Cardinals finish 2-4 at season-opening crossover

EUGENE, Ore. — Playing on the first day without outside hitter Kayla Neumann, the reigning East Region Player of the Year, North Idaho College won two matches and lost four at the season-opening Northwest Athletic Conference Crossover on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, NIC lost to Edmonds of Lynnwood, Wash., 25-21, 25-19, beat defending NWAC champions Chemeketa of Salem, Ore., 25-16, 25-9, beat Pierce of Puyallup, Wash., 25-14, 25-23, and lost to Linn-Benton of Albany, Ore., which has beaten the Cardinals each of the last two seasons at the NWAC tournament, 25-21, 25-27, 22-20.

On Sunday, NIC lost to Bellevue (Wash.) 19-25, 25-12, 15-9, and lost to Highline of Des Moines, Wash., 25-18, 25-23.

“Overall, the weekend was great competition and lots of volleyball,” NIC coach Kelsey Stanley said. “I saw lots of progress from last weekend to this weekend which is showing me that we are getting better. We have a lot of girls that are still trying to not only get familiarized with one another but also in their position. We aren’t even close to what we can be, which is exciting to see because if we can stick with these teams right now there is no doubt in my mind we can out-play them at the end of the season. Just need to keep plugging away, one day at a time.”

NIC plays at the Community Colleges of Spokane crossover tourney Friday and Saturday.