LA GRANDE, Ore. – Battling through early-season learning curves at the EOU Invitational Tournament, the Corban University volleyball team fell to Montana State University-Northern on Saturday afternoon in three sets (25-15, 25-10, 25-22), once again playing its best in the third and final set after a couple of tough stanzas to begin the match.
Game Photos
"Today was a tough match," said head coach Kim McLain. "I continue to see progress, but we need to find a way to cut down on unforced errors! MSU is a strong team with many weapons and we weren't ready to defend them. We learned a great deal this weekend facing strong teams and are excited seeing the improvements from this team!"
In a match that played out similarly to Friday's contest against MSU-Western, the Warriors dug themselves big holes in each of the first two sets and could not find the answer, resulting in two set defeats.
Corban bounced back in the third set, however, exchanging leads on a number of occasions with the Skylights. The Warriors registered their biggest lead of the set midway through at 15-12 with freshman defensive specialist McKenzie Kolomyjec (Puyallup, Wash.) serving an ace and forcing the Skylights into an error.
MSU-Northern immediately responded with a quick 3-0 run to tie things up, but Warrior sophomore outside-hitter Amber Parker (Albany, Ore.) registered a kill to put Corban back on top with a one-point advantage. That lead, however, would be the last time the Warriors would be in front, as the Skylights rallied to score the needed points to close out the match, resulting in the three-point set victory.
Parker led the way offensively for Corban with 11 kills on the day, while freshman setter Madison McLain (Albany, Ore.) totaled a team-best 19 assists to go along with 10 digs. Defensively, it was sophomore libero Haley Wells (Albany, Ore.) once again leading the way with 16 digs, while freshman outside-hitter Victoria Schroeder (Corvallis, Ore.) recorded seven digs and seven kills in the match.
Corban (0-2) returns to action next Friday when it travels to Montana to compete in the Big Sky Classic. The Warriors will take on Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) and Dickinson State University (N.D.) on Friday.
