SIOUX CITY, Iowa – An amazing postseason run for the College of Idaho came to end, as Midland University turned away the Lady Yotes in three sets in the first-round of single-elimination bracket play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
Box Score The No. 7 ranked Warriors (33-2) held off late C of I rallies in each set to earn a 25-22, 25-23, 25-22 decision, advancing to meet Missouri Baptist in the national quarterfinals. The Lady Yotes saw their season end at 24-12.
MU started quickly in Set 1, with Priscilla O'Dowd recording two kills and two block assists in a 7-2 march to open the set. The Warriors would extend the lead to 17-11 on a C of I hitting error, before the Yotes clawed back in. Two kills by
Randi Sturtz started a four-point surge, as the Coyotes got within 20-18. Midland would get a side out on a Katie Thomas kill, running off four consecutive points to earn set point, with Ashlee Harms pounding down one of her match-high 18 kills to end it.
Set 2 was much tighter, featuring seven ties and three lead changes. The Lady Yotes built a 13-11 lead, only to see MU use a combo-block from O'Dowd and Jordan Lempka to start a four-point rally to regain the lead. The group from Fremont, Neb., earned set point at 24-19, only to watch
Jackie van Vliet spike two ball and add a stuff block, followed by an
Abbey Fenton kill to cut the margin to 24-23. MU answered with an O'Dowd kill to give the team a two set lead.
Both teams traded big runs in Set 3, with a MU hitting error allowing C of I to take an 8-5 lead, only to see the Warriors scored nine of the next 12 points, pushing the margin to 14-11 on a Darcy Barry ace. The Yotes jabbed back, as
Cheyan Coburn notched two aces in an 8-1 surge to give C of I their largest lead of the day at 19-15. The Warriors, however, proved to be too much, as two O'Dowd blocks tied the period at 20-20, with a C of I hitting error giving MU a lead they would not relinquish – capping a 10-3 run to end the match.
O'Dowd had nine kills and a match-high seven blocks to lead MU; setter Jessica Peters had 35 assists and Barry recorded 16 digs.
Kylie Porter had 13 kills to lead the Yotes, with Sturtz recording nine kills. Fenton had seven kills,
Sierra Porter had 36 assists and 12 digs, with
Kilee Lopez recording 19 digs and three aces.
NOTES: It marked the ninth season with 24-or-more wins by the Lady Yotes in the past 11 years;
Sierra Porter became just the second C of I player to record 1,400-or-more assists in a season twice, joining Erin Cherrington;
Jackie van Vliet finished the season with 154 blocks, the third C of I player to log 150-or-more blocks in a season (Katie Tipton, Katie Hogue); Lopez finished with 633 digs on the season, the fourth Lady Yote to record 600-or-more digs (
Whitney Brigham, Catherine Everist, Charity Gaston).
