HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The ninth-seeded College of Southern Idaho Volleyball Team outlasted eighth-seeded Odessa College 25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25, 16-14 to open the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Championships Wednesday.
Trailing 14-12 in the fifth set, Annie Nikolnikova took over. The sophomore middle blocker put down a kill to pull the Golden Eagles within one. After a Sydney Hess kill tied the set at 14, Nikolnikova had two more kills to give CSI the win.
Nikolnikova ended the match with 18 kills, five digs and three blocks. Danea King added 16 kills and three blocks. Right side hitter Val Sarti-Cipriani had a big match overall for the Golden Eagles, finishing with 16 kills, five service aces, eight digs and four blocks. She served the final three points of the match for CSI.
Outside hitters Hess and Alizaysha Sopi combined for 22 kills.
Janke Pretorius had a solid overall match, finishing with 63 assists and 15 digs. Defensively, Chinaru Inoue led the Golden Eagles with 22 digs.
CSI will take on top-seeded Florida Southwestern State Thursday at 6 p.m. MT with a spot in the semifinals on the line.