BOX SCORE

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – In a big match that could have helped clear up the playoff picture, Corban's women's volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech, 3-0 (16-25, 21-25, 12-25), Friday on Danny Miles Court.

Corban (5-17, 2-10 CCC) was led offensively by junior Miah Smith with five kills, while senior Olivia Shropshire and freshman Payton Wilcox added four kills each. Wilcox and fellow freshman setter Haley Meili handed out six assists each, as Shropshire anchored Corban's defense with a team-high nine digs. Freshman Madison Purnell led the Warriors' net defense with a team-best three blocks, while Meili, Shropshire, and senior Brittany Sweet registered one service ace each.

Oregon Tech (12-13, 5-6 CCC) was led by Kelsey Sampson with a match-high 10 kills, while Marlee Smith and Madisen Garlie added nine and seven kills, respectively. Victoria Porter and Kayleigh Whelchel combined to hand out 30 assists, while Marie Baumann anchored the Owls' defense with a match-high 13 digs to go along with a match-high five blocks by Garlie.

The opening set would see Corban score the first four points before pushing the lead to 5-1 on a kill by Purnell. With the score 7-5 in favor of the visiting Warriors, Oregon Tech used a 6-0 run on the serving of Sampson to build an 11-7 lead. The Owls would extend that lead to double digits (23-13) before closing out Set #1 on a kill by Kylie Kitzmiller for the 25-16 victory.

Set #2 would once again see Corban jump out to a quick 5-0 lead before Oregon Tech battled back to tie things at 9-9 and then used an 8-0 run that resulted in a 17-9 lead for the home team. Despite trailing by eight points, Corban did not quit pulling within four points (22-18) behind the serving of Sweet only to watch Oregon Tech use a set-closing kill by Garlie for the hard-fought 25-21 victory.

The third and final set would belong to Oregon Tech from the beginning, as the Owls jumped out to a 6-1 lead thanks to the serving of Renee Baumann. OIT would push its lead to as much as 14 points (23-9) on a kill by Sampson before Corban trimmed the margin to 12 (24-12). Unfortunately, Oregon Tech's lead would be too much for the visiting Warriors to overcome with Corban falling in straight sets thanks to a set and match-ending kill by Sampson for the 25-12 victory.

Overall, Corban hit .055 (22-17-91) on the night versus Oregon Tech's .200 (37-17-100).

Corban returns to action tomorrow – Saturday, October 19th – against nationally-ranked Southern Oregon beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside Riehm Arena in Ashland.