SIOUX CITY, Mo. – While playing against a full-strength No. 7-ranked Park University (Mo.) squad that had its national player of the year firing on all cylinders, the No. 23-ranked Corban University volleyball team fell in four sets (25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22) on Wednesday to the Pirates. The result, along with a Lourdes win over Morningside College in the other match from the pool, sets up a scenario tomorrow that is this: If Corban wins against Morningside, it clinches a spot in the final 16.
"We came out slow against the 2014 National Champions," said Corban head coach Kim McLain. "Park returned most of its players, yet I was proud of how our girls battled for every point. In the end, we made too many mistakes and it cost us."
The 2014 undefeated national champions, now with Wendy Romero back on the squad after missing all of 2015 due to an injury, were clicking early in the match, downing the Warriors by nine points in the first stanza.
In set two early on, it looked as if it would be more of the same, but the Warriors closed the stanza strong and provided the clutch plays when needed, resulting in the key 25-23 set victory to level the contest at 1-1.
Park (33-3) then changed gears once again, closing out sets three and four to take the match over the Warriors and set up the winner-take all scenario for both Group G matches on Thursday.
Romero led the attack for the Pirates with 20 kills, while Danna Gomes dished out 51 assists for Park in the triumph over the Warriors.
Corban was led offensively by Amber Parker who racked up 20 kills on a .269 hitting mark, while Adriana Aguayo totaled 10 kills for the Navy and Gold. Defensively, Haley Wells recorded a team-high 14 digs, while Madison McLain notched 13 digs to go with 38 assists.
As a team, the Warriors hit for just a .164 mark overall.
Corban (24-7) returns to the court tomorrow evening with a simple scenario: win and book a ticket to the round of 16, or lose and see the season come to a close. First serve is set for 5 p.m. CST. The match is set to be live-streamed on the NAIA Network.
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