SALEM, Ore. – Senior Rachel Gowen (Oregon City, Ore.) registered a match-high 10 kills with zero hitting errors, as Corban's women's volleyball team swept the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19), Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center on Serve-It-Up Volleyball night.
In the conference season-opener for both squads, Corban took a three-match winning streak against the Geoducks onto the court. At the end, the Warriors used numerous runs throughout the match to secure its fourth straight win over its Olympia-based opponent, as well as its second straight victory this week after defeating cross town rival Willamette in four games on Tuesday.
In the opening set, Evergreen jumped out a 7-3 lead in the beginning before Corban used a 6-1 run to take a one-point lead (9-8). The Warriors then extended their lead to as much as seven points (24-17) before closing out the opening set on junior Andrea Potloff's (Aumsville, Ore.) serve, as Evergreen committed one of its six hitting errors in the first set to hand Corban an eight-point win (25-17).
In the second set, Evergreen grabbed a 2-1 advantage early before Corban used a 5-2 run that was capped off with a kill by senior Chelsea Reeher (Powell Butte, Ore.) to give the Warriors a 6-4 lead. The visiting Geoducks battled back to tie the set at 9-all before Corban used a mini 4-0 run to take a 13-9 lead following an assist block by Gowen and freshman Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.). With the lead at 13-10 in favor of the Warriors, Corban went on a 5-0 run which forced Evergreen to call its first timeout of the set with the score 18-10 in favor of the Warriors. Out of the timeout, the visiting Geoducks battled back to within five points (20-15) only to watch as Corban closed out the set on a 5-4 run capped by a set-ending kill from senior Rashelle Davenport (Kalama, Wash.) for the Warriors' 25-19 victory.
Following the ten-minute break between the second and third set, Corban used the service arm of Potloff to jumped out a 4-0 lead before Evergreen used a 4-0 run of its own to tie the set. Over the next 30 combined points, neither team grabbed more than a two-point lead until the scoreboard read 19-19. After the eighteenth and final tie of the match, Corban used a 6-0 run to end the match with junior Amy Thompson (Oregon City, Ore.) serving the Warriors to victory, 25-19, and a three-game sweep of the Geoducks.
Along with Gowen's perfect performance at the net, Land and Reeher added 7 and 6 kills respectively to go along with Thompson's team-high 11 assists. Freshman Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) also ran the Warrior offense with 10 assists, while sophomore Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) anchored Corban's back line with a match-high 17 digs.
For Evergreen, Jessica Dubois tied with Gowen for the match-high in kills with 10. Dubois was aided by Chantal Petkus and two other Geoducks with 8, 4, and 4 kills respectively. Katie Huston handed out a match-high 19 assists, while Dubois registered a team-high nine digs.
With the victory, Corban improves to 2-3 overall, 1-0 in CCC action. Meanwhile, Evergreen falls to 0-5 overall, 0-1 in CCC play. The Warriors return to action on Saturday, September 6th, when they host the Eagles of Northwest University at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
