Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LA MIRADA, Calif. – Despite two career matches from
Abbey Fenton, the College of Idaho dropped a pair of five-set matches on Day 1 of the Red Lion-Anaheim SummerSlam Tournament.
The Lady Yotes (0-2) nearly stunned host and second-ranked Biola in the early match, jumping out to a two set lead before falling 19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13, then lost a heartbreaker to Westmont, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11, that did not finish until after midnight local time.
Fenton was the story for C of I, recording a combined 39 kills in the two losses - setting a career high with 19 kills vs. Biola, then one-upping the mark against Westmont, slamming 20 kills. Unfortunately, 68 hitting errors in the two matches proved costly for the Lady Yotes.
Against Biola, the defending national semifinalist, things did not start smoothly, as the Eagles (2-0) jumped to a 7-1 Set 1 lead. C of I battled back, pulling even at 15-15 after a BU hitting error, then got a key combo-block from
Jackie van Vliet and
Randi Sturtz in a four-point surge, part of a 7-1 run to put the set away.
Set 2 featured 14 ties and three lead changes before C of I broke a 23-23 stalemate with a Sturtz kill and a BU hitting error to take a two-set advantage.
C of I had a chance to close out the match in Set 3, as a five-point push gave the visitors a 22-21 lead, but an Eagles combo-block and two Yote hitting errors turned the tide, and BU stole the set. Set 4 was all Biola, as the Eagles withstood a run by C of I to cut a 6-1 deficit to 12-11, but six-straight points, including two Britta Blaser spikes, send the match to a fifth set.
Set 5 was tight, as BU built a 12-9 lead, only to watch Fenton spike back-to-back kills to get C of I within a point. Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, the match closed with five straight side-outs, with a Coyote ball handling error ending the marathon.
Katy Robinson had a career-high 17 kills in the loss, with Sturtz adding eight kills. van Vliet had eight blocks in her Coyote debut;
Sierra Porter had 44 assists and 11 digs; and
Kilee Lopez led all players with 30 digs. Blaser led BU with 15 kills, as the Eagles combined for 14 team blocks.
Because of long matches throughout the day, the C of I-Westmont contest did not begin until after 11 p.m. The Warriors (1-1) won Set 1 and built a 23-20 lead in Set 2, however, the Yotes caught fire, as a
Kylie Porter kill started a 5-0 run to end the period, knotting the match at a set apiece.
Set 3 was streaky, as WC used five-straight points to open a 7-2 lead, only to watch the Yotes counter with an 8-1 run to pull out to an 11-9 lead. A Fenton kill tied the set at 19-19, but two late C of I hitting errors proved costly - givng the Warriors the set. C of I answered the bell in Set 4, as a 6-1 push late in the period forced the winner-take-all finale.
In the deciding frame, a Fenton ace gave the Yotes a 5-3 lead, but C of I struggled to side-out WC's Taylor Beckman, who ran off six-straight points on her serve - and the visitors could not recover.
Fenton logged a double-double, adding 12 digs to her 20 kills, with Sturtz and
Alaina Slater each recording career-highs - Sturtz with 11 kills and Slater with nine. Sierra Porter had 52 assists and 14 digs, with Lopez leading the squad with 30 digs. Jessica McCann led WC with 15 kills.
C of I returns to the court for two Friday matches - at 10 a.m. (PDT) vs. Davenport and at 4 p.m. (PDT) vs. Vanguard.
YOTE NOTES
- The Lady Yotes posted a 9-5 record in five-set matches in 2014, including playing five sets in five of their final six contests of the year
- A win over Biola would have been the highest-ranked opponent C of I had ever defeated; the highest-ranked team ever to fall to the Yotes was the same Biola squad in 2011, as C of I defeated the Eagles in five sets at the same SummerSlam tournament
- Of the 14 matches on Day 1 of the tournament, seven went five sets; only Hastings, Southern Oregon, and Biola posted 2-0 records.
