Volleyball Yote Notes - Edition 9
LAST WEEK: vs. Eastern Oregon (W 3-0)
COMING UP: vs. Concordia, Friday, 7 p.m.; vs. Warner Pacific, Saturday, 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO: Both weekend matches will have live video and live statistics available for fans at home. The live video stream will be available free of charge at www.pennatlantic.com, while the live stats can be accessed at http://yotestats.i8.com/vball/xlive.htm.
DIG FOR THE CURE NIGHT FRIDAY: If you are planning to come out to the Coyote volleyball match on Friday – “Dig Pink.” It will mark the annual Dig For The Cure Night, as the Lady Yotes look to raise money to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. The team will be sporting pink uniforms and the first 100 fans who donate $10 will receive a pink C of I volleyball t-shirt. Fans can also make donations in the Coyotes behalf online at https://www.side-out.org/application/teams/team_page/2189.
LADY YOTES REMAIN AT NO. 8 IN NAIA POLL: The C of I remained at No. 8 in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll, released Tuesday by the national office in Kansas City, Mo. It marks the fourth-straight week that the Lady Yotes have been ranked at No. 8 - earning 537 voter points, 16 more points than they received a week ago. It is the 43rd time that The C of I has been ranked in the Top-25 and the 54th-straight week that the team has received votes in the poll. Fresno Pacific (Calif.) remained the No. 1 team in the nation, while Northwestern (Iowa) pulled into a tie for second in the poll with Cal Baptist. Concordia (Calif.) is fourth, followed by Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Georgetown (Ky.), Columbia (Mo.), the Lady Yotes, University of Texas-Brownsville, and Biola (Calif.). Southern Oregon remained at No. 12 in the poll, with Lewis-Clark State at No. 23. Two other opponents – Great Falls and Eastern Oregon, both received votes. In the weekly Cascade Conference poll, the Lady Yotes and SOU remain at the top, followed by Eastern Oregon, Concordia, and Corban. The final CCC poll will be released on Monday, with the final Top-25 ranking released on Tuesday afternoon.
C OF I HOLDS TITLE DESTINY IN THEIR HANDS: Following the weekend, The C of I and Southern Oregon remain deadlocked atop the CCC standings with identical 15-1 records. If the two teams win out, the Lady Yotes would win the tiebreaker – having a better sets-won percentage in league play. Tiebreaker scenarios are even (head-to-head, sets won vs. lost head to head, record vs. teams in descending order) up until the fourth tie-break, sets won percentage – as the Lady Yotes are 47-7 this season in CCC sets (.870), while SOU is 47-12 (.797). The CCC regular-season champion plays host to the CCC Postseason Tournament, Nov. 13-14.
PLAYOFF BOUND FOR 11TH-STRAIGHT YEAR: With their win over Evergreen State on Oct. 23 , the Coyotes clinched their 11th-straight postseason appearance. The Lady Yotes have qualified for the playoffs each year Liz Mendiola has been at the helm of the Coyote ship – including regional tournament berths in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and national tournament appearances in 2005, 2006, and 2008. With the conference-direct model in place, the winner of the four-team CCC Tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament. The Coyotes have won each of the past three CCC Tournaments – in 2005 at Southern Oregon, and in 2006 and 2008 in Caldwell. In 2007 – a CCC Tournament was not held.
TOURNAMENT FIELD SET: The four teams for the CCC Tournament have been determined – as the Lady Yotes, Southern Oregon, Concordia, and Eastern Oregon have all secured their ticket to the four-team event. However, seeding for the tournament will come down to the wire – with the Lady Yotes securing the No. 1 seed with two wins. Concordia can secure the No. 3 seed with a win against either the Coyotes or Eastern Oregon, while EOU secures the No. 3 seed with wins over Warner Pacific and Concordia and a CU loss to The C of I.
NATIONAL PICTURE: If the Lady Yotes can maintain their Top-10 ranking, they will be in position to qualify for the NAIA National Tournament for the fourth time in five years – regardless if they win the CCC Tournament title. In fact, if they remain in the Top-10, The C of I would be in position to earn automatic seeding at the NAIA Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, avoiding an Opening Round play-in game on Nov. 21.
LOOKING TO EXTEND HOME STREAK: The weekend, the Lady Yotes will look to add to their school record 42-match home win streak in CCC play. The squad has not lost a league tilt at home since September of 2005, recording an undefeated mark at home each of the last three seasons (9-0 in 2006 and 10-0 in both 2007 and 2008). Overall, the Yotes have won 57 of their last 58 home matches – and have an all-time record of 150-37 in the facility, including a 98-13 record in the Activities Center under head coach Liz Mendiola.
SENIOR NIGHT: Saturday will mark the final regular-season home match for six C of I senior student-athletes. Kathryn Ely (La Grande, Ore. / La Grande HS), Stacie Drumm (Salem, Ore. / South Salem HS), Courtney Combe (Nampa, Idaho / Skyview HS), Kristin Henning (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS), Jessie Link (Tonopah, Nev. / Nicholls State U.), and Marcella Hernandez (Torrance, Calif. / El Camino CC) will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
ABOUT CONCORDIA: The Yotes open up their final home weekend against surging Concordia, winners of five in a row and ten of their last eleven matches. The Cavaliers (16-7, 13-3) are capable of pulling an upset – evident of their five-set loss earlier in the season at Southern Oregon. CU is led by the one-two punch of Mariana Toscano (3.06 k/s, 2.02 d/s) and Raluca Dinca (2.68 k/s, 3.52 d/s, 28 aces), while setter Skyler Kamaka (8.98 a/s, 1.68 d/s, 23 aces) leads the league in assists. The Coyotes won their 13th-straight match over the Cavs earlier this season and holds a 35-20 all-time series edge.
ABOUT WARNER PACIFIC: The regular season will conclude on Saturday, as Warner Pacific makes their annual trek to Idaho. The Knights (11-11), who lead the league in service aces per set, are coming off a pair of wins last weekend to even their overall record for the season. WP is led offensively by Leah Gradwohl (3.04 k/s, 3.23 d/s) and Megan Marineau (2.06 k/s, 0.64 b/s), along with setter Melita Elliot (6.23 a/s, 2.00 d/s). The Yotes have won the past 24 meetings between the teams and hold a 27-2 all-time series edge.
RECORD BOOK: Four players currently are in the Top-10 in the Coyote career record book. Leading the way is Kristin Henning, who is No. 2 all-time with 477 blocks and No. 8 in kills (933), while Kathryn Ely ranks third all-time in kills (1,345). Rounding out the list are the two setters, as Madie Machurek (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) is No. 5 in assists (1,751) and Naomi Reimer (Killarney, Man. / Killarney SS) is No. 7 in assists (1,317) and No. 9 in aces (109).
CCC LEADERS: As a team, the Lady Yotes lead the CCC in digs per set (16.62) kills per set (13.05), assists per set (12.14), blocks per set (2.45), and lowest opponent attack percentage (.066), ranking second in the league in attack percentage (.238). Individually, four different C of I players are among the CCC’s top-five, including Whitney Owen (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS), who leads the loop in digs per set (5.41). Marcella Hernandez leads the CCC in aces per set (0.51), while ranking No. 4 in blocks per set (0.99). Kristin Henning leads the league in blocks per set (1.22) and is second in hitting percentage (.319), Rounding out the group is Madie Machurek, who is second in the league in assists per set (7.06).
GAME RECAP – C OF I 3, EASTERN OREGON 0: Marcella Hernandez had a career-high 14 kills and The C of I racked up ten service aces, as the Lady Yotes defeated Eastern Oregon for the 31st-straight time, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center on Friday night. The win for the Coyotes clinched their fifth-straight 20-win season and was their 42nd-straight CCC home victory. Set 1 saw the Yotes jump out to a 10-3 lead, fueled by four aces from Naomi Reimer - including three on successive points. The junior would add five kills in the period as the squad led by as many as 12 points in the set. The middle frame saw the Yotes break a 6-6 tie with a nine-point push, as Hernandez led the way with five kills in six swings, to go along with a pair of aces and three blocks. Set 3 was tighter, despite the Mountaineers never leading. The C of I pulled out to a 13-7 lead on a Madie Machurek aces, but EOU would battle back, closing to 24-22 on an Ashleigh Dailey spike, but the Coyotes closed it out on a Nathy Neres (Sao Paulo, Brazil / College of Southern Idaho) kill - thanks to a Mountie blocking error. Hernandez led the way with the 14 kills and four blocks, while Reimer added nine kills, 23 assists, seven digs, four aces, and three blocks. Machurek had 18 assists and four aces, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 15 digs. The Mountaineers were led by Jessica Lea, who had eight kills, 16 assists, and 11 digs, while Dailey adding seven spikes.
ABOUT THE COACH: Liz Mendiola is in her ninth season as The C of I head volleyball coach. During her first eight seasons at the helm, the Coyotes have advanced to seven consecutive CCC tournaments, four NAIA regional tournaments, and trips to the NAIA National Championships in 2005, 2006, and 2008. Last season, the squad won their third-straight CCC title, claimed their third-straight CCC Tournament title, won their NAIA Tournament Opening Round match, and advanced to the NAIA Tournament Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa – with Mendiola earning her third-straight CCC Coach of the Year honors, while being ranked as high as No. 9 in the national poll. During her career, she has amassed a record of 205-76, the most wins and highest winning percentage in school history. In 2006, she led the Lady Yotes to their best season in program history, compiling a 35-4 record - earning CCC and NAIA Region I Coach of the Year honors. The Yotes won their first CCC championship in 24 years, becoming just the second school to complete the league schedule without a loss. The Coyotes also captured their second-straight CCC Tournament title, along with their second-straight NAIA Region I Tournament title, before placing ninth at the NAIA Championships – with that team setting a school-record with 22 straight wins. Her 2009 club will take a 35-match CCC home win streak into the season. Mendiola was an assistant for the Coyotes on two separate occasions – from 1995-96 and from 1999-2000, before elevating to head coach. She has also coached club volleyball at Emmett High, for the Treasure Valley Volleyball Club, the Boise River Volleyball Club, and various camps in the Northwest. A native of Jerome, Mendiola graduated from The C of I in 1996 with a degree in elementary education, and taught kindergarten in Nampa before becoming head coach in 2001. A two-year member of the Coyotes, Mendiola set school records for kills per game (4.86) in 1994, and holds the school mark for kills per game in a career (4.46). She earned All-CCC honors following her senior season with the Yotes. Mendiola is married to former Coyote baseball standout and current C of I softball coach Al Mendiola. The Mendiola’s have two children, Aleah and Micah.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the Coyote volleyball program, head to the official homepage of the Lady Yotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/vball.htm.