COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. - The College of Idaho outblocked Walla Walla 13-5 and served 13 aces in a 25-14, 25-18, 25-27, 25-20 volleyball win Saturday night.
CI opened the match with its serve. Avery Lewis put down two aces in a three-point run to make it 5-2, and Emma Krogh followed with an ace of her own during a stretch to 9-3. Krogh came back to the line at 17-10 and served three more points, two on Abigail Flerchinger and Cora Young blocks, to make it 20-10. Walla Walla hit .031 in the set.
The second set was tied five times. Walla Walla scored four straight to take a 12-11 lead and led 14-12 before Kadence Boyd's ace tied it. From 17-16, CI pulled away, and Keylee Wilson's serve produced three straight points, two more on Flerchinger-Young blocks, for a 24-17 lead. Flerchinger closed the set with a kill.
CI led the third 15-9 after back-to-back Lewis aces, but Walla Walla answered with four straight points, two on Sahara Browning kills. The home team later scored four in a row from 16-19 down to lead 20-19, capped by a Browning ace. Cierra Bohrn's kill gave CI set point at 24-23, and she saved another at 25-25, but Walla Walla won it with consecutive blocks: Lauren Moody and Femke Eising on Flerchinger, then Eising and Kienna Stepper on Jessica Stires.
Walla Walla carried that into the fourth and led 11-6. CI tied it at 13 and took the lead for good on a five-point run, an Alexa Wheeler kill followed by four straight points on Boyd's serve. Kelsy Stanger ended the match with a kill at 25-20.
Stanger led CI with nine kills. Bohrn added eight on .350 hitting, and Stires and Wheeler had eight each. Young finished with seven block assists, and Wheeler and Flerchinger had six apiece. Whitney Pierzga had 24 assists, and Krogh added 15 assists and 13 digs. Lewis had a team-high 20 digs and five aces.
Browning led Walla Walla with 14 kills and 15 digs. Olivia Cheek had 14 assists, and Bianca Adams added 12 digs. Walla Walla hit .071 with 31 attack errors.
CI improved to 25-2 overall and 18-2 in conference play. Walla Walla fell to 5-17 and 5-15.