SIOUX CITY, Iowa -
Ashley Pagan had eight kills, 13 digs and two huge third set aces, helping the College of Idaho open Pool Play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships with a straight-set win over the University of Providence inside Tyson Events Center.
The Lady Yotes (23-8) improved to 5-0 this season against Frontier Conference teams with their 25-20, 25-17, 26-24 victory over the Argos.
"That was a big win for us," said head coach
Liz Mendiola. "We got a little complacent in Set 3, but we clamped down defensively, tightened up our block and served tough against a good team."
After sweeping the first two sets, the Argos (22-10) got a pair of aces and two Kelsey Shaver kills in a 7-1 run to take a 23-18 lead. C of I, making their 12th appearance at the event in the last 14 years, got kills from
Taylor Alexander and
Marija Djonovic, followed by consecutive aces from Pagan, to cut the margin to 23-22. After a UP side out, Alexander extended the set with a kill and combined with
Jackie van Vliet on a block to tie the score. Following an Argos hitting error,
Drew Dobney closed the match with an ace.
Alexander led the Yotes with 10 kills, van Vliet had eight kills and
Kaydre Thompson had seven kills and two blocks. Djonovic recorded 32 assists and 12 digs to spearhead the C of I attack.
Pagan had three kills in a 6-2 push in Set 1 to build a 22-16 lead - surpassing the 1,000-kill mark for her career. The junior becomes just the fourth player in program history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
Thompson added two kills in a 6-1 surge in Set 2 to take a 17-10 lead - as the Yotes hit a match-high .414 percent in the period and finished the match hitting at a .310 clip.
UP was led by Shaver, who recorded 13 kills, while Averi Dyer had 17 digs. It marked the first-ever NAIA Tournament match for the Argos.
C of I continues Pool Play tomorrow afternoon, meeting Milligan (Tenn.) at 3 p.m. (MT)
