CCS volleyball team in conference final

For the first time since 2012, Community Colleges of Spokane is headed to the championships of the Northwest Athletic Conference women’s volleyball tournament.

Waiting for the Sasquatch (36-11) will be a familiar foe. A foe they lost to on Saturday, a foe they lost to in the 2012 title match – Blue Mountain (49-4).

After dropping three straight (25-20, 25-16, 25-15) to Blue Mountain in the winner bracket’s final, Spokane bounced back in a loser-out match with Olympic, winning 25-16, 29-27.

Emily Russell (14 assists) and Korrie Stephenson (15 digs) led the Sasquatch.

The title match is set for 3 p.m. today in Tacoma.

Spokane has to defeat Blue Mountain in two separate matches to capture its first title since 2009.

• Junior Savannah Blinn had 24 kills, but No. 12 BYU (24-4, 15-2) used a three-set comeback to defeat Gonzaga 21-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-10, ruining Senior Day for the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-10), in a West Coast Conference match at Spokane.

• Cougar sophomores Haley McDonald (54 assists, 13 digs) and Kyra Holt (17 kills, 20 digs) led Washington State, but No. 13 Arizona held off the Cougars 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 29-31, 15-8 in a Pac-12 match at Pullman.

Women’s basketball

Early foul trouble was the demise for Eastern Washington as Southern Methodist dropped the Eagles 69-53 in a nonconference game at Dallas.

Two Eagles fouled out, and Eastern Washington was whistled for a season-high 23 fouls.

Hayley Hodgins led the Eagles (2-1) with 10 points.

• Caitlyn Behymer scored 17 points in 15 minutes off the bench, and North Idaho defeated Bellevue 83-65 in a nonconference game at Coeur d’Alene.

Mariah Swanson grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cardinals (3-1).

Mikayla Jones led Bellevue (0-1) with 22 points.

• Idaho senior Stacey Barr scored a season-high 22 points, and added 13 rebounds, but San Diego (3-0) ruined the Vandals’ (1-2) home-opener with a 58-52 win in Moscow.

Cross Country

Lewis and Clark graduate Isaac Griffith placed 12th overall, leading the Western Washington men to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Division II West Regional Cross Country championships at Billings, and more importantly, earned the Vikings a spot at nationals.

The Vikings women also earned a spot at nationals by finishing sixth.

Western Washington’s Katelyn Steen finished first overall, and Lakeside’s Sofia Marikis placed 63rd.

Nationals will take place on Dec. 6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

• The Colorado men claimed their fifth NCAA cross country title, and five Pac-12 teams finished in the top 20 at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Led by Aaron Nelson, Washington finished 20th in the meet.

Oregon’s Edward Cheserek and Eric Jenkins finished 1-2 overall.

On the women’s side, Washington finished 23rd overall, as Michigan State earned its first cross country title.

Wrestling

North Idaho swept both matches in the Cardinal Duals at Coeur d’Alene.

The host Cardinals defeated Cerritos College 24-19 and Highline Community College 40-9 in the sweep. Michael Nguyen (145-pounds), Bryce Weatherston (141), Dajour Reece (165), Jordan Cooks (174) and Cruz Del Angel (184) each won both of their matches for North Idaho.

Men’s soccer

The NCAA Division III third-round match between Whitworth and Christopher Newport was postponed due to icy field conditions at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The tournament is scheduled to resume today, with Whitworth set to play at 9 a.m.