No. 16 College of Idaho Tops Evergreen
College of Idaho came into Costantino Recreation Center on Friday night and defended its No. 16 NAIA national ranking with a straight set win over Evergreen in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action.
The Geoducks (10-14 overall, 8-7) struggled to get their offense on track, hitting just .119 for the match, while the visiting Coyotes finished at .256.
The College of Idaho back row had something to do with that, recording 75 digs, including 23 by Ashley Pagan and 20 more by Drew Dobney.
Pagan, ranked second in the conference in kills per set, led both team with 11 kills while hitting at a .258 rate. It was Mali Sawyer who was most impressive for the ‘Yotes, however, with 10 kills and no errors on 21 attempts for a .476 attack percentage.
Marija Djonovic and Margie Beeler combined for 46 assists, with 24 going to Djonovic.
Sierra Wolff had a strong overall match for the Geoducks with 22 assists, 10 digs, one solo block and three block assists. The Geoducks picked up 10 kills apiece from Lehualani Keka and Natalie Taylor, and the team’s back row nearly matched the visitors, compiling 64 total digs. Emma Goodman led the way with 15, followed by Taylor with 13, Alexis Garrison with 12, Sage Burgmeier with 11 and Wolff with 10.
Evergreen’s best chance for a set victory came in the second when it battled back from a 12-6 deficit to tie the match on several occasions, only to see the visitors finish the set with a kill.
The Geoducks return to conference play at 7 p.m. tomorrow and it won’t get any easier as the No. 13-ranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers invade the CRC.