Wolves End Season with Hard Fought Defeat to No. 16 College of Idaho
College Place, Wash. - The 16
th ranked College of Idaho
Yotes were in College Place on Saturday night for a match vs the Walla Walla University Wolves. It was senior night for the Wolves (0-21, 0-20 CCC) and for a few of these girls, their last night in Wolves' green and orange. Despite some strong play from the Wolves, the
Yotes (20-7, 14-4 CCC) would come away with a straight set victory. (25-14, 25-20, 25-20)
The match was neck-and-neck in the early stages, as the
Yotes maintained a slim lead at 8-5. The momentum turned from stagnant, to fully in the
Yotes' favor, however, after an authoritative kill by Ashley Pagan forcing the Wolves to call their first timeout. Walla Walla went on a run of their own following the timeout, after a kill by Lauren Barlow cut the Idaho lead to just two at 14-12. The
Yotes showed their resolve by closing the first set in dominant fashion, winning it by a score of 25-14.
The second set began even tighter than the first did, as the two teams were locked in a 5-5 tie after a perfectly placed kill by
Jenn Bosler. Walla Walla played with fire and desire in the second set, electrifying the healthy senior-night crowd in attendance at
Windemuth Court. Both teams were capitalizing on the mistakes of their opponent, making for a very tight-knit set. However, a 4-0 run by the
Yotes gave them a 15-10 lead and forced Wolves' Head Coach Scott Schafer to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Wolves claimed six straight points to take a 17-16 lead, capped off with a Sarah
Halversen kill off of a diving set by Morgan Doyle. It was a beautiful display of grit and hustle by the Wolves' senior. The
Yotes, however, showed no signs of rolling over, as they built their own run of momentum, and took the lead back at 19-18. College of Idaho held this lead through the end of set number two, winning it by a score of 25-20.
The third set began in the same manner as the first two; tightly contested. Both teams were trading hard-earned points following long rallies, however it was the College of Idaho who were holding a slim 8-6 lead. The
Yotes maintained this lead as the two teams approached the mid-section of the set, leading by a score of 17-12. Back-to-back kills by the College of Idaho put the end of the Wolves' season in sight, down 21-18, but Walla Walla would not go down easy as the continued to pressure the
Yotes. After a block by Danielle
Neuman, and a kill by
Austyn Mauzy, the
Yotes put Walla Walla's season to rest, winning the set by a score of 25-20.
By the Numbers
WWU 28 kills, COI 39 kills
WWU 28 assists, COI 38 assists
WWU 34 digs, COI 39 digs
The Wolves will head into their offseason while the No. 16 ranked
Yotes will host Evergreen State College in round one of the CCC Volleyball Championships on November 6 at 7:00 p.m. MT.