Volleyball Tournament Game 6

Albertson def. Southern Oregon 30-21, 30-26, 30-22

CALDWELL, Idaho - Albertson College was a serving machine, racking up 16 aces en route to winning their second-consecutive Cascade Conference Volleyball Tournament title, stopping Southern Oregon 30-21, 30-26, 30-22 before 425 fans in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.

With the win, the No. 8 ranked Yotes (29-2) extended their school-record win streak to 16 games, extended their homecourt win streak to 21 games, and moved their win streak against non-ranked teams to 41.

Game 1 was a see-saw affair, seeing ACI jump out to a 10-3 edge, on the strength of three kils from Kathryn Ely.  However, the Raiders (18-7), who lost to the Yotes in five games in last season's CCC title match, roared back on Shanna Claflin's serve, winning six straight points.  However, ACI would use a 7-1 push, thanks to three kills from Katie Hogue, to take control and win the game.

Game 2 had Southern take control late in the match, establishing a 25-21 lead on a Claflin kill.  The Yotes, however, would end the game on a 9-1 run, getting a pair of kills from Anne Parker and two aces from Erin Cherrington to get the win.

A Richelle Milsap kill tied the score at 16-16 in Game 3, but ACI used a 12-3 push, aided by five Raider hitting errors to complete the sweep and improve to 14-0 at home this year.

Ely led the Coyotes with 11 kills, with Hogue adding ten.  Cherrington recorded a double-double with 39 assists and ten digs, while Catherine Everist had a game-high 25 digs.

Southern was led by ten kills and seven blocks from Mia Wortel, with Katie Pluchos adding five kills and 17 digs.

ACI and Southern Oregon, along with Great Falls, Westminster, Carroll, and a sixth team to be announced tomorrow, will play next weekend in the NAIA Region I Tournament, to be hosted by the Coyotes Thursday through Saturday.