Coyotes Top Lourdes (Ohio), Advance to Bracket Play
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The College of Idaho clinched a spot in the single-elimination championship bracket with a four-set victory over Lourdes University on Day 2 of Pool Play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships inside Tyson Events Center.
The Lady Yotes (26-6) piled up 34 kills on just 72 swings in the final two sets to earn the 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-14 victory, improving to 2-0 in Pool E. C of I and fifth-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) are the lone unbeaten teams in the four-team pool, with the two teams meeting tomorrow to determine the top seed heading into the knockout stage.
It marks the seventh time C of I has advanced to the championship bracket, losing in the first round in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015, while advancing to the national quarterfinals in 2011. They will be joined in single-elimination ladder by conference rivals Eastern Oregon and Corban, as both the Mountaineers and Warriors are unbeaten in their respective pools.
The Gray Wolves (22-13), from Sylvania, Ohio, got a pair of Shannon Fischer aces in five-point push to break away from a 19-19 deadlock in Set 1 – only to see C of I stave off four set points, before a service error gave the unranked team the set victory.
Jackie van Vliet led the way in Set 2, pounding down four kills in a 13-5 C of I surge that gave the Yotes a 17-9 lead. LU answered with an 8-1 run, taking advantage of five Coyote hitting errors, before two Ashley Pagan spikes keyed a 7-2 spurt to end the set for C of I.
The Yotes dominated the final two sets – Pagan pounding down eight of C of I's 19 kills in Set 3, as the squad used runs of 9-1 and 7-0 to earn the victory. The final set was all Purple and Gold, as the Yotes used four combo-blocks in a set-opening 8-1 push, extending the lead at one point to 21-10, in completing the victory.
Four Coyotes recorded double-digit kills, led by a 17-kill effort from van Vliet. Pagan had 15 kills and 13 digs; Taylor Alexander had 12 kills and Alaina Slater added 10 kills and a team-high five blocks. Marija Djonovic had 56 assists and 16 digs; Kilee Lopez had 20 digs; with Brenna Meehan notching five kills and 15 digs. C of I finished the night with a .299 hitting percentage and held a commanding 63-42 edge in total kills.
No LU player had more than eight kills, as Chelsea Lawrence led the Gray Wolves with eight kills and three blocks.