CALDWELL, Idaho - The College of Idaho opened up the 2012 volleyball season with a pair of quality wins, defeating William Jessup this morning, than holding off No. 10 ranked Vanguard in their afternoon match at the C of I Classic inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
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Game 1 Box Score) (
Game 2 Box Score)
In the late match, the Lady Yotes (2-0) earned a key 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19 victory over a Vanguard team that qualified for the NAIA Tournament in 2011. It wasn’t a clean match, as the two teams combined for 55 hitting errors, but C of I used a 10-0 run to close out the decisive fourth set for the win.
Set 1 saw the Yotes take advantage of eight unforced errors by the Lions to take a 10-5 lead, but two Ashli Bellinger kills and five C of I errors helped a 9-1 VU run to take the lead. The Yotes responded by scoring eight of the next nine points, capped by a Torrey Hulsey stuff block, to take a 19-15 lead. VU evened the set at 23-23 on a Morgan Burt ace, but a Liz Myers kill and a Lion error gave the hosts the set win.
The middle two sets were complete opposites, as the Coyotes used a 10-1 run, including three Kylee Nawahine kills to take a 16-7 lead and rolled to the win. Set 3 saw VU use three kills each by Rachel Barker and Jessica Neves to jump to a 14-5 lead and were never headed.
Set 4 was a battle, as the Lions used a six-point run, including a pair of combo-blocks to take a 9-3 lead, but back-to-back Nawahine kills helped the Yotes score five straight and take a 14-12 lead. Barker spiked home three balls in a 7-1 VU run to lead 19-15, but the visitors did not score again, as two Hulsey blocks and back-to-back Jessica Peacock ended the match for the Coyotes.
Hulsey had 11 kills and four blocks in the victory, with Myers and Nawahine recording nine kills. Kelsey Soos had 19 assists, with Janel Porter recording 12 digs. Barker had 10 kills for the Lions, with Bellinger and Neves each recording nine kills. Setter Carly Maxwell had a team high 31 assists.
Using a unrelenting serving attack, The C of I opened up the 2012 volleyball season with a convincing 25-10, 25-8, 25-21 victory over William Jessup University in Match 2 of the C of I Classic inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The Lady Yotes recorded 14 aces as a team – their highest total since a win over Montana Tech during the 2007 NAIA Region I Tournament, as transfer Sofia Anxo led the way with four, one of six different C of I players with at least one ace.
All-American Nawahine led a balanced attack with nine kills and six digs, with Hulsey adding seven kills and Myers notching six kills and a team-high three blocks.
The C of I dominated the first two sets, holding the Warriors (0-1) to just four combined kills in the frames. Leading 7-5 in the opener, Nawahine and Hulsey each had two kills in an 11-1 run to break the set open, while the Yotes opened Set 2 on a 17-3 push, as Myers, Nawahine, and Hulsey each had two spikes.
The Yotes opened Set 3 on a 6-1 start, keyed by a trio of Anxo aces, before WJU chipped away – with Hannah Baldwin’s fourth kill of the period getting the Warriors within 21-17, before C of I closed out the win.
Soos had 17 assists and four digs with freshman Sierra Porter recording 11 assists and two aces for the Yotes, while libero Janel Porter had a team-high 11 digs. Baldwin led WJU with six kills, with Elaina Murphy recording seven assists in the loss.
The C of I will close out tournament play tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against No. 8 ranked Lewis-Clark State.
OTHER MATCHES:
#10 Vanguard 3, Eastern Oregon 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18) – (
Box Score) The Lions got 12 kills and 11 assists from Ashli Bellinger in rallying from an early deficit to defeat the Mountaineers. Jessica Neves had 10 kills, Carly Maxwell had 39 assists and nine digs, with Kelly Heenan recording 18 digs in the victory for VU. Eastern, which was hampered by 26 hitting errors, got nine kills from both Alisha Crane and K.C. Loper, with Kaitlyn Duncan leading all players with 20 digs. Down a set and all square at 16-16, the Lions used a 5-0 push to win Set 2, then took a 10-4 lead in Set 3 and a 14-4 lead in Set 4 to earn the win.
Eastern Oregon 3, #8 Lewis-Clark State 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20) – (
Box Score) Casey Loper had 10 kills and Eastern Oregon forced 22 L-C hitting errors in picking up the upset win. Taylor Stewart had five kills, 11 digs, and three blocks, with Rebecca Haight recording six kills and 11 digs for the Mounties, while the Warriors got 10 kills and six digs from Willow Markowitz. EOU jumped out to an 11-4 lead in Set 1 and cruised, then broke a 10-10 tie with six-straight points in Set 2. The Mountaineers used a late 4-0 run to clinch the match.
Coming Up:
7 p.m. #8 Lewis-Clark State vs. William Jessup
