LA GRANDE, Ore. – Two seniors; two Porters; and four trips to the Cascade Conference title match for the College of Idaho. Riding their senior leaders, the Yotes outlasted Southern Oregon tonight in Quinn Coliseum for their tenth-straight trip to the CCC championship.
The No. 25 ranked Lady Yotes (20-10) toppled the rival No. 15 Raiders in tonight's semifinal tilt 25-19, 19-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-8 and will meet top-seed and host Eastern Oregon, or fourth-seed Northwest University at 4 p.m. Saturday with a berth to the NAIA National Championships on the line. C of I clinched the season-series against SOU and avenged a 5-set loss in Ashland on Halloween night.
Kylie Porter had a match-high 21 kills – giving her 65 kills on the season against SOU – while
Sierra Porter added 54 assists, nine digs, seven kills and three blocks, giving the Yotes a chance to defend their three-straight league tournament titles.
Trailing two sets to one in Set 4, the Yotes used a 7-1 run to close the set to force the winner-take-all finale.
Kylie Porter took over from there, recording three kills and adding two block assists in a 9-2 run to open Set 5. The Raiders (23-5) got within 10-6 on a combo-block, but the Yotes traded four side-outs, before
Kylie Porter capped a three-point surge to end the match with a spike.
The Yotes never trailed in Set 1, using a 10-2 run to open up a 14-13 score to earn the early win, while Southern erased an 18-15 C of I lead in Set 2 with a 10-1 run of their own to even the match. The Raiders then hit 50-percent as a team in Set 3, committing just one attack error to take the match lead, setting up the wild finish.
Randi Sturtz had 14 kills and five blocks;
Katy Robinson had 11 kills; and
Jackie van Vliet added 10 kills and four blocks for the Yotes.
Kilee Lopez had a match-high 30 digs, including 10 digs alone in Set 5, to lead the C of I defense.
Corynn Kopra led SOU with 13 kills and 15 digs, with Laura Morse adding 12 kills and 12 digs. Setter Lauren McGowne had 46 assists and three blocks, with libero Ashlyn Flynn notching 17 digs.
YOTE NOTES:
- C of I improved to 7-2 against Southern Oregon in postseason play since 2005, while improving to 3-0 in postseason matches at Quinn Coliseum.
- A win in tomorrow's match would clinch C of I's eighth-straight trip to the NAIA National Championships
- It marks the 18th-straight year that either C of I or SOU have played in the CCC title match (SOU in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013; C of I in 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 – no tournament was held in 2007)
