CALDWELL, Idaho – The College of Idaho volleyball team nearly pulled off an upset of No. 6 Corban on Friday night as they lost by a 11-25, 25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 15-12 margin at the J.A. Albertson Activity Center.
Corban (24-3, 18-1 CCC) took one more step closer to a Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season title with the win. The step did not come easy for the nationally-ranked Warriors as an all-around team effort by College of Idaho (15-12, 13-6 CCC) provided a formidable challenge.
The first set saw College of Idaho post a .241 hitting percentage and Corban held to a -.118 clip. In holding the Warriors to 11 points, it is the lowest output by a Corban team since they were held to 10 points against Northwestern (Iowa) on April 28, 2021. The Yotes led from start to finish as
Haley McUne paced the Yotes with four kills and four digs to go along with a service ace.
After taking the first set, the Warriors came back to even the match at a set apiece with a 25-15 victory in the second set. Corban led from start to finish. Ryle Troutman accounted for seven of the 12 kills as Corban hit .286 and the Yotes were held to a -.200 hitting percentage.
The third set was the most tightly contested set of the match as there were four lead changes and the set was tied on eight occasions. College of Idaho held a 19-14 lead before the visitors from Salem came back with a 9-1 run to take a 24-20 lead on the Yotes. It was the first lead in the set for the Warriors since 12-11. Corban hit .222 with four kills each from Troutman and Emma Bischoff. The Yotes were paced by a pair of three-kill efforts from
Jade Warren and
Alexa Wheeler.
The fourth set, like the third, went back and forth between the two teams. The set was tied on five occasions and also had three lead changes. With the set tied at 10, a block by
Shelbey Nichol and a Yotes kill put the host Yotes ahead for the remainder of the set. Four kills each by Warren and McUne led College of Idaho, who forced a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set saw Corban jump out to a 5-0 lead but that did not phase the upset minded Yotes, who eventually came back to tie the set at 8 and take its first lead at 10-9. The two teams were tied at 10 and 11 before a pair of hitting errors by the Yotes put the visitors ahead for the remainder of the set on its way to a 15-12 victory to secure the set and the match.
Despite the loss,
Jade Warren finished the match with 13 kills and
Haley McUne added 10 to go along with 14 digs and two service aces. Warren also had her hand on five blocks for the Yotes.
Savannah Hutchins and
Analise Hitchcock had 18 and 17 assists, respectively.
Clair Hodge added 26 digs and
Janae Rayborn added 12 to go along with nine kills.
For Corban, Rylee Troutman had 24 kills and Emma Bischoff added 11. Setters Abby Guindy and Nadeiah Howard had 22 and 16 assists, respectively. Marissa Uehara provided 22 digs and the frontline for the Warriors recorded 17 blocks.
Next up for College of Idaho is the home finale against Bushnell on Saturday at 7 p.m.
