2021 Volleyball Notebook (Week 5)

COMING UP: at Warner Pacific, Friday, 7 p.m. (PDT); at Multnomah, Saturday, 5 p.m. (PDT)
 
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTES

LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS: Live Video and Live Stats will be available for Friday's match at Warner Pacific through the WPU Presto Sports Portal, while Saturday, Multnomah is hopeful to have a video stream - with the link to be posted at some point on Saturday. The 2021 C of I Volleyball Season Pass does not apply to road matches.
 
COVID PROTOCOLS IN PORTLAND: For Friday's match at Warner Pacific, all fans are welcome to attend – but must wear a mask in compliance with the Cascade Conference COVID policy. Saturday at Multnomah, fans are limited to only those who have a proof of COVID vaccination or have proof of a negative COVID test within the previous 72-hours (and all patrons must adhere to the CCC mask protocol).
 
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 15 seasons. C of I has won 25 or more matches 12 different times, with the 2006 team setting the school record with 35 victories.
 
ONE WIN AWAY FROM 450: With a win this weekend, head coach Liz Mendiola will become the first C of I women's coach to record 450 career wins in a sport. Mendiola currently ranks No. 3 on the all-time C of I wins list with 449 – trailing only current baseball head coach Shawn Humberger (604) and former baseball coach Tim Mooney (526).
 
HITTING PERCENTAGE EQUALS A WIN: The Coyotes are a perfect 4-0 this season when posting an attack percentage of .230 or better – including the .278 percentage in Saturday's win over Walla Walla. The team, however, is 0-9 when they fail to reach the .230 percent threshold.
 
HIGHEST DIG TOTAL SINCE 2019: C of I was active defensively throughout the weekend – with the 77 total digs in the match vs. Lewis-Clark State and the 64 digs in the match vs. Walla Walla both season highs and the most by a Coyote team since 2019. The 77 digs vs. LC were the most by the Yotes since recording 86 digs in a home win over Hope International in August of 2019.
 
VANDENBERG DOUBLES UP: The Yotes continue to get outstanding play from 6-rotation outside hitter Emily Vandenberg, who had her string of consecutive matches with double-digit kills snapped at three on Tuesday vs. Eastern Oregon. The second-year player leads C of I with 107 kills on the season and recorded her second double-double of the year against Lewis-Clark State, recording 11 kills and 10 digs. Vandenberg has recorded at least eight kills and six digs in nine of C of I's 14 matches this season.
 
DE SOUZA REMAINS CONSISTANT: The Coyotes have received a huge boost from Leyah de Souza, who has had an impressive first month in a Coyote uniform. The true freshman has posted 7-or-more kills in 10 of the Yotes 13 matches, adding a season-best five digs against Eastern Oregon and adding three blocks vs. Lewis-Clark State. She currently ranks second on the team with 99 kills and a 2.25 kills per set average, ranking third with 20 total blocks.
 
WARREN HAS SOLID WEEKEND: C of I got a huge boost in the middle from Jade Warren, as the junior blocker had her best weekend of the 2021 season.  Warren recorded seven kills in all three matches, leading the team with a combined .341 attack percentage, adding a team-best eight total blocks, pushing her career blocks total to 167.
 
HANCOCK HANDLES LIBERO DUTIES: With the Coyotes short-handed during the three weekend contests, Masie Hancock took the opportunity to serve as C of I's libero and ran with it. The senior posted the two highest dig totals in her C of I career, recording 24 digs on Friday against Lewis-Clark State and adding 20 digs in Saturday's win over Walla Walla. Hancock saw her season dig average climb to 2.93 digs per set.
 
STEEL AN ACE MACHINE: True freshman setter Sydnee Steel had an outstanding weekend, recording a career-high 22 assists against Lewis-Clark State and posting a career-high four service aces in Saturday's win over Walla Walla. Steel has recorded an ace in 4-straight matches and six of the Yotes last seven outings, with her 17 aces leading the team and ranking in a tie for fourth among all CCC players.
 
FRITH LOGS DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Setter Sidney Frith recorded her first double-double of the season on Friday, recording 22 assists and 11 digs in the 4-set loss to Lewis-Clark State. It was the seventh match this season that the first-year Coyote has posted 20-or-more assists, with Frith recording 8-or-more digs in all three weekend matches. For the season, Frith leads the squad, averaging 5.55 assists per set and has added 1.73 digs per set.
 
HAWKINS HAS HUGE NIGHT: Brenna Hawkins earned the start at one of the two middle blocker spots in all three matches – posting her best weekend of the season. The true freshman combined on seven total blocks in the league contests, while posting a career-high nine kills on just 14 swings in Saturday's win over Walla Walla.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Two teams will battle for first-place this weekend in the Willamette Valley, as Oregon Tech travels to Corban. OIT is off to their first-ever 5-0 start in league play and defeated Southern Oregon on Tuesday – their first win over SOU since 2005, while Corban is 11-0 on the season – their best start in program history. Along with OIT and SOU traveling to Corban and Bushnell, both Evergreen and Northwest hit the road for a second-straight week, traveling to Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla, while C of I and Eastern Oregon head to Portland for matches at Warner Pacific and Multnomah.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WARNER PACIFIC: C of I opens the road portion of the 22-match CCC schedule on Friday at Warner Pacific, as the Knights (0-8, 0-5 CCC) look for their first win of 2021. WP has posted a .059 hitting percentage on the young season, with the team managing just 11.5 total blocks through eight matches. All-CCC pick Grace Buchanan (4.11 k/s, 2.43 d/s, 9 aces) has been the offense for the Knights, taking over 50-percent of their offensive swings, with Tevlin Britten (1.21 k/s) the only other player with more than one kill per set. Setter Matalasi Laban (5.07 a/s, 1.86 d/s) is a former All-CCC pick, with libero Sarah Mahammady (3.00 d/s) leading the team in digs.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MULTNOMAH: The weekend ends at Multnomah, where the Lions (2-4, 1-4 CCC) have shown improvement this season – picking up a pair of wins over Warner Pacific and taking sets on the road at both Evergreen and Northwest. MU is hitting .063 as a team and averaging 1.9 aces and 1.0 blocks per set. Three players average over two kills per set – Danae Stokes (2.62 k/s, 1.31 d/s), Jocelynn Porter (2.38 k/s, 0.33 b/s) and Kamalie Labanon (2.05 k/s, 2.86 d/s), with setter Rachel Bailey (5.93 a/s, 1.21 d/s) and libero Alyssa Mehalovich (4.48 d/s) the top two passers.
 
RECORD BOOK: Four Coyotes rank among the Top-25 in career assists – as Abigail Guinn sits at No. 10 (1,213), Margie Beeler at No. 13 (609), Sidney Frith at No. 18 (244) and Sydnee Steel at No. 21 (181).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: C of I continues their road trip next weekend with matches at Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon, before returning home on Oct. 1-2 to host Northwest and Evergreen.