LA MIRADA, Calif. – After surviving three match points in Set 3, the College of Idaho rallied from an 11-7 deficit in Set 5 to stun No. 4 Viterbo (Wis.) 21-25, 18-25, 28-26, 25-20, 15-13 on Day 1 of the Red Lion-Anaheim Summer Slam Tournament in Chase Gym.
The No. 11 Lady Yotes (1-1) dropped a four-set morning match to The Master's (Calif.), before knocking off their highest-ranked opponent in program history.
Five different C of I players recorded double-digit kills against VU, with
Randi Sturtz leading the way with 14 kills and five blocks, with newcomer
Brenna Meehan adding 13 kills.
Sturtz had three kills in an 8-2 run to close the match – including the exclamation point with a spike to close the victory.
Abbey Fenton had 12 kills,
Katy Robinson had 11 kills and three blocks, with
Alaina Slater logging a career-high 11 kills and four blocks.
Jayde Folsom had 32 assists and both
Kilee Lopez and
Cheyan Coburn each recorded 17 digs.
The V-Hawks (1-1) got 20 kills from Natalie Geidel, but hit just .115 in the deciding fifth set.
Earlier in the day, C of I struggled with their attack in a 25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 16-25 loss to The Master's, hitting just .131 in the four set affair.
After winning Set 1, the Yotes squandered a 20-18 lead in Set 2 and a 13-6 lead in Set 3, before the Mustangs (1-0) cruised to the Set 4 victory.
Meehan led the Yotes with 14 kills and 13 digs, with Folsom recording 17 assists and Lopez 16 digs.
Morgan Koch and Maryah Richberg combined for 26 kills on 49 swings for the Mustangs.
C of I closes tournament play tomorrow with matches against No. 6 Midland and No. 16 Westmont.
YOTE NOTES
- C of I last had defeated just one Top-5 team in program history, topping No. 5 ranked Biola during the 2011 season – in the same Summer Slam Tournament
- The win ended an eight-match losing streak by the Yotes in the tournament, dating back to a 2014 win over Midland University
- C of I used a 6-2 attack in both matches – as Folsom paired to set with junior transfer Christine Wing against The Masters and paired with Sydney Call vs. Viterbo.
