Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

College volleyball: Meredith Coba injury forces Vandals to adapt on fly

Idaho’s goal remains the same, even though the Vandals are dealing with a devastating injury.

The fourth-seeded Vandals will take on No. 5 Northern Arizona on Thursday in Pocatello in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament. The UI-NAU winner will probably face tourney host and top-seeded Idaho State in Friday’s semifinals.

Idaho (15-13, 11-5) had a chance to earn a share of the North Division title but lost twice last week. The Vandals had rallied out of a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth game against North Dakota. Tied at 7 in the fifth, junior setter Meredith Coba landed on a North Dakota player’s foot.

Coba, who leads the Big Sky at 11.1 assists per set, tore her ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus and has a slight fracture on the tip of her femur. The Vandals turned to freshman Sami Parris, who was scheduled to redshirt.

“We said, ‘Sami, you’re going to lose your (redshirt) year,’ coach Debbie Buchanan said. “She said, ‘That’s OK, I’m a team player. I’m ready to go.’ ”

Coba faces surgery in a few weeks.

“The first thing is getting her healthy obviously,” Buchanan said. “We’re planning on her coming back next year.”

So is Coba.

“Looking ahead to better days and a road of rehab!” Coba tweeted. “I’ll be back.”

Idaho moves forward with Parris running the offense.

“She did a good job but it’s just different and there’s some trust that needs to go on on the court,” Buchanan said. “I think we have the personnel to do it but can we play hard and keep trusting? The biggest thing is we have to execute other parts of the game – serve, pass and keep errors to a minimum.”

Cougs go big

Washington State, which closes the season with four straight home matches, beginning Friday against No. 22 Arizona State, has signed a big 2015 recruiting class. Big in numbers, five, and big in size, four of the five stand 6-feet-3 or taller.

Joining the Cougars are Haley DeSales, a 6-0 outside hitter from Pasadena, California; Ella Lajos, a 6-3 middle blocker from San Jose, California; Claire Martin, a 6-4 middle blocker from Bremerton, Washington; Taylor Mims, a 6-3 middle blocker from Billings, Montana; and McKenna Woodford, a 6-4 outside hitter from Chandler, Arizona.

“Since we took over this job, we have been the least physical team in the Pac-12. That is about to change and we can’t wait to see the potential of our front row in the coming years,” coach Jen Greeny said. “Combined with sophomore-to-be Casey Schoenlein at 6-5, we will have five players at 6-3 and above in 2015.”

Rocky’s smooth season

Rocky Mountain College, with major contributions from middle blocker Yang Yang (North Idaho College) and setter Tori Bertsch (Post Falls), rolled to the Frontier Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Battlin’ Bears (29-2) have ripped off 28 consecutive wins. They’ve been the NAIA’s top-ranked team for 11 straight weeks.

Yang, a third-team NAIA All-American last season, was named Frontier Conference player of the year. Her 1.5 blocks per set is first nationally and she’s fifth in kills per set at 4.7.

“What she’s done is she’s speeded up our game,” coach Laurie Kelly said. “Everyone wants to play fast but they didn’t know what fast meant until they saw her. She’s planning on staying in Billings. She’s going to find a job here and help us coach.”

Bertsch averages 10.1 assists per game, 24th nationally. The junior was named conference setter of the year.

“She’s had a great year,” Kelly said. “She’s one of our best servers, she’s a good blocker. Tori and Yang had a memorable play in our championship match. Yang had two players on her at the net and everyone thought she was going to hit and she jump-set to Tori for the kill.”

Rocky Mountain opens the national tournament Dec. 2 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Notes

Gonzaga (16-10, 7-8) still has a shot at its first winning WCC record since 1994 but it won’t be easy. The Zags entertain San Diego (16-11, 9-6) on Thursday, first-place BYU (22-4, 13-2) on Saturday and last-place Portland on Tuesday. Six of GU’s eight conference losses have been in five sets. … Community Colleges of Spokane (31-11, 12-2) brings a 12-match winning streak into the NWAC Tournament. CCS opens the four-day tourney against Everett on Thursday.