CALDWELL, Idaho – Northwest Christian used nine aces and eight team blocks, while forcing College of Idaho into 25 attack errors, as the Beacons upset the Yotes in the quarterfinals of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
NCU (19-9) won their first-ever postseason match with a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 decision – advancing to meet Southern Oregon in Friday's semifinals.
The Beacons used a dominant night from the service line to keep the Yotes (17-11) out of system. NCU used an 8-1 run in Set 1 to break a 5-5 tie, holding C of I to a .029 hitting percentage in the frame.
Set 2 was full of runs, as
Ashley Pagan rattled of three kills to open the set for C of I, but Cambria Lingenfelder answered with three consecutive aces in a 6-0 NCU surge. The Coyotes rallied from a 21-18 deficit to pull even at 23-23 on an NCU attack error, but back-to-back Payton Jones kills ended the set.
NCU bolted to a 7-1 lead in Set 3 – including aces from Makenna Northern and Lingenfelder, before a C of I ralled, ended by a Pagan kill, got the hosts within 10-7. The Beacons turned to Lingenfelder, who had three kills in a 10-4 run that put the match away.
Pagan had 12 kills and 12 digs in the loss, with
Jade Warren and
Austyn Mauzy each finishing with eight kills.
Lingenfelder led NCU with 10 kills, seven digs and five aces, with Northern recording 31 assists and Jones finishing with six kills and four blocks.
It was C of I's earliest postseason exit since the 2004 CCC quarterfinals, when the Yotes lost a straight-set decision to Oregon Tech. It was just the Coyotes third home playoff loss in 27 all-time postseason games.
