LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 4 seed College of Idaho volleyball started the day, advancing to the semifinals at the 2023 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21 win over Northwest. The day saw the Yotes lose in five to No. 1 seed / No. 3 Eastern Oregon, 25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 22-25, 8-15.
Against Northwest, it was four-tightly contested sets in the quarterfinals saw the match tied 17 times and feature 10 lead changes. The one-two punch for College of Idaho was
Janae Rayborn and
Jade Warren, who had 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Warren hit at a .435 clip and Rayborn was just as potent with a .270 clip. Rayborn added 13 digs for her first double double of the season.
CCC Co-Setter of the Year
Analise Hitchcock had 27 assists and
Savannah Hutchins added 19. The frontline posted 22 blocks with six from Warren and five from
Shelbey Nichol.
Riding the momentum of the win against Northwest, the Yotes were eager to play the nationally-ranked Mountaineers. The match was back and forth, much like the quarterfinal matchup with Northwest. The match was tied 22 times and eight lead changes. Each team had a set, where they led from start to finish. For the Yotes, it was the second set; whereas, for the Mountaineers it was the fourth set.
The Yotes (19-13) were led by Warren, who had 15 kills on her way to a .407 hitting percentage. She also had her hand on seven blocks in the contest.
Gabriella Rios and
Alexa Wheeler each added nine kills. Hutchins and Hitchcock had 23 and 21 assists, respectively. Four Yotes had double-digit digs including
Clair Hodge, who had 16 to lead the Yotes. In addition to the seven blocks by Warren,
Jerzie Pluid also had seven and Wheeler had six as C of I posted 13 blocks.
Eastern Oregon (29-1) was held to a .124 hitting percentage with 14 kills and a .220 hitting percentage by Madison Morgan. Ashton Haughton added 13 kills and a .243 hitting percentage. The two combined for 27 of the 61 kills for the Mountaineers. Setters Alexis McMurtrey and Hannah Ledgerwood had 25 and 23 assists, respectively. Like the Yotes, EOU was strong at the net with 13 blocks. Kiauna Mack led the frontline with eight.
