LA GRANDE, Ore. – For the first time in program history, the No. 22-ranked Corban University volleyball team garnered a bid to the NAIA National Championships thanks to a straight-set win (25-22, 25-20, 25-18) over Northwest University in Friday's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament semifinal, presented by U.S. Bank.
Click the 'Play Button' on the story photo above for video highlights from the historic evening.
After winning in the semifinals and advancing to the CCC Tournament Championship match, the Warriors saw top-seeded Eastern Oregon University clinch the other spot in the tournament final, meaning that regardless of result on Saturday, Corban has earned the CCC's second automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament.
"Our defense was incredible tonight which kept the rallies going and in turn, we were able to capitalize on it," said Corban head coach Kim McLain. "I was proud of how the girls kept their focus in a well-fought match. We are excited to have the opportunity to play in the championship."
The Warriors have had other highly successful teams in history, but none competed at the NAIA National Championships. Previous Warrior teams competed in NAIA Regional Tournaments and NCCAA (National Christian College Association of America) National Tournaments, but never in the heralded NAIA National Tournament.
For Corban, it will be the third time the Warriors have ever played in the CCC Tournament Championship match, having won the title once in 1997 while coming in as the second-place team in 1998.
In the first stanza on Friday evening, the Warriors and Eagles battled, but in the end, Corban pulled in front late and came up with the key points when they needed them, earning the three-point set victory. In the second set, Corban once again pulled away midway through the period, ultimately claiming the five-point set triumph. In those first two sets, the Warriors didn't hit great offensively, but it was the defense that shut down Northwest, holding the Eagles to hitting marks of .146 and .067, respectively.
In the third and final stanza, Corban once again played great defense while also hitting for a better mark offensively. The Warriors registered a .244 percentage on the attack in the final set while holding Northwest to just a .091 clip.
In the straight-set triumph over the Eagles during the 2016 campaign, junior Haley Wells showed why she was named the CCC Libero of the Year, racking up 23 digs to average almost eight digs per set in the victory. Also playing very well overall on the night, junior Amber Parker totaled 17 digs while recording a team-best 18 kills. She hit for a .268 clip offensively in the win.
Complementing Parker in the attack was freshman Adriana Aguayo, as she notched 13 kills for the Navy and Gold. Sophomore Madison McLain dished out the majority of the assists on the evening for the Warriors, totaling 43 in all.
Following the match, head coach Kim McLain and Gentili talked about Corban's victory:
For Northwest (19-8) in the defeat, Morgan Pilon totaled 23 assists while Leia Roy notched 14 digs in the loss. The Eagles spread the ball around offensively, with Amanda Waterman leading the way with eight kills.
Eastern Oregon, which had already clinched the CCC's first automatic berth to nationals due to winning the CCC regular-season title, defeated No. 4-seeded College of Idaho in the second semifinal match of the evening. The CCC's second automatic berth goes to the winner of the CCC Tournament, and if the CCC Tournament winner is the same team that wins the regular season, then the second automatic bid goes to the runner-up in the tournament. So win or lose on Saturday, the Warriors have clinched the second automatic berth to nationals.
Corban (22-5) returns to the court tomorrow for the CCC Tournament Championship match vs. top-seeded EOU. First serve in La Grande is set for 3 p.m. Live stats and live video will be provided here.
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