CALDWELL, Idaho — The College of Idaho volleyball team kept its perfect season alive Saturday night, battling through a five-set thriller against Lewis-Clark State before falling behind late in the deciding set and rallying to win 3-2.
The Yotes improved to 15-0 overall and 8-0 in Cascade Conference play with the 25-18, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 17-15 victory. Lewis-Clark State dropped to 11-3 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
College of Idaho came out firing, hitting .344 in the opening set and .278 in the second to build a 2-0 lead. Cierra Bohrn and Alexa Wheeler helped pace the attack early, while the Yotes' defense and serve pressure kept the Warriors from finding a rhythm.
Lewis-Clark State answered emphatically in the third set, hitting .296 while taking advantage of 12 College of Idaho attack kills and seven errors. The Warriors carried that momentum into the fourth, overcoming a 13-9 deficit with a late push to force a fifth set.
The deciding set lived up to the drama of the first four.
The fifth set was a back-and-forth battle, with College of Idaho overcoming an early 5-2 deficit. The Yotes answered with a 4-0 run to eventually take a 9-5 lead, but Lewis-Clark State battled back to tie the set at 11-11. College of Idaho regained a 14-12 advantage before the Warriors scored three straight points to take a 15-14 lead. Cierra Bohrn answered with a kill to tie the set at 15-15, and Abigail Flerchinger followed with a kill to put the Yotes ahead 16-15. Jacobson then finished the thriller with a service ace, giving College of Idaho the 17-15 victory and preserving its perfect 15-0 record.
The Yotes finished with 69 kills on .236 hitting, led by Bohrn's 16 kills on .367 hitting. Wheeler added 13 kills while Abigail Flerchinger recorded 12 and Jessica Stires had 11. McWilliams orchestrated the offense with 57 assists and added six digs.
Avery Lewis led the Yotes defensively with 18 digs, while Kadence Boyd contributed 12. The Yotes also received key contributions from their blocking game, with the team recording five total blocks.
For Lewis-Clark State, Boyce led all players with 20 kills and added five blocks for 23 points. Hadyn Smith posted nine kills while hitting .364, and Addison Wilson finished with six kills and nine block assists. Teagan Scott tallied 30 assists and nine digs, while Ella Stosich added 11 digs.
The Warriors hit .217 as a team and pushed the Yotes to the limit despite trailing 2-0 after the opening two sets.
College of Idaho returns to action with its perfect record intact after the 2-hour, 38-minute battle in front of 134 fans at J.A. Albertson Family Foundation Arena.
