2021 Volleyball Notebook (Week 6)

COMING UP: at Southern Oregon, Friday, 7 p.m. (PDT); at Oregon Tech, Saturday, 5 p.m. (PDT)
 
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS: Both weekend matches will be streamed at Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech, with the links available through the Yotes Digital Network (however the 2021 C of I Volleyball Season Pass does not apply to road matches). Live Stats at Southern Oregon will be available through SOU's SIDEARM Sports Portal, with Live Stats at Oregon Tech available through OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal.
 
COVID PROTOCOLS AT SOUTHERN AND OIT: For fans making the trip for this weekend's road matches – both schools have specific protocols for fans. At Southern Oregon, all fans 12-and-older must show a proof of a completed COVID vaccine (vaccine card or picture of valid vaccine card) series or a negative COVID test (within the previous 48-hours) to enter – with all fans required to wear a mask at all times. At Oregon Tech, all fans will be admitted (regardless of vaccine status), but will be required to wear a mask at all times.
 
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.
 
YOTES SWEEP IN PORTLAND: After a tough homestand, the Coyotes went on the road for the first time in Cascade Conference play – recording back-to-back 3-set sweeps against the Portland schools. C of I forced a combined 36 hitting errors, while allowing just two total blocks in the six sets played – holding the opponents under 20 points in four of the six sets.
 
BIG HITTING NIGHT: C of I had their best offensive night of the season at Warner Pacific, hitting at a .380 percentage – their highest since the 2019 season – while recording their third match this season with 10-or-more aces. The Coyotes had just nine hitting errors in the victory – the ninth time in their last 158 matches (dating back to 2016) with single-digit errors.
 
DEFENSE FORCES A NEGATIVE PERCENTAGE: The Coyote defense was dominant in the win over Warner Pacific, forcing more hitting errors (20) than kills (18) – the first time in two seasons that C of I has had an opponent record a negative attack percentage. It was the lowest hitting percentage by a C of I opponent since Oregon Tech hit at a paltry -.041 percent in 2015 – one of six times in that 7-year stretch that the Yotes forced a negative attack percentage.
 
VANDENBERG HAS BIG TRIP: Leading the Coyotes in Portland was second-year outside hitter Emily Vandenberg, who posted big matches against both Warner Pacific and Multnomah. Vandenberg opened the trip with eight kills, a team-high 11 digs and four aces at WP, following it with a team-high 12 kills, nine digs and three blocks at MU – hitting at a combined .356 percentage in the two matches. She has improved her team-leading kills per set average to 2.59, is averaging 2.18 digs per set, and leads the team with a .954 serve percentage.
 
SERVING TOUGH: The Yotes used tough serving in both matches to add to their point total – recording 10 aces in the win over Warner Pacific and seven more vs. Multnomah. Freshman outside hitter Ella Fischer led the charge, recording five aces on the weekend – including three aces at WP, while setter Sydnee Steel had four aces, pushing her team lead to 21, ranking among the Top-10 in the CCC. Steel also recorded a season-high 22 assists at WP.
 
NEAR-PERFECT EVENINGS: Both opposite hitters for the Coyotes had a big match on the trip to Portland, each recording a hitting percentage over .500.  Leyah de Souza did her damage against Warner Pacific, leading the team with nine kills on just 13 swings, recording just one attack error. Danielle Neuman nearly mirrored the result at Multnomah, posting eight kills on 14 swings with just one attack error – with the senior also leading the team at WP with four blocks.
 
MENDIOLA WINS HER 450TH MATCH: With the Yotes win Friday at Warner Pacific, head coach Liz Mendiola joined the 450-win club – becoming just the third C of I coach to record at least 450 wins in a season. She joins baseball coaches Shawn Humberger (604 wins) and Tim Mooney (526 wins) in the exclusive club and is currently one of only 13 NAIA volleyball coaches to reach the 450-win plateau. Mendiola holds the most wins of any NAIA volleyball coach on the West Coast – with both Eastern Oregon head coach Kaki McLean-Morehead and Southern Oregon head coach Josh Rohlfing each surpassing the 300-win total.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: It was a weekend of sweeps in the Cascade Conference – as five different teams posted 2-0 marks, including both C of I and Eastern Oregon in Portland. Both Corban and Bushnell played well at home, sweeping Southern Oregon and knocking Oregon Tech from the list of unbeaten teams in the league standings, while Lewis-Clark State held serve at home against Northwest and Evergreen. This week, Corban and Bushnell travel to Evergreen and Northwest, while Warner Pacific and Multnomah head to Walla Walla and LCSC.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: The road swing opens on Friday, as the Yotes meet longtime rival Southern Oregon, as the Raiders (7-5, 2-5 CCC) look to snap a 5-match losing streak. SOU, which opted out of the 2020 season, opened the new campaign with a perfect 7-0 record, but haven't won since – including rare home losses to Northwest and Evergreen. The Raiders have a potent attack, led by the trio of Hailey Van Well (3.66 k/s, 1.58 d/s), Shelby Young (2.56 k/s) and Simone Gordon (2.13 k/s, 0.59 b/s) –as the team hits at a .236 clip on the season. Setter Gwen Sheldon (5.08 a/s, 16 aces) is part of a 2-setter offense, while returning libero Kadyn Jones (3.81 d/s) is one of three players on the squad a part of the 2019 team that advanced to the NAIA Tournament.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – OREGON TECH: C of I heads to Klamath Falls on Saturday to meet Oregon Tech, as the Owls (9-3, 5-2 CCC) are off to a banner start to the season. Tech opened league play 5-0 – including their first win over rival Southern Oregon since 2005, thanks to the play of hitters Nicole Reyes (2.79 k/s, 2.32 d/s), Kaylin Talonen (2.53 k/s) and Faith Houck-Wylie (2.29 k/s, 0.61 b/s) – all averaging over two kills per set. Setter Courtney Isom (5.20 a/s, 13 aces) and libero Aubrey Kievit (3.71 d/s, 12 aces) are two of five Tech players with over 10 aces on the season, as the team averages 2.1 aces per set.
 
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 (269) and Sydnee Steel at No. 19 (216).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: C of I returns home for Homecoming Weekend, closing out the first half of the Cascade Conference schedule with matches against Northwest and Evergreen – with both matches set for 7 p.m.