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By James Hernandez

The 2016 Coyote Volleyball Invitational presented one last opportunity for head coach Sue Thurman and her team to fine-tune its play before opening up SWAC play Thursday versus College of Southern Idaho (CSI).

CSN played four non-conference games in two days and despite some untimely injuries to key contributors the Lady Coyotes were able to regroup and fight its way to a 3-1 record over the weekend.
  
The opening match of the Coyote Volleyball Invitational was between the host Lady Coyotes and the Victor Valley College Rams.

CSN opened up aggressive around the net and was able to cruise to a (25-17) opening set victory that would set the tone for the rest of the match.

The second set was a back and forth affair that was not decided until some clutch serving and defense from the Lady Coyotes lifted them to a hard earned (25-23) set victory.

Victor Valley was gassed by the third set and the lady coyotes were able to capitalize on its opponents fatigue, cruising to a (25-15) third set victory to claim its fifth match victory of 2016. Outside hitters Bailey Bergquist (13), JoHanna Alvarez-Thompson (12) and Tajahae Davis (10) accounted for 35 of the teams 49 total kills. Christina Beaver led the team in assists with 44 and Monique Long help set the tone defensively with a match high 12 digs.

Match two of the tournament for CSN took place Friday evening against the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos.

This was one of the most competitive matches Coach Thurman's coyotes have played all year.

Two of the four sets went to extra points and the match was decided in a do or die fifth set that put the will and determination of both teams to the test.

The Lady Coyotes jumped out to an early lead in the opening set and rode some clutch serving and solid defense to a (25-14) first set win.

Sets two and three were mirror images of one another, both requiring extra points to decide a winner. CSN was able to win the war of attrition in set two (26-24), but NMMI returned the favor in set three by an identical (24-26) score to claim its first set of the match. The Broncos used the momentum of set 3's victory to race past the coyotes (17-25)  in set four, knotting the match at two sets apiece and forcing a fifth and deciding winner take all set.

Both teams showed the will to win, but in the end the Lady Coyotes made a few more plays to outlast the Broncos (15-13) and grind out its sixth victory.

JoHanna Alvarez-Thompson had arguably her best all-around game of the season, excelling at all phases of the game on her way to a team high in kills (25) and digs (17). Christina Beaver led the match in assists with 49 and Olivia Stet had a nice all-around game with 9 kills, 5 aces and 2 blocks.

The Coyote Volleyball Invitational got an early 9:00 a.m. start time on Saturday as the host Coyotes took the court to play the Colby Community College Trojans.

Riding a two match winning streak the shorthanded Lady Coyotes hoped to keep the momentum going against a talented CCC team.

CSN took the opening set (25-19) behind some clutch hitting from Johanna Alvarez-Thompson. CCC fought back to take the second set (17-25) and the Lady Coyotes (26-24) and Trojans (25-23) would trade wins in sets three and four to force CSN into a fifth and deciding for a second consecutive match.

This time the outcome was not in CSN's favor as the team dropped the fifth set (8-15) and lost for the first time in the tournament and ninth overall.

JoHanna Alvarez-Thompson (13 kills) and Olivia Stet (10 kills) led the team in kills, Christina Beaver (27 assists, 11 digs) and Hannah Karas (13 digs) paced the coyotes in assists and digs.

The final match of the tournament was a rematch from last weekend's Scottsdale Volleyball tournament with the Central Arizona College Vaqueras.

Nearly a week ago to the day CSN defeated CAC three sets to one in a road trip that resulted in a 2-2 weekend split.

The opening set was competitive the entire way as the Lady Coyotes outlasted the Vaqueras (25-22). CSN took complete control of the match with stellar play around the net with some disciplined defense that resulted in offensive opportunities. CSN took the match in straight sets (25-22, 25-16, and 25-18) and improved its season record to 7-9 as the team heads into Scenic West Athletic Conference play.

JoHanna Alvarez-Thompson was all over the court leading the team in Kills(14) and Digs (12) while Christina Beaver provided a game high 36 assists to pace the team in that category for the second straight match. 

The Lady Coyotes open up 2016 conference play at home Thursday, September 22nd at 7:00pm with the defending NJCAA National Champion College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles, followed by a Saturday matinee vs. Salt Lake Community College Bruins at 1:00 p.m.

For upcoming opponents and match times please log onto www.csncoyotes.com or follow us on Twitter @CSNCoyotes | Facebook CSNCoyotes.