North Idaho Volleyball Go 1-1 In First Day at Coach G Tourney

PASCO, Wash. — North Idaho College had its moment early Friday.

Then, just as quickly, they were back at it again.

NIC beat Lower Columbia College of Longview, Wash., 15-25, 25-17, 25-21, 14-25, 15-8, then fell to defending Northwest Athletic Conference champion Linn-Benton 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 at the Coach G Memorial Tournament at Columbia Basin College.

"We just didn't show up overall today," said NIC coach Brittany Tilleman, whose team concluded its first match, then played again 20 minutes later. "We'd have moments of good stuff, and then flip it back off. We'd just walked across the court from our match and they were asking for captains. The girls were tired and we just didn't look like ourselves in that match."

Abby Benton, a freshman from nearby Chiawana High, had two blocks for NIC.

"Abby did a good job of moving the ball around and really helped us pull through," Tilleman said. "She had some family in the crowd also, which made it fun."

Against Lower Columbia, Grace Keisel had 15 kills and 18 digs, Rylee Hartwig 11 kills and three blocks, Omayra Valle 26 digs and Karolyne Wolfgramm 46 assists for NIC.

Keisel and Hartwig had six kills, Valle 19 digs and Wolfgramm 16 assists for NIC (6-1), which finishes the tournament today against Edmonds and South Puget Sound.

The tournament honors Columbia Basin volleyball coach DiShondra Goree, who passed away suddenly last year at her home.

For more information on North Idaho College Athletics visit the Coeur d'Alene Press: https://cdapress.com/news/2023/sep/02/nic-volleyball-cards-go-1-1-first-day-coach-g-tour/