COMING UP: Host Cascade Conference Pod – Friday vs. Oregon Tech, 9 a.m. / 1 p.m.; Saturday vs. Multnomah, 9 a.m. / 1 p.m.
COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
SPECTATOR POLICY: Per the Cascade Conference Return to Play Protocol, spectators are currently not allowed to attend volleyball matches inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: All C of I home matches, along with all CCC Pod matches, will be broadcast live (pay-per-view, $8.99 per game, $24.99 for season pass for all home matches) on the
Yotes Digital Network with Mike Safford and
Sven Alskog providing commentary.
CASCADE CONFERENCE SHIFTS FIRST HALF OF SEASON TO IDAHO: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCC postponed the 2020 volleyball season, shifting play to the winter/spring of 2021 – with hopes improving conditions allowed teams to play. Beginning Friday, eight of the 12 teams in the circuit will embark on a 14-game schedule (Evergreen, Walla Walla, Northwest, Southern Oregon opted out), which will conclude with a CCC Tournament. Due to capacity guidelines in Oregon, the league has moved the first month of the season to the two Idaho schools – as C of I and Lewis-Clark State will each host 4-team pods on Feb. 19-20 and March 5-6, with all four teams at a site playing four matches in a weekend. Beginning the weekend of March 19-20, the hope is the limitations in Oregon will be enough that the remainder of the schedule can be played at all campus sites.
OPENING WEEKEND PODS: This weekend, C of I and Eastern Oregon will meet Oregon Tech and Multnomah in Caldwell – playing two matches against the same opponent each day. Game times are set for 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. – with the Yotes playing the first and third matches of the day. In Lewiston, LC State and Corban will meet Warner Pacific and Bushnell. In two weeks, the opposing teams will rotate – as Bushnell and Warner Pacific will head to Caldwell to meet C of I and EOU.
PRESEASON POLLS: The Yotes were picked to finish third in the preseason CCC Coaches' Poll – trailing only Eastern Oregon and Corban. Bushnell, Lewis-Clark State and Oregon Tech round out the Top-5. In the first NAIA Coaches' Poll of 2021, EOU was ranked No. 8 and Corban No. 13, with C of I the second team listed in the receiving votes category – with the Coyotes ranked or receiving votes each of the last 16 seasons.
SEASON OPENER / HOME OPENERS: Since the 1986 season, the Yotes are 13-21 in season opening matches and 24-10 in their opening game at home. Friday's match with Oregon Tech marks the first time since 2012 that C of I has opened the season at home.
HOME COURT SUCCESS: Since October of 2005, C of I has posted a 165-19 record at home – including a 73-match Cascade Conference win streak – with the team 256-55 all-time in the arena. Head coach
Liz Mendiola has recorded a home record of 204-29 in her 19 seasons as head coach
A MARK OF CONSISTENCY: The Yotes have been one of the premier volleyball programs in the Northwest, recording 20 or more victories 19 times, including 12 of the past 14 seasons – with the team recording 23-straight seasons with a .500 or better record. C of I has won 25 or more matches 12 different times, with the 2006 team setting the school record with 35 victories.
ABOUT OREGON TECH: One of two CCC teams to already start their season, the Owls (3-0) played three matches in California, sweeping matches with Simpson and William Jessup. OIT is coming off a 15-15 record in 2019 and has a new head coach, Dr. Ken Murczek – the former skipper at Division I Wake Forest. Tech returns outside hitter Nicole Reyes (4.25 k/s, 2.58 d/s) and opposite hitter Faith Houck-Wylie (1.92 k/s, 0.58 b/s), along with libero Lindsey Sampson (3.42 d/s). OIT is looking to snap a 24-match losing streak to the Yotes, dating back to 2008.
ABOUT MULTNOMAH: The Lions (3-19 in 2019) look to improve in head coach Colton Niall's second season at the Portland school, as MU returns a pair of starters in outside hitters Danae Stokes (1.92 k/s, 2.00 d/s) and Kamaile Labanon (1.85 k/s, 1.93 d/s). MU will be looking for their first win ever in Caldwell, having lost their previous five trips to the Activities Center.
POSITION PREVIEW: DEFENSE: The battle for playing time among the back row players has been intense throughout the fall and winter practice season – as only one player with experience returns. Sophomore
Alyssa Espley played in 19 matches as a true freshman, averaging 1.40 digs and adding nine aces in the 42 sets played. She will be joined by transfer
Masie Hancock and freshmen
Ali Carpenter,
Payton Elledge and 2-sport athlete,
Chevelle Shepherd. Hancock was an All-NWAC selection at Blue Mountain CC, averaging over five digs per set during her junior college career; Carpenter was the Inland Empire League Defensive Player of the Year at Post Falls High; Elledge was an All-Southern Idaho Conference pick at Bishop Kelly High; while Shepherd was a 2018 Idaho 1A-Division II All-State pick.
POSITION PREVIEW – SETTERS: Experience at the setter position will be key for the Yotes success, as all three players who saw action in 2019 return. Sophomore
Abigail Guinn returns after serving as the primary setter throughout the majority of the 2019 season, ranking second in the CCC with a 9.22 assists per set average. Also back are juniors
Margie Beeler and
Brianna Barta – Beeler playing in 19 matches and averaging 3.24 assists per set when C of I ran a 6-2 attack, while Barta spent the bulk of the season as an opposite hitter.
POSITION PREVIEW – OUTSIDE HITTERS: Offensively, C of I will look much different than last season, as four of the top-six hitting options from 2019 are no longer on the squad. However, a quality group of returners and recruits will combine for a potent attack. Junior outside
Austyn Mauzy looks to build off of a breakout 2019 season where she averaging 2.40 kills per set and added 30 blocks at the net, while sophomore
Kylie Crossland looks for and expanded role after seeing time in just 13 sets as a freshman. Transfer Chloe Knudsen and freshman
Emily Vandenberg will also be key to the Yotes success. Knudsen played two seasons at North Idaho College, helping her team to the 2019 NWAC title, averaging 2.6 kills and 3.4 digs per set, while Vandenberg had 385 kills as a senior at Wood River High, playing for former Coyote All-American, Kristyn Rutland.
POSITION PREVIEW – BLOCKERS/OPPOSITES: At the net C of I has experience, as four key options return in 2020-21 – including
Jade Warren. The sophomore was thrust into a starting role as a true freshman and thrived at the opportunity, averaging nearly two kills and a block per set – ranking among the Top-10 in the CCC in blocks per set. The addition of Wallace at the net will make an immediate impact, as the 6-foot-1 middle averaged a block per set and hit at a .370 clip her last season at Shasta College. On the right pin, a trio of players are battling for spots in the rotation – Barta,
Danielle Neuman and
Sarah Gold – all who stand 6-foot-1 or taller. Barta averaged 0.59 blocks per set last season as a sophomore; while Neuman, a junior, 53 kills and 31 blocks during the 2019 season. Gold, a freshman, earned All-SIC honors as a senior at Rocky Mountain High.
