LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Corban University volleyball team opened its 2015 campaign on Friday at the Eastern Oregon University Invitational, and while coming on strong late in the match, the Warriors fell in straight sets against the University of Montana Western (25-13, 25-13, 28-26).
Game Photos
"As the match progressed, the girls got used to the speed of the game and improved each set," said head coach Kim McLain. "We really seemed to find our groove in the third set. We look forward to improvements as the season continues."
In the first set, Corban found itself in an early hole, falling behind 10-4. The lead grew to a 19-10 advantage for Montana Western as the set went on, and ultimately the Warriors could not get out of the early hole they were in, falling 25-13.
In the second stanza, it looked eerily similar to the first for Corban, as the Warriors once again got in a hole too deep to climb out of, falling behind by 10 points midway through the set, resulting in another 25-13 set defeat.
Things really turned around for the Navy and Gold in the third set when the Warriors started playing with more confidence and purpose, nabbing an early 6-5 advantage. Sophomore outside-hitter Amber Parker (Albany, Ore.) led the way during that early spurt with three kills. The Bulldogs rallied however and went on a 13-6 run to take an 18-12 lead.
Not giving up, Corban went on an 8-2 run to tie the set at 20-20. Multiple team members contributed on the offensive and defensive ends to get Corban back into the contest, and despite Montana Northern taking a 25-24 lead, Parker once again came up with the important attack, registering a kill off of an assist from freshman setter Madison McLain (Albany, Ore.) to tie the contest at 25-25.
The Warriors fought off another match point following tying the game, but the Bulldogs finished the match off with two-straight points to take the third and final set, 28-26.
Parker finished with a team-best 15 kills, while freshman outside-hitter Victoria Schroeder (Corvallis, Ore.) and sophomore outside-hitter Duree Standley (Redmond, Ore.) totaled four and three kills, respectively. McLain racked up a team-best 18 assists on the day to go along with six digs, while sophomore libero Haley Wells (Albany, Ore.) was Corban's best defensive player in the match, totaling 18 digs in the defeat.
Corban returns to action against Montana State University Northern tomorrow in La Grande at 3 p.m. Fans can watch the match or follow via live stats here.
