KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Senior Chelsea Reeher (Powell Butte, Ore.) registered a team-high nine kills to go along with fellow seniors Rashelle Davenport (Kalama, Wash.) and Rachel Gowen's (Oregon City, Ore.) seven kills each, but Corban's women's volleyball team fell to Oregon Tech, 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-14), Friday at Danny Miles Court.
Heading into tonight's match, Corban was riding a two-match winning streak and had won five of the its last six matches. Unfortunately for Corban, tonight's opponent -- the NAIA's No. 17-ranked Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech -- had won four straight matches to move into the Top 25 nationally.
In the opening set, Corban grabbed a quick two-point advantage (5-3) before relinquishing it to the host Owls (7-6). The Warriors regained the lead (9-8) and then grabbed its final lead of the set via a kill by Gowen that gave Corban a slim one-point advantage (10-9). Oregon Tech used a 15-4 run over the next 19 points to take a commanding 24-13 lead via a kill by Nicole Andrews. The Hustlin' Owls then closed out the opening set with a kill by Mikayla Morgan for the 12-point win (25-13).
In the second set, Oregon Tech jumped out to a five-point lead (6-1) before Corban began to claw back into the set. The Warriors used a 17-12 run to knot the middle set at 18-all, as both teams traded the lead five times over the next 10 points. With the set tied at 23-23, Gowen served her lone ace of the match to give Corban set-point. Unfortunately, OIT's Krista Wooley unleashed one of her match-high 19 kills to knot the set once again (24-24) before the host Owls used a set-closing 3-1 run that was highlighted by a combo block from Morgan and Megan Christiensen that handed Oregon Tech a two-point win (27-25).
In the third and final set, Oregon Tech jumped out to a four-point lead (5-1) and then extended it to double digits (14-4). Corban tried to pull within single digits getting as close as 11 points (18-7) following a kill by Reeher, but Oregon Tech was too strong using a match-closing 7-4 run to close out the three-set sweep, 25-11.
Along with the aforementioned senior trio, freshman Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.) and junior Amy Thompson (Oregon City, Ore.) added four and two kills respectively. Playing without sophomore Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.), who is out due to an ankle injury, the Warriors struggled as six of Corban's nine players combined to record the team's total of 30 kills. Thompson and freshman Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) combined to hand out 25 assists, as Thompson led the team with 15. Sophomore libero Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) anchored the Warriors' back line with a match-high 14 digs, while Reeher and Gowen controlled the net with a combined five blocks.
As previously mentioned, Wooley registered a match-high kill total to lead Oregon Tech. Meanwhile, Andrews and Christensen's added 10 kills each, while Lizzie Law handed out a match-high 41 assists for the Owls. Sarah Svendin recorded a team-high 11 digs in the back row for OIT, while Christensen and Morgan combined for nine blocks that included Christensen's match-high five assist blocks.
With the loss, Corban evens its record at 5-5 overall, including 3-2 in conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech pushes its winning streak to five matches and improves to 10-2 overall, 5-0 in conference action. The Warriors return to action on Saturday, September 20th, when they continue a two-match road trip against the defending conference co-champion Red Raiders of Southern Oregon beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Ashland.
