Whitney Brigham had 26 digs, capping career with CCC record 2,359 digs
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Columbia College used 12 service aces to end The College of Idaho’s run in the national quarterfinals at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, presented by CNOS Foundation, winning 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22 inside the Tyson Events Center.
The Cougars (39-3) will move on to meet Concordia-Irvine in tomorrow’s semifinals, while the Lady Yotes finish the season in a tie for fifth in the tournament – their best finish in program history.
The two teams battled to seven ties early in the opening frame, before one of four Kylee Nawahine kills in the period gave the Lady Yotes (27-5) a 13-12 lead. CC used a 6-0 surge, keyed by two Vesna Trivunovic kills and two Chelsea Browner aces, to take a 18-13 lead. Kills by Nawahine and Liz Myers helped The C of I pull even at 22-22, before a service ace, a combo-block, and a Trivunovic kill ended the set.
Set 2 saw the Coyotes use two Torrey Hulsey kills and three Columbia errors to take an 8-3 lead, before the Cougars pulled even at 11-11 on back-to-back combo-blocks. The C of I regained a 18-15 edge on a Dani Montalbo-Hulsey block, but CC used three Serena Jenkins kills and a Paula Ferreira spike to grab a 21-20 lead. The Yotes trailed 23-22 after a Trivunovic kill, but kills from Nawahine and Hulsey gave The C of I set point, with a Ferreira hitting error knotting the match at 1-1.
Columbia jumped out to a10-5 lead in Set 3, but the Yotes scored eight of the next nine points – including four Ciciley Fox kills and three Hulsey aces, to take a 13-11 lead. The C of I led 19-16 before the Cougars closed the set on a 9-1 run, including three Ferreira aces to take control of the match.
Set 4 featured 12 ties – as both teams held leads of two or less, the last at 17-17. A Jenkins kill started a three-point Cougar surge to give the Missouri school a 20-17 lead, with the teams trading side-outs the rest of the match – ended on a C of I service error.
Trivunovic led all players with 15 kills, six digs, and three aces, with Jenkins recording 14 kills and 11 digs. Nicole Murphy had 10 kills and six blocks for the Cougars, with Ferreira notching six kills, 43 assists, 3 aces, and 14 digs.
Fox led the Lady Yotes with 13 kills and 11 digs, with Montalbo adding 10 kills in their final collegiate match. Hulsey had nine kills and five blocks, Nawahine had eight kills and three blocks, with Myers notching eight kills for The C of I. Kelsey Soos had 41 assists for the Coyotes, with Whitney Brigham recording 26 digs – capping her career with 2,359 digs.