By BRUCE BOURQUIN

Sports writer

COEUR d'ALENE - A critical non-call that went in favor of Salt Lake Community College, ranked No. 7 in NJCAA volleyball, helped swing the momentum Saturday in a 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 27-25 victory over 16th-ranked North Idaho College in a Scenic West Athletic Conference volleyball match at Christianson Gym.

With the match tied at 1 and the score in the third game tied at 23, a Bruin put her hand right near the bottom of the court, in a return a hit by the Cardinals. Carol Grasso made a huge kill on the play, which gave the Bruins a 24-23 lead.

NIC coach Miles Kydd felt the ball hit the hardwood, and after making his argument heard after the point, Kydd received a yellow card. Salt Lake took a 2-1 lead in the match, after Cardinals outside hitter Leeta Grap's hit sailed well wide.

"It was 23-all and the ball bounced (on the floor)," Kydd said. "That's why officials get paid. But you have to find a way to overcome those things, those things happen in tight games, like a missed call you don't agree with. We still had a chance, it was only 24-23. You get a sideout and it doesn't really matter. You don't like to see it (the call), but it's part of sports."

NIC (10-6, 3-1 SWAC) had three match points in the fourth game, but each time the Bruins fought them off. Suddenly, SLCC had match point at 26-25.

NIC sophomore outside hitter Anyssa Matheson, a former Coeur d'Alene High player, had her kill attempt blocked by outside hitter Bailee Kendall, which won the match for Salt Lake (15-5, 3-0 SWAC), whose three conference wins all came on the road, all against ranked teams - Snow, Southern Idaho and NIC.

It was ironic because Matheson transferred to NIC from Salt Lake Community College, where she came off the bench.

"It was rough," Matheson said of the final point. "I almost broke down a little bit. That's what volleyball is, sometimes you make mistakes, so I had to get over it."

Last season, while playing for the Bruins, Matheson had eight kills to knock off then top-ranked NIC in Coeur d'Alene.

Matheson had eight kills Saturday. The Cardinals' attack was led by Grap, who finished with 13 kills. Russia Robinson led with nine digs, Katie Schueman had seven blocks and starting setter Maddi Seidl led the team in assists.

Kendall, who was recently named SWAC player of the week, and Grasso each finished with nine kills to lead SLCC.

"That was really exciting," Kendall said. "She (Matheson) had been putting it down the line the entire time, so I had to get it for my team. It was a little bittersweet (blocking Matheson). She had a good match."

Matheson said the tough call in the third game affected the players a little for a short time.

"It was a big momentum shift," Matheson said. "I think it got into our brains a little bit. But after a couple plays, you forget about it."

She said she looked forward to the match against her former teammates for a few months.

"When we started the season, I was definitely like, 'I'm ready to beat them'," Matheson said. "But during the match, all I wanted to do is play hard. I wanted our team to win."

Matheson's block tied the score at 20 for NIC in the fourth game and it gave the Cardinals some momentum of their own. Grap's kill tied it at 21, then she won three points in a row on serve to give NIC its 24-21 lead.

But a kill by SLCC, an ace by Grasso and a kill by Lofton off a free ball gave the Bruins a 25-24 lead.

"We've been in 24-21 situations a lot this year, so we practiced that," Salt Lake coach Sue Delaney said. "We dug our heels in ... you just want to win and compete, do all the right things. We just have to not let ourselves get in that situation."

North Idaho defensive specialist LeeNell Hernandez won four points in a row on serve to close out the first game.

NIC plays Tuesday at Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston and then Saturday at fourth-ranked College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. The Cardinals return home to play on Oct. 17 against Colorado Northwestern Community College.

"It's an opportunity for us to get better and with that in mind, CSI's a good team. They lost to Salt Lake (in four games Thursday), but we felt like it was a four-team race in our conference. I told the girls after the match, whether we win in four or lose in four, our result really isn't important, because everyone goes to regionals. You need to beat this team when it matters, which is at regionals."