EUGENE, Ore. - No. 13 College of Idaho picked up a hard-fought road win tonight against Northwest Christian in Eugene, Ore. They defeated the Beacons in five sets (25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-13) to move to a 21-4 (13-4 CCC) record.
Two service aces from
Taylor Alexander and one from
Miah Perez opened up the first set 14-10 and led the way to a Coyotes victory. They'd extend their lead even further - to 19-13 - aided by two kills and an assist from
Ashley Pagan. She'd end the night with a double-double, racking up 11 kills and 24 digs. The Yotes would win the first set 25-16 with an attack percentage of .209 compared with the Beacons .028.
The Yotes held the largest lead of the second set at 23-19 before the Beacons scored six points in a row to take the set 25-23. In that set, Northwest Christian ended with a .220 attack percentage while the Yotes had a .082.
The College of Idaho came back to win the third set easily with a score of 25-18. They never trailed in the second set, ending with an attack percentage of .303 compared with Northwest Christian's .053.
In the fourth set, the Yotes led or the score was tied until the Beacons went on a four-point run to make the score 16-13. The Yotes were never able to bring the set back within four points and ultimately lost 25-20.
The Coyotes jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the deciding set before a couple of runs brought the Beacons back into with a score of 9-6. A block by the Beacons Megan Van Marter and Maci Beierle would bring them within one with a score of 13-12. A Danielle Willyard kill would get the Beacons one more point in the set, but a Pagan kill handed the Yotes the 15-13 set and the match victory.
Taylor Alexander led the Yotes in kills with 16 while Marija Djonovic picked up 49 assists and 13 digs for the double-double.
Kilee Lopez led in digs with 26. She and Alexander also led the team in aces with two each, and the Yotes out-aced the Beacons 7-4.
Alaina Slater led the Yotes in blocks with three.
Overall, the Yotes had an attack percentage of .190 compared to the Beacons .164.
The College of Idaho continues their road trip against Corban tomorrow at 5 p.m. PT.
