CALDWELL, Idaho – College of Idaho rebounded in a big way on Day 2 of pod play to open the Cascade Conference season, hitting a combined .344 percent on the day in sweeping two matches from Multnomah University inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The Yotes (2-2, 2-2 CCC) set the tone with dominating first sets in both matches and finished the day with a 15-0 edge in total blocks in the victories.
MATCH 1 – COLLEGE OF IDAHO 3, MULTNOMAH 0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-20)
C of I used a balanced offensive attack to stymie the Lions (0-4, 0-4) in the opening match of the day.
Jade Warren had three of her nine kills in an opening 10-1 run in Set 1, as the Yotes cruised to the win – recording 16 kills and just one error in the frame.
The Coyotes block took over midway in Set 2, as
Sarah Gold recorded three block assists in a 10-3 run that gave the hosts an 18-11 lead.
Set 3 saw MU bolt to a 10-3 lead as Janae Stokes had three kills in the run, before
Kylie Crossland had three kills in a Coyote 13-4 surge that gave them the lead for good.
Crossland finished with nine kills, with
Chloe Knudson logging eight kills, six digs and two aces. Setter Abagail Guinn had four kills, 19 assists and eight digs, Gold had six blocks, with libero
Ali Carpenter posting 28 digs.
Stokes had 13 kills and 15 digs for the Lions, with Rachel Bailey finishing with 27 assists.
MATCH 2 – COLLEGE OF IDAHO 3, MULTNOMAH 0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-18)
The afternoon contest was almost identical to the opener – as C of I won a lopsided first set and used big runs to claim the next two frames.
The Coyotes scored 20 of the first 25 points of the match – with both
Danielle Neuman and Knudson each recording three kills in the run, rolling to the set win.
Set 2 saw eight early ties, the last at 13-13, before the Yotes forced four MU hitting errors in a 6-0 run and never trailed again. C of I used another run in Set 3, breaking a 6-6 tie with an 11-2 spurt, paced by two kills from both Crossland and
Cameron Wallace, to close out the match.
Neuman had nine kills and three digs and
Emily Vandenberg added eight kills for C of I, with Wallace posting six kills and three blocks. Guinn logged a double-double with 23 assists and 12 digs, Knudson had five kills, eight digs and three aces, with Carpenter leading all players with 13 digs.
Stokes had a match-high 16 kills for the Lions, but the rest of the squad combined for just 11 kills.
C of I and the CCC will take next weekend off, returning to the court on March 5-6, as the Yotes will host a four-team pod, facing both Bushnell and Warner Pacific.
