ASHLAND, Ore. – The College of Idaho Yotes dropped their first Cascade Conference match of the season, falling to Southern Oregon in four sets.
Despite a strong offensive showing from Alexa Wheeler, who led the Yotes with 12 kills and a .478 hitting percentage, the Yotes struggled to find consistency, finishing with a team hitting percentage of .182. Haley McUne contributed nine kills, while Abby Draghici added seven kills and three blocks. Savannah Hutchins dished out 23 assists, and Janae Rayborn led the team defensively with nine digs. The Yotes recorded 60 total digs but were hampered by seven service errors in the loss.
How It Happened:
The match began with Southern Oregon (SOU) taking an early lead in the first set, jumping ahead 0-3. College of Idaho (CI) fought back, tying the score at 5-5, thanks to kills by Alexa Wheeler and Shelbey Nichol. After a brief back-and-forth, CI took control with a 4-0 run, powered by attack errors from SOU and a service ace by Savannah Hutchins, pushing the Yotes ahead 9-5. Despite a strong showing by SOU's Megan Perry, CI maintained their lead, with timely kills from Wheeler and Janae Rayborn. CI closed out the first set 25-20.
In the second set, CI started strong, capitalizing on SOU errors to build a 2-0 lead, but SOU quickly regained momentum, tying the score at 3-3 and taking a commanding 9-4 lead. Megan Perry continued to be a force at the net, extending SOU's advantage to 13-5. Although CI tried to rally with a kill by Nichol and several SOU errors, the Raiders dominated the second set, winning 25-12.
The third set saw a more balanced exchange between the two teams. After falling behind 0-2, CI evened the score at 2-2 and 6-6 with kills by Wheeler and Nichol. A late surge by the Yotes, including key kills from Wheeler and Rayborn, saw CI regain the lead 17-14. SOU pushed back to tie the score at 20-20, but CI responded with decisive kills from Mia Hutchinson and Abby Draghici. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as SOU closed out the set 25-22.
Southern Oregon gained early control in the fourth set, taking a 2-0 lead, but the College of Idaho quickly responded to tie it at 2-2. The teams battled back and forth until C of I went on a small run to lead 8-5. Southern Oregon regrouped after a timeout, clawing back to tie the set at 15-15 with strong blocking and kills from Mylena Testoni and Hannah Stadstad. Despite two C of I timeouts, SOU surged ahead with key plays from Megan Perry and Testoni, capitalizing on Yotes' errors to close the set 25-21 and secure the match.
Catch the Yotes back in action just down the road at Oregon Tech on Saturday evening.
