2020-21 Volleyball Notebook (Week 6)

COMING UP: at Lewis-Clark State, Friday, 7 p.m. (PDT); at Lewis-Clark State, Saturday, 5 p.m. (PDT)

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
SPECTATOR INFORMATION: Limited spectators will be allowed at this weekend's games at Lewis-Clark State, but all fans must adhere to the Cascade Conference COVID-19 policy – as masks inside the LCSC Activity Center must be worn at all times and strict physical distancing must be followed.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Both matches will feature both Live Video and Live Statistics – Live Video can be accessed through the LCSC Live Stream Portal, with Live Stats available through LCSC's SIDEARM Sports Platform.
 
ALMOST AN UPSET: Squaring off against No. 8 ranked Eastern Oregon on Friday night, the Coyotes showed marked improvement from their match-up three weeks ago against the Mountaineers. C of I held Eastern nearly 100 points below their season hitting percentage (.169) – forcing 29 attack errors – while racking up 12 team blocks. The Yotes held a two set lead after outlasting EOU in the opening two frames, but could not sustain the momentum, as the Mounties rallied to force a final set and used a big push to claim the match.
 
5-SET MATCHES VS. TOP-10: Friday's match was C of I's 16th 5-set encounter with a team ranked in the Top-10 since 2005, with the Yotes posting a 6-10 mark in those meetings. Last season, the Coyotes split two 5-set matches with Top-10 teams (losing to No. 5 Southern Oregon and winning against No. 7 Corban), with the team posting a win over No. 4 Viterbo in 2016, two wins over Midland in 2014 and wins over No. 5 Biola and No. 6 Rocky Mountain during the 2011 season. In 2007, C of I took No. 1 ranked National American to five sets before losing the match.
 
MAUZY LEADS THE ATTACK: In the loss to Eastern, Austyn Mauzy had her most prolific match of the season, hammering 14 kills in the 5-set affair. Since returning to the line-up full time against Warner Pacific on March 6, the junior has averaged 2.4 kills per set and provides veteran leadership to a young group of outside hitters.
 
JUNIORS HAVE SOLID TRIP: C of I got production from the other juniors in the rotation – as Cameron Wallace, Danielle Neuman and Bri Barta all were factors in the weekend matches. Wallace had seven kills in each match (and has had at least five kills in 11 of the 12 matches this season), while posting six blocks in Friday's loss. Neuman had 14 kills on the weekend, including nine on Friday night, with Barta adding five blocks and five kills in the Friday marathon.
 
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTE: The Yotes younger players made the most of their first-ever trip to Quinn Coliseum. Emily Vandenberg had 10 kills on the weekend, including six on Friday night; Sarah Gold combined for seven blocks in the two matches – including five on Friday; while Ali Carpenter posted double-digit digs for the sixth time this season, recording 11 in Friday's loss.
 
GOOD WEEKEND FOR THE SETTERS: Sharing setter duties in the 6-2 offense, Abigail Guinn and Margie Beeler had nearly identical stat lines in the two matches in La Grande. Guinn finished the weekend with 32 assists and 16 digs – recording her second double-double of the season on Friday with 20 assists and 11 digs, while Beeler posted 31 assists and 12 digs, also finishing with 20 assists (and seven digs) in the Friday match.
 
CAREER HIGH FOR KNUDSON: Settling into her role as libero, Chloe Knudson posted her highest dig total of the season on Friday, recording 21 digs in the 5-set marathon. Knudson is averaging 4.6 digs per set since putting on the opposite color jersey.
 
ON TO LEWISTON: The Coyotes will play their final two regular-season matches of the year this weekend, trekking to Lewiston to meet in-state rival Lewis-Clark State. It is the first-ever Cascade Conference meetings between the foes, as LCSC joined the circuit this year after spending the past 22 years as a member of the Frontier Conference.
 
HISTORY AT LC: The weekend series with LC marks the first time C of I has traveled to Lewiston since the 2013 season, when the Yotes dropped a 4-set match to the Warriors. The Coyotes are 2-6 all-time in Lewiston, posting a 3-set victory in 2004 behind 11 kills from Fran Hartman and Ashlea Thornton and a 5-set win in 2009 behind 15 kills from Kathryn Ely and 34 digs from current assistant coach, Whitney Brigham.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – LEWIS-CLARK STATE: The 2020-21 Warriors (5-5, 5-5 CCC) are mirror images to C of I, earning four of their wins in sweeps of Multnomah and Warner Pacific, both losing matches to Bushnell, with LC splitting matches against Oregon Tech. The Lewiston squad is led by outside hitters Chloe Emery (3.34 k/s, 1.09 d/s) and Tori Edwards (2.70 k/s, 2.00 d/s, 23 aces), along with blockers Jada Wyms (2.65 k/s, 0.97 b/s) and Carli Bernston (2.24 k/s, 0.71 b/s). LC runs a 2-setter offense, led by Jess Ruffing (4.96 a/s, 1.43 d/s) and Hannah Martinez (5.94 a/s, 1.74 d/s), with libero Kenzie Dean (4.56 d/s) their top defender.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: With two weekends left in the shortened Cascade Conference season, the Yotes are on the outside looking in to try to qualify for the 4-team CCC Championships. C of I sits alone in sixth-place in the 8-team league at 4-6, with three teams (Bushnell, Lewis-Clark State and Oregon Tech) at 5-5 – all well behind 10-0 Eastern Oregon and 9-1 Corban. To earn a postseason spot, C of I will need to win their final four matches (two at LCSC and two at home vs. Corban), while needing Bushnell and Oregon Tech to lose two matches each against seventh-place Warner Pacific (2-8) and last-place Multnomah (0-10) – as Bushnell and OIT each hold the head-to-head tiebreak on the Coyotes. The regular-season champion, along with the tournament champion, will receive bids to the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.
 
RECORD BOOK: Two Coyotes rank among the Top-20 in the career record book, as Abigail Guinn ranks No. 11 in assists (1,120) and Margie Beeler is No. 13 in assists (552).
 
HOME COURT SUCCESS: Since October of 2005, C of I has posted a 173-25 record at home – including a 73-match Cascade Conference win streak – with the team 260-61 all-time in the arena. Head coach Liz Mendiola has a home record of 208-35 in her 20 seasons as head coach.