CASPER, Wyo. - The College of Southern Idaho Volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 game deficit to tie the match at two games apiece Friday in the semifinals of the NJCAA National Tournament, but defending national champion Blinn College found a way to to win the decisive fifth, beating CSI 25-19, 25-23, 12-25, 23-25, 15-11.
The Golden Eagles will now play Northwest College for third place Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Blinn will play Miami-Dade, who beat Northwest 25-20, 25-20, 25-20, in the championship.
CSI looked like it would tie the match in set two, taking a 19-11 lead but saw it disappear and dug itself into a hole it couldn't overcome.
The Golden Eagles were led by Natasa Savovic with 15 kills and 13 digs. Chloe Watson and Kendall Brock each added 12 kills. Katarina Koji finished the match with 45 assists and a team-high 15 digs.
Blinn and CSI were the highest seeds left on the winners side of the bracket. Top-seeded Iowa Western fell to ninth-seeded Northwest and fourth-seeded Tyler lost to fifth-seeded Miami-Dade.
The third-place match will be available to watch on NJCAA TV at: http://www.njcaatv.com/volleyballchamp/