CALDWELL, Idaho – Riding a 3-set rally-scoring school record 65 kills and 88 digs, the College of Idaho stunned No. 10 Rocky Mountain in straight sets at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship inside Gateway Arena.
Box Score The No. 15 Lady Yotes (23-10) improved to 5-0 in the postseason with the 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win over the Bears – avenging a 3-set loss to Rocky in August.
Kylie Porter led the charge with 20 kills, with
Abbey Fenton recording 14 kills and
Jackie van Vliet registering a career-high 13 kills without an error. All-America setter
Sierra Porter had 53 assists and 16 digs in the victory.
Despite not recording a block in the match, C of I played their best passing contest of 2015 – as libero
Kilee Lopez had 33 digs and
Cheyan Coburn added 19.
Set 1 featured nine ties – the last at 18-18 – before a
Kylie Porter kill gave C of I the lead for good. A Fenton kill extended the margin to 23-21, with the teams trading four side-outs to give the Yotes the set win.
Four Fenton kills in the first eight points of Set 2 built a 6-2 C of I lead, only to see RMC (26-8) answer with a 6-1 surge to regain the lead. The Bears would watch the Yotes run off 7-straight points to take a 14-8 edge before a kill by Mariah Stiffarm capped an 8-2 run to even the set at 16-16. C of I put it away late, as kills by both Porter's fueled a 4-0 run that gave the Yotes set point, with
Kylie Porter ending the frame with a spike.
Set 3 was a see-saw affair, as a pair of van Vliet kills in a 7-1 run to open the set, only to see Rocky even the score at 12-12 on a C of I hitting error. The Bears would take a 22-20 lead on a Hailey Copinga kill, but kills by van Vliet,
Randi Sturtz and Fenton gave the Yotes the lead, with a Sturtz kill after a lengthy rally giving the Yotes the upset win.
Mariah Stiffarm had 14 kills and Tori Bertsch had 30 assists for RMC, who lost despite 10 team blocks.
C of I returns to action tomorrow, meeting No. 3 ranked Missouri Baptist at 1 p.m. (CST) A victory would push the Yotes into the single-elimination bracket, beginning on Friday.
