http://yoteathletics.com/

2

FEATURES

8 WHAT A RIDE

9 OUT OF THE GATES

12 A DECADE STRAIGHT

13 YOTES FALL IN SLC

14 YOTES MARCH PAST SAINTS

15 FOUR-STRAIGHT!

16 LADY YOTES FALL TO WARRIORS

17 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

18 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT TIME

19 WEEKLY AWARDS

SPORTS

20 COYOTE HOOPS

22 LADY YOTE HOOPS

24 C of I SWIM

26 C of I CROSS COUNTRY

28 LADY YOTE VOLLEYBALL

THE BEAT

6 #COYOTECANDIDS

32 TOP 25 POLLS

34 CONFERENCE STANDINGS

ON THE COVER

#NovemberOwned - After playing in their

T E N T H S T RA I G HT Ca s c ad e

Conference Post-Season tournament

championship game, the Lady Yotes

claimed their fourth straight conference

championship by way of sweeping host-

school Eastern Oregon 3-0 last Saturday

night. To go along with that, Kylie Porter

was named the CCC Player of the Year.

It’s safe to say there is a dynasty in

Caldwell, Idaho!

3

4

5

Volume I, Issue XV Designed and distributed by The College of Idaho

Athletic Communications Department.

Executive Editor Tyler Thurston

Creative Design Tyler Thurston

Contributing Writers Mike Safford Jr

Tyler Thurston

Photography C of I Communications

Liza Safford

Doug Phifer

EMAIL: YOTEATHLETICS@GMAIL.COM

FACEBOOK: COYOTE ATHLETICS

INSTAGRAM: @COYOTEATHLETICS

TWITTER: @COYOTEATHLETICS

YOUTUBE: YOTE ATHLETICS

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

COMING UP: NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening

Round – vs. Xavier (La.), Saturday, 2 p.m.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES

LAST WEEK: vs. Oregon Tech (W 3-0), vs. No. 15 Southern Oregon

(W 3-2), vs. No. 9 Eastern Oregon (W 3-0)

LIVE STATS/LIVE VIDEO: Live Video (for a $7.95 pay-per-view fee)

and Live Stats will be available for Saturday's NAIA Volleyball

National Championship Opening Round match vs. Xavier online -

part of the NAIA Network. Live Stats will also be available through

the NAIA's stat portal.

HIGHLIGHTS: Highlights from the 2015 C of I volleyball season

can be found online via the Lady Yotes You Tube Channel.

PHOTO GALLERY: Photos from all C of I home games are available

online.

TOURNEY INFORMATION: Ticket prices for the NAIA Volleyball

National Championship Opening Round are $8.00 for adults and

$5.00 for seniors (60 years and older) and children ages 6-

17. Fans with tickets to Saturday's session of the men's

basketball Domino's Classic will be admitted free of charge, along

with NAIA pass holders. The winner of the Opening Round match

will earn a spot in the NAIA National Championship Final Site in

Sioux City, Iowa, Dec. 1-5.

LADY YOTES WIN CCC TITLE: Heading into the Cascade

Conference Championships as the No. 3 seed and sitting on the

outside of the potential at-large pool to earn a spot in the NAIA

National Championships, the College of Idaho needed to win

three consecutive matches to qualify nationals for the eighth-

straight year. A home sweep over Oregon Tech followed by a

come-from-behind gritty 5-set win over Southern Oregon, sent

the Yotes into their tenth-straight CCC title match. In the finale,

the Yotes handed Eastern Oregon not only their first home loss of

2015, but their first 3-set defeat of the season, as C of I claimed

their fourth-straight league tourney title and their eighth title

since 2005.

OPENING ROUND INFORMATION: A total of 24 teams will

compete at 12 campus sites on Saturday in the NAIA Volleyball

National Championship Opening Round – with the winners

advancing to the NAIA Championship Final Site, in Sioux City,

Iowa, Dec. 1-5. Following the final NAIA Top-25 poll that was

released on Sunday, teams' ranked No. 12-19 earned host berths,

along with four other schools – all of which submitted a minimum

bid of $4,000 to host the event.

OTHER MATCHES: Point Park (Pa.) at No. 12 Georgetown (Ky.);

Mount Mercy (Iowa) at No. 13 Dordt (Iowa); Union (Ky.) at No. 14

MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.); Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) at No. 16

Concordia (Neb.); Trinity Christian (Ill.) at No. 17 Lourdes (Ohio);

Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) at No. 18 Evangel (Mo.); La Sierra

(Calif.) at No. 19 Southern Oregon; Southeastern (Fla.) at No. 22

Coastal Georgia; Indiana-Kokomo at No. 23 Madonna (Mich.);

Ashford (Iowa) at No. 24 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio); Ottawa

(Kan.) at Wayland Baptist (Texas).

TEAMS SEEDED THROUGH: Eleven teams were seeded through

to Sioux City and the NAIA Final Site – No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.),

No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.), No. 3 Missouri Baptist, No. 4 Columbia

(Mo.), No. 5 Biola (Calif.), No. 6 Vanguard (Calif.), No. 7 Midland

(Neb.), No. 8 Park (Mo.), No. 9 Hastings (Neb.), No. 10 Rocky

Mountain (Mont.) and No. 11 Eastern Oregon – all based on the

final NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, joining tournament host, Briar

Cliff (Iowa).

HISTORY AT NATIONALS: It marks the 11th time in program

history that the Lady Yotes have earned a berth to the National

Championships and the seventh time they have competed in an

Opening Round match – the most among all NAIA institutions. In

2000, the Lady Yotes earned an at-large berth to Nationals in

West Palm Beach, Fla., going 1-3 in Pool Play, while in 2005, the

squad traveled to San Diego, Calif., going 2-2 in Pool Play. The

2006 season saw the Lady Yotes go 2-1 in Pool Play in Columbia,

Mo., losing a quarterfinal play-in match against host Columbia. In

2008, the Yotes defeated Menlo (Calif.) in the Opening Round,

going 0-3 in Pool Play in Sioux City, Iowa, while in 2009, the C of I

was seeded through to Sioux City, going 2-1 in Pool Play, losing a

four set quarterfinal play-in against Texas- Brownsville. In 2010,

the Yotes swept St. Thomas (Texas) in an Opening Round match,

going 2-1 in Pool Play; losing in three sets to Cal Baptist in a

quarterfinal play-in match. In 2011, the Yotes defeated Carroll

(Mont.) in three sets in an Opening Round match, going 2-1 in

Pool Play, defeating Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in five sets in a

quarterfinal play-in match, before losing to Columbia (Mo.) in

four sets in the national quarterfinals. In 2012, the Yotes swept

Menlo in the Opening Round, going 2-1 in Pool Play – with wins

over Westmont and St. Francis – before losing in the bracket

quarterfinal play-in match to MidAmerica Nazarene. In 2013, C of

I lost in the Opening Round for the first time, a tough five-set

decision to Rocky Mountain, while rebounding last season for a

five set Opening Round win over Cal State San Marcos. C of I

posted a 2-1 record in Pool Play, but lost a one-set tiebreaker

against Concordia-Irvine for a berth in bracket play. Overall, the

Yotes have a record of 21-20 in tournament play, including a 5-1

mark in the Opening Round.

ABOUT XAVIER: Heading to their fifth consecutive Opening

Round is Xavier University of New Orleans, La., searching for their

first-ever NAIA Tournament win. The Gold Nuggets (19-7)

claimed their fifth-straight Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular

-season and tournament title, topping Southern University-New

Orleans in four sets in the title game. XU brings an 11-match win

streak to Caldwell, including eight straight-set victories. Seven

players were honored as All-GCAC selections, led by 5-foot-9

setter Franziska Pirkl (8.99 a/s, 2.19 d/s, 21 aces), a four-time All-

GCAC pick. Joining Pirkl on the first-team were 5-foot-11 blocker

30

Claudia Haywood (2.66 k/s, 0.58 b/s), 5-foot-7 outside hitter

Taylor Reuther (2.47 k/s, 3.48 d/s) and libero Darian Harris (4.42

d/s, 25 aces), with outside hitter Cece Williams (1.93 k/s, 2.83 d/

s), blocker Jodi Hill (1.91 k/s, 0.68 b/s) and 6-foot-1 opposite

hitter Ruby Hunt-Thompson (2.49 k/s, 0.53 b/s) earning

honorable mention honors. As a team, the Gold Nuggets

averaged 13.34 kills per set, 1.21 aces per set and 1.52 blocks per

set, while holding their opponents to a .160 attack percentage

and just 8.95 kills per set. It is the first-ever meeting between the

teams.

AGAINST THE FIELD: Of the 31 other teams in the field, C of I has

faced five of the squads this season – recording a combined 3-6

record (2-1 vs. Southern Oregon, 1-2 vs. Eastern Oregon, 0-1 vs.

Rocky Mountain and 5-set losses to both Biola and Vanguard)

against the foes. The Yotes have also met seven other teams

(Missouri Baptist, Columbia, Midland, Hastings, Georgetown,

MidAmerica Nazarene and Madonna) in the past. Xavier has

played just two matches against teams in the tournament field –

losing to both Wayland Baptist and Coastal Georgia.

AT HOME: The Lady Yotes head into the Opening Round match

riding a 10-game home win streak, having posted a 10-1 record

on their own court this season. Since October of 2005, the

Coyotes are 127-10 at home – including a 73-match CCC win

streak from 2005-12 – with C of I 217-46 all-time in the Activities

Center and 165-22 all-time at home under head coach Liz

Mendiola. During that time, C of I has posted a 21-2 record at

home during the postseason, including a 5-1 record in NAIA

National Championship Opening Round matches.

FINAL NAIA POLL: With their CCC title, the Yotes were the biggest

mover in the final NAIA Top-25 coaches' poll of the regular-

season, surging to the No. 15 slot. C of I received 284 voter

points from the 20 conference raters, their highest total of the

season. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) took over the No. 1 spot, earning 13

first-place votes, followed by Viterbo (Wis.), Missouri Baptist,

Columbia (Mo.) and Biola (Cailf.), with conference rivals Eastern

Oregon (No. 11) and Southern Oregon (No. 19) both in the rating.

A POSTSEASON STAPLE: With their win Oct. 23 vs. Warner

Pacific, the Lady Yotes clinched their 17th-straight postseason

berth and their 15th-straight playoff appearance under head

coach Liz Mendiola. C of I has advanced to every CCC

Tournament since 1999 (winning the titles in 2005, 2006, 2008,

2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), advancing to the NAIA

Regional Tournament in 2001, 2003 and 2005-07, while

advancing to the NAIA Championships in 2000, 2005-06, and each

season since 2008. During the last 15 seasons, the Lady Yotes

have a combined 24-6 record at the CCC Championships and

advanced to 10-straight championship matches (winning the past

four in a row).

PORTER EARNS FOURTH ALL-CCC HONOR; STURTZ HONORABLE

MENTION: Two other C of I players were honored by the CCC,

including Sierra Porter, who earned her fourth-straight All-CCC

award. The senior has recorded 1,188 assists, 257 digs and 58

blocks so far this season, ranking among the league leaders in

assists per set – becoming the first Coyote to record over 4,000

assists, 1,000 digs and 200 blocks in a career. Teammate Randi

Sturtz was named to the honorable mention list after

establishing career-highs with 265 kills and 79 blocks during the

season.

20-WIN SEASONS: With the win over Southern Oregon on Friday,

the Lady Yotes registered their 17th 20-win season in program

history and their 10th 20-win season in the past 11 years. During

the run of success, C of I has had six seasons with 25-or-more

wins, including a 35-4 record during the 2006 season.

CONFERENCE NUMBERS: As a team, the Yotes rank No. 2 in the

CCC in blocks per set (2.28); No. 3 in both hitting percentage

(.228) and kills per set (13.36); No. 4 in assists per set (12.37) and

No. 6 in both aces per set (1.30 ) and digs per set (15.18).

Individually, Jackie van Vliet leads the CCC in blocks per set

(1.18); Kylie Porter is No. 3 in hitting percentage (.331), No. 7 in

kills per set (3.22) and No. 8 in blocks per set (0.90); Kilee

Lopez is No. 3 in digs per set (4.69) and No. 7 in aces per set

(0.32); Sierra Porter is No. 4 in assists per set (10.40); with Abbey

Fenton No. 9 in kills per set (3.00).

2015 ROSTER

2015 CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

RECORD BOOK: Heading into the NAIA Championships, freshman

middle blocker Jackie van Vliet has cracked the single-season Top

-10 with 134 blocks this season. Three players have jumped into

the career Top-10, as Sierra Porter ranks No. 2 all-time in assists

(4,713), No. 5 in sets played (454), No. 10 in digs (1,056) and No.

12 in aces (109), while Kylie Porter is No. 9 in total blocks (286)

and Kilee Lopez is No. 9 in digs (1,107).

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the C of I

volleyball program, visit the official homepage of the Lady Yotes.

31

32

33

34

35