BOX SCORE

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Junior Claire Bailey, senior Olivia Shropshire, and junior Miah Smith combined to register 36 kills, as Corban's women's volleyball team picked up its first Cascade Collegiate Conference victory of the season with a five-set win, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 15-12), over Evergreen Friday inside CRC Gymnasium.

With tonight's win, Corban improves to 3-13 overall and 1-6 in CCC matches. On the other hand, Evergreen falls to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in league play.

Bailey led the Warriors' offense with 15 kills, while Shropshire and Smith added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The freshman setting duo of Haley Meili and Payton Wilcox combined to hand out 33 assists, as Meili recorded a team-high 20 assists to register a new conference-high performance this season. Junior libero Katherine Salness anchored Corban's defense with a team-high 19 digs, while freshman Mikenzee Frazier and senior Brittany Sweet chipped in with 12 and 11 digs, respectively, to go along with a pair of three-block performances by Bailey and freshman Madison Purnell.

The opening set would be a back-and-forth battle until the set was tied at 11-all before Evergreen used a 6-1 run to take a 17-12 lead on a combo block by KC Beadle and Victoria Love. Corban would battle back to within three points (22-19) on a kill by Bailey before the host Geoducks closed out the set on a 3-1 run for the 25-20 victory.

Set #2 would see Corban jump out to a 13-4 lead behind the serving of Meili before Evergreen used a 12-6 run to get within three points (19-16) on a service ace by Natimia Barker-Doss. The visiting Warriors would match Evergreen's run with a 5-2 spurt of their own, as Corban pulled ahead by six points (24-18) on a Geoduck hitting error. Despite back-to-back kills by Evergreen, Corban took advantage of its lead and closed out the set with a 25-20 victory to tie the match at 1-1.

The third set would see Evergreen jump out to a slim three-point lead (13-10) on a kill by Love before Corban used a 13-5 run to pull ahead by five points (23-18). The visiting Warriors would continue to hold the lead until Smith end Set #3 with a kill resulting in a 25-21 win for Corban and a 2-1 lead in sets.

Set #4 would see Evergreen score 11 of the opening 15 points behind the serving of Kelsey Delagrange, as the Geoducks built their lead to eight points (17-9) on a kill by Molly King. Corban would pull within five points (18-13) on a kill by Wilcox before Evergreen pushed its lead to nine points (24-15) on a service ace by Cassidy Watkins. Despite back-to-back kills by Bailey and Smith, Evergreen continued to hold the lead resulting in a 25-17 win for the Geoducks that forced a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth and final set saw Corban break a 4-4 tie with a 6-0 run that resulted in a 10-4 lead on a solo block by Bailey. Evergreen would then use a 5-1 run to pull within two points (11-9) before Corban closed out the match by scoring four of the final seven points to pick up the win (15-12) snapping a six-match losing streak for the Warriors.

Evergreen was led by Love with a match-high 37 kills, while King was the only other Geoduck in double figures with 11 kills. Delagrange and Barker-Doss both registered double-doubles, as Delagrange handed out a match-high 34 assists to go along with 11 digs and Barker-Doss tallied 18 assists and 19 digs. Evergreen's defense would combine for 93 digs led by Liza Domingo's match-high 29, while Love provided a match-high five blocks at the net for the Geoducks.

Corban will return to the court tomorrow – Saturday, September 28th – against the Eagles of Northwest beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Kirkland, Washington.