BUTTE, Mont. - The College of Idaho split their first two matches of the weekend at the Big Sky Challenge, defeating Hope International and losing to Rocky Mountain.
The Lady Yotes (1-5) earned a 25-23, 25-12, 25-16 morning win over HIU, but fell in the evening 26-24, 25-10, 25-22 to No. 5 ranked Rocky.
Against the Southern California based Royals (0-2), C of I withstood a tough opening set to roll the rest of the way, notching their first win of the 2015 season and ending a nine-match losing streak vs. Golden State Athletic Conference foes, dating back to 2012.
Set 1 had 14 ties and eight lead changes, with HIU using a 5-0 surge midway through the period to take their largest lead at 18-15. Â The Yotes came right back, pushing four straight points, capped by a Katy Robinson kill, to regain a lead they would never relinquish. Â C of I led 24-23, with a service error by the Royals ending the set.
C of I took advantage of seven HIU errors and two Randi Sturtz kills in an opening 10-2 run to cruise to the Set 2 win. Â Abbey Fenton had eight of her team-high 12 kills in the period.
Jackie van Vliet led the way in Set 3 for the Yotes, recording four of her seven kills, including a spike in a late 4-0 spurt to put the frame away.
Sierra Porter led C of I with 31 assists and eight digs; Cheyan Coburn had 12 digs and two of the Yotes seven aces; with van Vliet recording six blocks.
Three players had six kills for the Royals, with setter Shea Beeman leading the team with 22 assists.
In the evening tilt, the Bears (4-2) battled back from a late first set deficit to top C of I.
The Lady Yotes took a 22-18 lead in Set 1, with RMC staving off a pair of set point chances by C of I. Ahlea Billis took over late, recording two kills in a 4-0 run to end the set for the Bears.
RMC rolled out to a 14-3 lead in Set 2 and was never headed, and then used a surge late in Set 3 to complete the sweep of their regional rival.
Billis had 13 kills and 15 digs in the win, with setter Tori Bertsch recording 33 assists.
Fenton led C of I with 10 kills, with Robinson adding nine. Â Porter had 32 assists and Kilee Lopez added 21 digs.
The Yotes close out tournament play tomorrow with matches vs. Montana Tech and The Masters.
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