CALDWELL, Idaho –
Brenna Meehan recorded six of her match-high seven aces in a 15-0 Set 1 run, as the College of Idaho rolled to a 25-8, 25-17, 25-21 victory over Oregon Tech inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the Lady Yotes (17-9, 12-6 CCC) clinched a spot in the Cascade Conference Championships – their 18th-straight postseason berth.
Trailing 1-0 in the opening set, Meehan unleashed a torrent of jump serves in the monster run, twice recording back-to-back aces.
Randi Sturtz and
Ashley Pagan each had two kills and Meehan added a back-row spike to blow open the score – as the Yotes held an opponent to under 10 points in a set for the second-straight match.
OIT (11-12, 7-10) showed their mettle in Set 2, getting a Kelsey Sampson kill and a Waverly Green ace as part of a 7-2 run to take an 8-6 lead. C of I answered quickly, with
Katy Robinson and
Jackie van Vliet recording kills and combining on a block, followed by two
Kilee Lopez aces – part of a 7-0 surge that give the Yotes the lead for good.
Pagan and Sturtz got the Yotes off on the right foot in Set 3, each smashing two kills in an opening 6-2 surge, a lead that would extend to 12-7 on a Meehan spike. Tech would use a 5-0 run, capped by a Sampson-Whitney Webster combo-block, to get within 20-19, only to see the Yotes get a pair of
Alaina Slater kills in a match-ending 5-2 run to close the 65 minute win.
Sturtz finished with eight kills in 14 swings without an error, with van Vliet adding eight kills and a trio of blocks. Pagan and Slater each logged six kills;
Jayde Folsom had 21 assists, with
Cheyan Coburn leading C of I with 15 digs.
Meehan had seven kills, seven aces and 14 digs for the Yotes – her seven aces equaling the 3-set school record and her six aces in Set 1 the most in a single set since Kylee Nawahine had six aces in an 18-0 Set 1 run at Warner Pacific in 2011.
OIT managed just 16 kills on the night, as Bailey Nelson finished with five kills and a team-high 10 digs. Despite the loss, the Owls held a 6-4 edge in team blocks.
The Yotes return to action tomorrow with a pivotal match-up against rival Southern Oregon at 7 p.m. The winner has the inside track on the No. 4 seed into the Cascade Conference Championships and a home quarterfinal match.
Tomorrow's match is also the annual Dig for a Cure Night, with C of I wearing pink uniforms to draw awareness to Breast Cancer Research. Fans who attend the Yotes football game vs. Eastern Oregon tomorrow afternoon will be admitted for free to the volleyball match with their used ticket stub.
