Evergreen Volleyball Falls to College of Idaho
OLYMPIA - After giving nationally ranked College of Idaho a challenge in the opening set, The Evergreen State College couldn't maintain the momentum and lost to the visiting Coyotes, 26-24, 25-12, 25-21, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match played Friday night in Costantino Recreation Center.
College of Idaho (8-5 overall, 3-2 CCC) entered the season ranked No. 12 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll, but the Geoducks (2-9, 1-4) didn't seem fazed by the perennial conference contender in the opening set as Chloee Hunt collected five kills and Natalie Taylor added four to push the 'Yotes. The Geoducks hit .233 in the set compared to .225 for the visitors, who got a trio of kills from four different players.
Evergreen trailed 24-22 with the 'Yotes serving for the set, but the hosts scored consecutive points on a Taylor kill and a College of Idaho attack error. The visitors were able to close out the set, however, on a service error and attack error by the Geoducks.
The second set was all 'Yotes as they hit .429, led by Ashley Pagan with four kills on eight swings and Brenna Meehan with four kills on six attempts. College of Idaho, which finished the match with 6.0 team blocks, had 3.0 during the set, including three block assists by Alaina Slater.
In the final set, College of Idaho used a 3-0 run to build a 20-14 lead, and it was still 22-16 when the Geoducks made one final push. When Taylor and Jorden Porter combined on a block, the hosts had pulled to within three points at 24-21, but the match ended on the next service when Randi Sturtz put down the final kill for the 'Yotes.
Hunt led the Geoducks with 10 kills followed by Taylor with nine, while Kylie Kytan managed 24 assists and Cheyenne Baird 17 digs and two aces to lead the Geoducks, who hit .109 overall.
Meehan led a trio of College of Idaho hitter with double-figure kills, Meehan collecting 11 and both Pagan and Sturtz getting 10. Pagan finished with a .421 attack percentage, a key factor in her team's overall .2925 attack rate. Jayde Folsom contributed 37 assists and Kilee Lopez led her team with 15 digs. Slater finished the match with five block assists.
Both teams are in action tomorrow, Evergreen hosting No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon at 6 p.m. and College of Idaho traveling to Kirkland to play Northwest University.