LA GRANDE, Ore. - A comeback effort by the College of Idaho volleyball team came up just a bit short, as the Lady Yotes upset bid at No. 7 ranked Eastern Oregon Tech ended in four sets tonight at Quinn Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (16-1, 11-0) won for the 12th time in a row, holding off the Yotes 25-22, 25-15, 19-25, 25-14 - ending C of I's six-match win streak.
EOU never trailed in Set 1, rolling to a 14-9 lead on the strength of Amanda Miller, who had seven of her 18 kills in the period. The Yotes (10-9, 8-3) roared back, using a pair of Abbey Fenton kills and a Kilee Lopez ace to draw even at 22-22, only to see the Mounties score the final three points, including back-to-back combo-blocks, to grab the set win.
Eastern used the momentum to sprint to a 7-1 lead in Set 2 and were never headed. Sierra Linke had five kills and Emily Nay recorded four kills in the frame.
The Lady Yotes found their rhythm in Set 3, getting kills from Randi Sturtz and Katy Robinson in a key four-point push to break a 17-17 tie, as C of I scored eight of the final 10 points to force a four set.
The two teams played side-out volleyball through the first 20 points of Set 4, with C of I taking a 11-10 lead on a Sturtz spike, only to watch EOU catch fire. Linke had five kills and the Mounties took advantage of five Yote hitting errors to close the set on a 15-3 run to win the match.
Fenton led the Yotes with 12 kills, Sturtz had 10 kills, with both Kylie Porter and Robinson adding nine. Sierra Porter recorded 40 assists, eight digs and a team-high four blocks, with Lopez leading the way with 15 digs and two aces.
Linke had 19 kills to lead Eastern; with Nay recording 11 kills and four blocks; Kasaundra Tuma registering eight kills and seven blocks; and Rachelle Chamberlain earning a double-double with 51 assists and 11 digs.
The Yotes and Mounties each return home this weekend to welcome Corban and Northwest Christian.
