SALEM, Ore. – On Senior Appreciation Night, five seniors combined to record 17 kills, eight assists, 15 digs, and four blocks in Corban's regular season finale against the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech Saturday night inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Prior to tonight's match, seniors Chelsea Reeher (Powell Butte, Ore.), Rashelle Davenport (Kalama, Wash.), and Rachel Gowen (Oregon City, Ore.), along with juniors Amy Thompson (Oregon City, Ore.) and Tiffany Loughridge (Sherwood, Ore.), were honored and thanked for their time spent donning the navy and gold of the Warriors.
With a playoff spot already wrapped up and Oregon Tech having lost to Concordia last night, Corban hung tough with the Hustlin' Owls but could not come away with the upset victory falling in three sets (9-25, 19-25, 19-25) to set up a rematch on Tuesday in the opening round of the conference postseason tournament.
In the opening set, Oregon Tech jumped out to a four-point advantage (5-1) before extending its lead to eight points (17-9) as Gowen registered the final point for the Warriors in Set #1. The visiting Hustlin' Owls used a set-closing 8-0 run to claim the opening set by 16 points (25-9) in just over twenty minutes.
In the second set, Corban used the serving arm of junior Andrea Potloff (Aumsville, Ore.) and opened up a quick three-point lead (4-1) before Oregon Tech used a 3-0 run to knot the set at 4-all. The Warriors would extend their lead to three points once again (7-4) via a kill by Gowen, an attack error by the Owls, and a service ace by sophomore Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.). Oregon Tech climbed back into the set with another run that knotted everything at 15-all following a OIT service error. Over the final points, Oregon Tech used a 10-4 run to grab a two-set lead (25-19) as Sarah Svedin registered a set-closing ace.
In the third and final set, Corban climbed onto the serving arm of sophomore Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.) and grabbed a quick 4-0 lead before Oregon Tech used a four-point run of its own to knot the score at 4-4. Over the next 26 combined points, neither team grabbed more than a two-point lead before the set was tied for the 12th and final time at 17-all. The Hustlin' Owls would use a set and match-closing 8-2 run to grab Set #3 by six points (25-19) and the match in a three-set sweep.
Gowen led Corban with a team-high nine kills, while Reeher and three other Warriors -- Braun, Davenport, and freshman Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.) -- registered three and two kills respectively. Freshman Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) and Thompson combined to record 15 assists, as Dees handed out a team-best nine. In the back row, Franke recorded a match-high 14 digs to go along with Thompson and Davenport's six-dig performance each. At the net, Gowen recorded a team-high two blocks to go along with Reeher, Braun, and Davenport's one block each.
Oregon Tech was led by Krista Wooley's match-high 15 kills on 25 swings with a mere two hitting errors, while Megan Christensen and Mikalya Morgan added 12 and 6 kills respectively. Lizzie Law handed out a match-high 33 assists, while Krystie Vea anchored the Owls' back row with a team-high 13 digs.
With the loss, Corban ends the regular season at 12-13 overall, including a 10-10 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech improves to 21-6 overall, 16-4 in CCC action. The Warriors will open the 2008 conference playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 11th, against the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Danny Miles Court in Klamath Falls.
