for Tech. Setters Tori Porter and Megan Holland tallied 23 assists each with Jennifer Lakin recording 18 digs.
Kylie Porter finished with a match-high 19 kills with Emily Ottinger tacking on 13 in the win for the Yotes. Sierra Porter finished with 52 assists, while Kilee Lopez anchored the C of I defense with 35 digs.
Oregon Tech will next host No. 11 Eastern Oregon University, while C of I travels to Southern Oregon University on Saturday.