Volleyball
Volleyball Yote Notes - Edition 1111.18.2009 LAST WEEK: Cascade Conference Tournament – vs. Concordia (W 3-0), vs. No. 13 Southern Oregon (W 3-1) COMING UP: NAIA National Championships Pool Play Bracket Announcement, Sunday, 5 p.m; NAIA National Championships, Dec. 1-5 – Sioux City, Iowa. LADY YOTES HEADED BACK TO IOWA: For the second-straight season, The College of Idaho volleyball team has earned a berth to the NAIA National Championships, presented by the Siouxland Sports Medicine Foundation, in Sioux City, Iowa. The Lady Yotes are one of 26 automatic qualifiers to Nationals, joined by nine at-large selections, and the host school, Morningside (Iowa). Of the 36 teams, eleven schools – along with the host school, earned Opening Round byes and have been seeded directly to the Final Site in Iowa, while the remaining 24 teams will meet on Saturday to determine the rest of the field. HISTORY AT NATIONALS: It marks the fifth time in school history that the Lady Yotes have advanced to the National Championships – all this decade. The C of I made their first trip in 2000, going 1-3 in Pool Play. They would return in 2005, tying for ninth with a 2-2 record in Pool Play. A year later, the Coyotes had their best run, going 2-1 in Pool Play, eventually losing a bracket-play play-in match to Columbia (Mo.). Last season, the squad had some tough luck in the Siouxland, going 0-3 – although two of the three losses were in five sets, the other in four sets. Overall, the Lady Yotes have a 6-10 record at the National Tournament. SEEDED FOR THE SECOND TIME: For the second time in program history, the Lady Yotes will be among the seeded teams at the National Tournament. During the 2006 season, The C of I was the No. 7 seed heading into the tournament. Although the official seeding is not released until Sunday night, the Top-6 teams are more than likely Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Cal Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Azusa Pacific, Concordia-Irvine, and Georgetown (Ky.), with Columbia (Mo.), the Lady Yotes, Texas-Brownsville, Biola (Calif.), Vanguard (Calif.), and host Morningside rounding out the Top-12. OPENING ROUND MATCHES TO DETERMINE REST OF FIELD: The NAIA did a nice job regionalizing the Opening Round matches for this Saturday, as the No. 13-20 teams in the nation earning home dates (if they put in a minimum $4,000 bid). Because of their ranking and location – it hurts the Northwest, as No. 13 Southern Oregon will play host to No. 21 Lewis-Clark State, the only group of Top-25 teams playing in the Opening Round. Three other matches – Union (Ky.) at Shawnee State (Ohio), Savannah A&D (Ga.) at Mobile (Ala.), and Ozarks (Mo.) at St. Ambrose (Iowa), pit unranked teams against each other. The remaining games have Evangel (Mo.) at No. 12 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Menlo at No. 15 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), Indiana East at No. 16 Taylor (Ind.), Walsh (Ohio) at No. 17 Indiana Tech, Friends (Kan.) at No. 14 Bellevue (Neb.), Black Hills State (S.D.) at No. 18 Doane (Neb.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) at No. 19 Lee (Tenn.), and St. Thomas (Texas) at No. 20 Lubbock Christian (Texas). MENDIOLA CONTINUES TO HOLD COACH OF YEAR AWARD: In leading the Lady Yotes to their fourth-straight CCC regular-season title and their fourth CCC Tournament title in a row, head coach Liz Mendiola was honored this week as CCC Coach of the Year. For Mendiola, it marks the fifth time in her nine years as head coach that she has won the award, and the fourth year in a row she has earned the distinction. This year, she shares the award with Southern Oregon head coach, Josh Rohlfing, who helped SOU to a share of the CCC title. REIMER SHARES PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS: C of I setter/hitter Naomi Reimer (Killarney, Man. / Killarney SS) was named CCC Co-Player of the Year in a vote by the league coaches, sharing the award with Eastern Oregon's Grace Deboodt. Reimer, who was an All-CCC selection last year, has had a monster all-around season, averaging 2.4 kills, 5.2 assists, 2.2 digs, 0.5 blocks, and recording 36 aces during the year, ranking eighth in the CCC in aces, tenth in assists, and 13th in hitting percentage. OWEN EARNS TOP LIBERO AWARD: Junior Whitney Owen (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) was named CCC Libero of the Year by the coaches after racking up a league best 513 digs, averaging 5.64 digs per set. She was the lone libero named to the All-CCC team. OTHER ALL-CCC HONOREES: Also named to the All-CCC Team was setter Madie Machurek, (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) who thrived in the Coyotes 6-2 offense, ranking second in the league in assists (7.0) and averaging 2.4 digs per set. Two others earned honorable mention honors - senior blocker Marcella Hernandez (Torrance, Calif. / El Camino CC) and senior opposite Jessie Link (Tonopah, Nev. / Nicholls State U.). REVIEW OF CCC TOURNAMENT: For the tenth time in the last 11 years, the host institution for the CCC Tournament claimed the tourney title. Concordia took home the league title each year at home from 1999-02, Southern Oregon won the tournament in Ashland in 2003-04, with the Lady Yotes grabbing the crown in 2006,, 2007, and 2009. Only the Yotes win in Ashland during the 2005 season marks the single time a road team has gobbled up the crown. LADY YOTES FINISH NO. 8 IN FINAL NAIA POLL: The C of I remained at No. 8 in the final NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll, released Nov. 10 by the national office in Kansas City, Mo. It marks the fifth-straight week that the Lady Yotes have been ranked at No. 8 - earning 519 voter points, 18 fewer points than they received a week ago. It is the 44th time that The C of I has been ranked in the Top-25 and the 55th-straight week that the team has received votes in the poll. Fresno Pacific (Calif.) remained the No. 1 team in the nation, while Cal Baptist regained the No. 2 slot after sharing the spot last week with No. 3 Northwestern (Iowa). 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 fell one spot to No. 13 in the poll, with Lewis-Clark State at No. 21. Two other opponents – Great Falls and Eastern Oregon, both received votes. HOME STREAK SAFE UNTIL 2010: With wins in their final two CCC matches, the Lady Yotes completed their fourth-straight perfect season in conference play at home, pushing their home CCC streak to 44-matches in a row. 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 2009 and 10-0 in both 2007 and 2008). Overall, the Yotes have won 61 of their last 62 home matches – and have an all-time record of 152-37 in the facility, including a 100-13 record in the Activities Center under head coach Liz Mendiola. CCC LEADERS: As a team, the Yotes lead the CCC in kills per set (13.34), assists per set (12.30), blocks per set (2.53), digs per set (16.74), and opponents hitting percentage (.064), while ranking second in the loop in hitting percentage (.243). Individually, eight different players are in the Top-10 in the CCC, led by Marcella Hernandez, who is third in both blocks (1.12) and aces (0.45) per set, and sixth in hitting percentage (.272). Kristin Henning (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) is second in both hitting percentage (.331) and blocks (1.19), Jessie Link is eighth in blocks (0.81) and tenth in hitting percentage (.251), and Naomi Reimer is eighth in aces (0.37) and tenth in assists (5.20). Rounding out the group are Ciciley Fox (Challis, Idaho / Challis HS), who is seventh in hitting percentage (.268), Kathryn Ely (La Grande, Ore. / La Grande HS), who is eighth in kills per set (2.71), and Whitney Owen, who leads the loop in digs per set (5.64). 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 490 blocks and No. 9 in kills (965), while Kathryn Ely ranks third all-time in kills (1,375). Rounding out the list are the two setters, as Madie Machurek is No. 5 in assists (1,836) and Naomi Reimer is No. 7 in assists (1,384) and in aces (113). Machurek also sits just outside the group in aces (108), Marcella Hernandez is just outside the Top-10 in blocks (217), and Whitney Owen is nearing the Top-10 in digs (947). GAME RECAP – C OF I 3, CONCORDIA 0: Ciciley Fox had ten kills and Whitney Owen racked up 28 digs as The C of I overcame a rough hitting night to knock off Concordia, 25-14, 25-15, 25-23, in the CCC semifinals on Friday night. The first two sets were all C of I, jumping out to a 7-1 lead in the opener and were never headed, as Fox recorded four kills and Owen dug 17 balls, then closed out the middle frame with an 8-1 run, fueled by three kills and three blocks from Kristin Henning. However, the Cavaliers played tough in Set 3, battling back from a 20-12 deficit, getting three Mariana Toscano kills in an 11-4 push that got CU within 24-23. The Yotes would close it out on the next point, getting a slide smash from Jessie Link in the middle to notch their tenth-straight win. Link had seven kills, while Henning and Marcella Hernandez each had six kills and five blocks. Madie Machurek recorded 14 assists, with Naomi Reimer registering five kills, 12 assists, and four digs. The Yotes had 16 hitting errors in the match, but made up for it with ten team blocks. Toscano led CU with seven kills and 12 digs, with setter Sklyer Kamaka recording 19 assists and nine digs. Libero Kim Lindow led the Cavs defensively with 15 digs. GAME RECAP – C OF I 3, SOUTHERN OREGON 1: Fueled by a furious rally in the fourth set, The C of I claimed their fourth-consecutive CCC Tournament championship, stopping Southern Oregon 25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 29-27, before a loud crowd Saturday afternoon. Trailing two sets to one, the Raiders bolted out to a 9-3 lead in Set 4, pushing the margin to 17-10 on a kill by Leanne Stennett. The Yotes would roar back, getting four consecutive kills from Jessie Link as part of a 5-0 run to close within 17-15. SOU would regain control – taking a 23-18 edge on a Leah Bergstrom spike, but back came The C of I, aided by three Southern hitting errors, to score six-straight points. The Raiders would stave off match point with a Bergstrom kill and have a chance to put the set away, but a Marcella Hernandez kill tied the frame at 25-25. The teams would trade side-outs until 28-27, when Hernadez sent an overpass to the net, but Hartman’s joust went wide – setting off the Coyote celebration. The opener saw the No. 13 ranked Raiders jump out to a 6-3 lead, but the Yotes used a 10-2 push, helped by four Kristin Henning kills, to take control. Set 2 was tied at 10-10, before The C of I ran off nine of the next ten points to take a two sets to none lead. Following the promotional break, SOU changed their rotation and it worked – as the Raiders never trailed, but needed a 4-0 run to break a 19-19 tie, as Stennett had four kills and the team recorded four blocks to force Set 4. Link led the Lady Yotes with 14 kills, with Kathryn Ely adding ten. Naomi Reimer notched ten kills, 24 assists, six digs, and five blocks, Hernandez had nine kills and six blocks, with both Henning and Ciciley Fox recording eight spikes. Madie Machurek had 26 assists, with Whitney Owen leading all players with 27 digs. The Raiders, who were making their tenth-straight CCC Tournament final appearance, got ten kills and three blocks from Bergstrom, with Stennett adding nine kills and 11 digs. Hartman chipped in with nine kills, Caryn Westrick added 21 assists, and Becky Johnstone notched 17 digs. 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 209-76, 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. Recent Headlines:11.16.2009 11.15.2009 11.14.2009 11.13.2009 |
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