LA GRANDE, Ore. – Emily Ottinger had four of her season-high 22 kills in an epic fifth set, lifting the College of Idaho to their third-straight Cascade Conference Championships crown, surviving a talented Concordia University squad inside Quinn Coliseum.
The Lady Yotes (19-11) 25-20, 13-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12 victory clinched C of I's seventh-straight trip to the NAIA National Championships, surviving the first five-set title match since 2005.
Ottinger, the lone senior on the Coyotes squad, had a pair of kills in a 5-1 surge to break a 3-3 stalemate in the winner-take-all final set. The Cavaliers (19-9) answered the call, using a three point push, including two Brenna Huwe kills, to pull CU within 11-10. The Yotes responded kills from Katy Robinson and Ottinger and the third ace of the match from Cheyan Coburn to earn match point. After CU staved off two chances, C of I went to Ottinger for the title clinching kill.
Ottinger led the charge in Set 1, breaking a 20-20 tie with a kill, part of a five-point run by C of I to close out the frame. The Cavs countered in Set 2, forcing seven Yotes errors in a 10-1 run to even the match.
In Set 3, a Nicole Barth kill gave the Cavaliers a 15-14 lead, but the Yotes ran off five-straight points on Coburn's serve, with three late Ottinger kills closing out the set. Concordia answered with Lindsey Dorsey in Set 4, smashing seven of her match and career-high 23 kills in the period to force the final set.
Kylie Porter and Robinson each had nine kills, with Bailee Kendall adding eight kills and five blocks. Sierra Porter added 46 assists, with both Kilee Lopez and Kathyn Nasburg recording 11 digs.
Huwe and Barth each had eight kills in the loss for CU – the second-straight season they've been turned away by C of I in the title match. Jenessa Taylor had 44 assists, 12 digs, and five blocks for the Cavs.
The list of the 36 qualifiers for the NAIA Championships will be released tomorrow afternoon, with the 12 Opening Round pairings, for matches to be played at campus sites on Nov. 22, to be announced on Monday afternoon.
