NIC suffers tough loss against CSI

The No. 7 North Idaho College Cardinals lost their match to the No. 3 College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles (CSI) 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 Friday night.

“CSI is a good team, and they know how to come back and win games,” NIC head coach Kandice Gregorak said.

“After the match I told the girls to keep their heads up,” Gregorak said. “We played a really good match, but there was one rotation where we let about a six to eight point run against us.”

The win clinched at least a tie for the Scenic West Athletic Conference title for the Golden Eagles (23-1, 8-0). This win earned CSI the right to host the Region 18 tournament at Twin Falls in two weeks.

Yang Yang had 12 kills and 10 digs for NIC.

Rosie Robinson had 13 digs and two aces, Brooklynn Bradbury and Allison Meehan 14 assists apiece, and Shelby Lausen three blocks for the Cardinals (18-4, 4-4), who host Utah State-Eastern on Thursday.

“This was a big game, and even though we didn’t win we played so much better than the last time we played them (CSI),” Bradbury said. “If we play the way we did tonight when facing Eastern Utah, we can definitely win. We feel energized going into the end of the regular season.”

In the first set Yang sparked the momentum early for the Lady Cardinals with a kill, putting NIC up 3-2. She then followed with another kill, making it 5-4. NIC battled back from an 18-14 deficit, taking the lead at 19-18, but CSI prevailed, winning the first set 25-20.

In the second set NIC was down one point with the score at 24-23, but CSI moved on to win the set 25-23.

The Lady Cardinals fought back as they lead for the majority of the third set. HayleeMae Dennis slammed down a kill to put NIC up 17-14, but CSI responded by scoring four unanswered points. CSI went on to win the set 25-20, winning Friday night’s match.

“Our goals for Thursday are the same as they were for this match,” Gregorak said. “We have to serve tough, serve receive well, and run a fast offense.”