Box Score
CALDWELL, Idaho – Emily Ottinger had a match-high 14 kills, as The College of Idaho rode a potent offensive attack to a 25-13, 25-10, 25-21 sweep of Southern Oregon in the semifinals of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank.
The win by the No. 22 ranked Lady Yotes (17-9) moves the squad into tomorrow's championship match – meeting Concordia at 3 p.m. for a berth in the NAIA National Championships. It marks the eighth-straight time C of I has played for the league crown.
Trailing only twice the entire night, the Coyotes used a sparkling .459 hitting percentage to cruise to the win against their fiercest CCC rival.
After the Raiders (17-10) took an early 2-1 lead in Set 1, Ottinger slammed down a pair of kills in a six-point surge to give C of I a 7-2 lead. The junior transfer would add three more kills in a 7-1 run late in the frame to extend the lead to 23-11.
Set 2 saw SOU pull even at 3-3 on a Liz Madden kill, but the Yotes rode the serve of Elizabeth Trenkel, rattling off eight consecutive points – taking advantage of four Raiders hitting errors. C of I put the set away with a 7-1 surge, including two Lili Brochado kills, to lead 20-7.
The final set was much tighter – despite back-to-back Liz Myers kills giving the Yotes an early 6-2 lead. Southern fought back, getting within 18-16 on a Mona Goudarzian ace and within 21-19 on two-straight Paulla Pinheiro kills. However, a service error and a huge combo-block by Kylie Porter and Kylee Nawahine on a Pinheiro swing gave the hosts a four-point cushion and rode the lead to the victory.
Brochado had nine kills in the victory for the Yotes, with Myers adding eight kills. Sierra Porter had five kills, 36 assists, and four digs, with Janel Porter adding a team-high 17 digs. The Yotes had seven total aces and six team blocks.
Goudarzian led SOU with 10 kills, with Pinehiro adding nine kills in the loss. Setter Lauren McGowne had 29 aces and libero Renee Yomtob added 15 digs.
C of I will meet Concordia in the final after the Cavs defeated No. 25 ranked Eastern Oregon in five sets in the first semifinal. Melanie Miller had a monster match for CU, recording 15 kills, adding 16 digs, and eight blocks in the 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9 victory.
