BUTTE, Mont. – The College of Idaho split its final two matches of the Big Sky Tournament hosted by Montana Tech to open the 2023 season. The first match of the day saw the Yotes fall in five sets to Providence (Mont.), 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 11-15. College of Idaho ended the day, getting its first win of the season with a straight set win over Montana State-Northern, 32-30, 25-18, 26-24.
College of Idaho (1-3) started the day with its second five-set match of the young season. Setters
Analise Hitchcock (26 assists, 11 digs) and
Savannah Hutchins (27 assists, 10 digs) each had a double double.
The Yotes posted a .174 hitting percentage with three posting double-digit kills –
Janae Rayborn and
Gabriella Rios each had 14 and
Jade Warren added 11. The service game provided seven aces and the frontline had seven blocks.
After dropping the first two sets, the third set saw the two teams tied on eight occasions and two lead changes. With the third set tied at 15, three-straight points by C of I put the Yotes ahead for the remainder of the set. Rios and
Haley McUne each had three kills. The fourth set saw Rios helped lead the Yotes to a fifth and deciding set with six more kills as C of I posted a .312 hitting percentage. The fifth set was tied on three occasions but the Argos broke a 11 tie, scoring the final four points to secure the win.
College of Idaho got on the winning side of the ledger with a 32-30, 25-18 28-26 straight set win over Montana State-Northern. In the win,
Janae Rayborn had 17 kills and
Savannah Hutchins recorded another double with 31 assists, 15 digs. Rayborn had five kills in the first and third sets to go along with a seven-kill effort in the second set. C of I posted a .241 hitting percentage in the win to go along with seven blocks.
Next on the schedule for College of Idaho is a trip to the Hope International Tournament in Irvine, California where they will face UC-Merced and The Master's University on Friday and Rocky Mountain and host Hope International on Saturday.
