LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Corban University volleyball team showed grit while playing against one of the top teams in the NAIA on Saturday night, but the Warriors eventually fell against the No. 7-ranked Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers in straight sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-20).
"The girls came out much stronger tonight, but we could not overcome Eastern's many offensive weapons," said Corban head coach Kim McLain. I am so proud of how our girls have been improving and we look forward to finishing strong!"
Highlighting Corban's performance offensively was Warrior junior outside-hitter Kelly Cruise (Salem, Ore.). In her best performance of her Warrior career, she totaled 13 kills on just 27 attacks. Also playing well offensively was Corban sophomore outside-hitter Amber Parker (Albany, Ore.), as she totaled 18 kills on the evening.
Continuing to provide consistency in the setter position for the Navy and Gold was freshman Madison McLain (Albany, Ore.), as she dished out 39 assists in the defeat while also tallying seven digs and one service ace. Sophomore libero Haley Wells (Albany, Ore.) gave Corban another solid defensive effort as well, notching 15 digs on the night.
As a team, Corban hit at a .171 clip offensively, while Eastern Oregon registered a .292 mark, including a dominant .406 clip in the final set.
The first set saw Corban take the Mountaineers all the way to the wire as Parker tied the set at 22-22 with a kill, but EOU (18-1, 13-0 CCC) responded by scoring three of the next four points en route to the set victory.
In the second stanza, EOU jumped out to a lead early and didn't look back en route to the comfortable six-point set triumph. In the third and deciding set, Corban pulled to within one point at 17-16, but the Mountaineers showed why they are ranked so high nationally, closing out the match in the five-point set triumph.
Corban (8-10, 6-6 CCC) returns to Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) action on Tuesday when it travels south to take on Northwest Christian University. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Eugene.
