CASPER, Wyo. - The College of Southern Idaho defeated Frank Phillips 25-18, 27-25, 25-19 and Blinn College 25-21, 25-17, 27-25 on Thursday to keep its hopes alive for an 11th NJCAA National Championship.
The Golden Eagles dominated most of the match against Blinn but had to fight off a set point in the third set before battling back to take the set and match on an Alex Espinosa kill.
With the win, CSI avenged a semi-final loss last year to Blinn that kept the Golden Eagles out of the title match. Blinn went onto win the national championship, while CSI took third.
Keying the victory was Tawnee Luafalemana. The sophomore transfer led Blinn to a national championship. On Thursday, she led CSI past Blinn. The middle blocker tallied 18 kills with just one error.
Regan Harr was solid all night defensively, adding 17 digs along with 36 assists.
In the earlier match, the Golden Eagles went to their middles often to score. Luafalemana finished the match with 12 kills and Kendall Brock added 11. The only other CSI player in double digit kills was outside hitter Alexandra Espinosa with 12. The Eagles other outside Alycia Wodke also had a solid game, finishing with nine kills, 12 digs and two aces.
Libero Luana Thompson led the Eagles with 17 digs, while Harr had 33 assists.
Only four teams remain undefeated and have a shot at the national championship. The Golden Eagles will take on Hillsborough Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the semifinals. Northwest College will take on Western Nebraska in the other semifinal.