Sasquatch win opener at NWAACC tournament

Brigitte Lowe finished with 11 kills and 11 digs Thursday as Community Colleges of Spokane opened the NWAACC tournament at Gresham, Ore., with a sweep of the Whatcom Orcas (19-17).

Joni Nagy added 24 assists and a match-high 15 digs for the Sasquatch (33-5). Kate Hart had seven kills and six blocks.

CCS will meet Clackamas (30-17) at 10 this morning for a spot into tonight’s semifinals. The 16-team tournament is double-elimination.

• Seventh-seeded North Idaho lost its opener at the NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo., as the 10th-seeded College of Central Florida Patriots swept the Cardinals 26-24, 28-26, 25-12.

Vanessa Benke had key kills late in the first and second games for the Patriots.

Yang Yang led the Cardinals with 10 kills and four blocks. Mariah Smith added 12 digs and two aces.

NIC (22-10) will meet Western Texas College (21-13) at 8 a.m. PST today in an attempt to avoid elimination. The Cardinals can still place as high as ninth.

NIC’s Scenic West Athletic Conference rival Southern Idaho (23-10) defeated Mineral Area College 3-1 and will play San Jacinto College-Central (31-3) tonight.

• Terran Poindexter had 18 kills while hitting .389 as Gonzaga (8-19, 2-14 West Coast Conference) closed its season by snapping an eight-match losing streak in an upset of third-place BYU (20-9, 9-6) at Provo, Utah.

Denise Van de Mortel added 45 assists and 11 digs for the Bulldogs, who hadn’t won since Oct. 13