Ashland, Ore. - Despite a dominating performance in the first two sets, College of Idaho picked up their first loss of the season tonight at Southern Oregon. The Yotes won the first two sets 25-10 and 25-19 before dropping the final three 25-23, 25-18 and 15-9.
The Yotes went on a 12-point streak early in the first set to put them up 14-5. During the run,
Taylor Alexander had three service aces and would pick up one more by the end of the match. She ended the match with 16 kills on 23 attempts with two errors for a team-high .609 percent. As a team, the Yotes had a first-set team hitting percentage of .636 compared with Southern Oregon's .000.
During a tougher second set, the Yotes used a mid-set run to get up 18-12. While they had their lowest hitting percentage - .158 - of the match, three service aces helped them take the match 25-19.
The third set was the tightest set of the match with neither team picking up more than three consecutive points. College of Idaho maintained a slight edge until SOU went on a three point run to pull ahead 14-13. The Yotes would regain their lead until Southern Oregon went on another three-point run to make the score 22-21. They won the match 25-23.
Southern Oregon made a strong early showing in the fourth set, leading 12-5 after a five-point run and a four-point run. The Yotes would claw their way back towards the end and tied the set at 18-18 on an
Alaina Slater kill, but they ultimately fell 25-22.
In the final set, Southern Oregon came out strong with a .611 hitting percentage compared to the Yotes .176. They only led once - 2-1 - in the set and lost 15-9.
With 19 digs and 10 kills,
Ashley Pagan posted the Yotes' only double-double. She also had one of the Yotes' 11 service aces. Meehan, Alexander and Jackie Van Vliet all had double-figure kills and setter Marija Djonovic posted 57 assists. As a team, the Yotes had the edge in kills (68-57), total points (87-69), aces (11-2) and hitting percentage (.294-.254).
The Yotes are now 9-1 on the season and 1-1 in Cascade Conference play. They'll be playing at the J.A. Albertson's Activity Center on Sept. 8 against Warner Pacific and Sept. 10 against Multnomah. Both games start at 7 p.m.
