HUTCHINSON, Kan. - College of Southern Idaho outside hitter Airi Miyabe came up big over and over Thursday in the Golden Eagles quarterfinal match with Tyler Junior College but none bigger that a match point ace to seal the 25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 25-23 win that sends CSI into the semifinals of the NJCAA National Tournament.
Miyabe took her game to another level after a sluggish opening round match against Laramie County CC where the Golden Eagles won their tournament opener 25-13, 25-14, 25-18. She finished the match with 28 kills, 20 digs, four blocks and the biggest ace of the match. Sophomores Jovana Vukcevic, E'laisah Young and Sacha Legros also played key roles all day.
What could have been a momentum swing in set two only fueled the Golden Eagles as Young put down the kill for what appeared to be the set win. Both teams started to clear the floor with CSI celebrating the win. The official then called a carry on Young and CSI went on to lose the set.
The Golden Eagles battled back taking the next two sets. They were down in both but fought back behind the sophomore group.
Vukcevic ended the match with 12 kills and three blocks, Legros, who doesn't usually play front row played six rotations in the final three sets. She finished with five kills and 14 digs and Young ended with six kills, seven digs, four service aces and four blocks.
Sean Garvin posted 29 assists to lead the Golden Eagles along with 12 digs. Kylie Baumert had 14 digs and Makayla Bradford finished with 13 for CSI.
In the earlier match against Laramie, no CSI player finished with double digit kills. Young led the Golden Eagles with nine kills on 11 attempts and no errors. She also had four blocks to lead CSI. Vukcevic had seven kills and Brianna Barta had 12 assists and four blocks. Defensively, Baumert led the Golden Eagles with 21 digs. She added three aces.
CSI, now 29-2 overall, will play Seward County at 6:30 p.m. CST with a spot in the national championship match on the line.