ASHLAND, Ore. – College of Idaho will have to wait for a possible at-large bid to the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, as the Lady Yotes were upended by No. 12-ranked Eastern Oregon in the semifinals of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, inside Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Mountaineers (23-6) used a commanding 13-3 edge in total blocks, forcing C of I into a season-low .068 hitting percentage in the 25-23, 25-17, 26-24 victory over their I-84 rivals. EOU will meet the winner of tonight's Southern Oregon-Corban match-up in tomorrow's title match.
The No. 16-ranked Lady Yotes (22-8), who had reached the CCC title match in 11 of their past 12 tournament appearances, are in line for one of nine at-large bids to the NAIA Championships – with the announcement set for Monday at 9 a.m. If C of I is ranked in the Top-19 in the final Top-25 poll, they will be seeded through to the NAIA Tournament final site, beginning Nov. 27 in Sioux City, Iowa, however, if they are outside the Top-19 and receive a bid, they will host an Opening Round match next Saturday at 2 p.m.
C of I had control of Set 1, as a 4-0 run, including a
Marija Djonovic ace, gave the Yotes a 14-10 lead. The margin extended to 19-14 on a
Danielle Neuman kill, but Eastern scored 10 of the next 12 points – recording two blocks and forcing three Coyote hitting errors – to take a lead they did not surrender.
EOU dominated Set 2, scoring the first five points and never trailed, while jumping to a 7-1 lead in Set 3. The Lady Yotes responded, drawing even at 13-13 on a
Mali Sawyer kill, with consecutive
Ashley Pagan spikes giving C of I a late 19-16 edge. The Mounties block returned, stuffing two Coyote chances in an 8-3 run that forced match point. An EOU hitting error and a
Taylor Alexander kill tied the score at 24-24, but an untimely C of I blocking error, followed by a Hailee Ackerman kill ended the match.
Pagan had 10 kills and 16 digs in the loss for the Yotes – needing just three kills to reach the 1,000 mark for her career. Alexander had nine kills, with Djonovic leading the way with 29 assists and
Drew Dobney recording 17 digs.
Megan Bunn led EOU with 14 kills and four blocks, with Ackerman finishing with 10 kills.
