SALEM, Ore. – Moving to 33-2 at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center over the past three seasons, Corban University volleyball blew past Xavier University (La.) in straight-sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-16) to clinch the team's third-straight trip to the NAIA Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa.

Click the 'PLAY BUTTON' on the photo above to watch video highlights from the NAIA Opening Round victory.

"The team came out a little tight to start in the first set, but we played well once we loosened up and found our groove," said head coach Kim McLain. "Our defense was key tonight, and we are very excited to be headed to Iowa!" 

The bulk of set one was a back-and-forth affair, with Corban and Xavier matching each other point-for-point for the majority of the frame. After being knotted up at 20 apiece, the Warriors would close out the set with a 5-0 run to claim a crucial game-one victory.

The Gold Nuggets claimed the first point of set two, and that would be final time Corban would trail for the remainder of the contest, with the Navy and Gold riding a relentless defensive effort and an efficient .307 team hitting percentage to the straight-set triumph.

It was a career night for Regan Murray, who posted a game-high 13 kills in the victory while attacking at a stellar .600 clip. All-Conference outside hitter Adriana Aguayo was also in top form, notching 11 kills (.381 attack percentage) to help lead the Warriors to the opening round win.

CLICK HERE to hear Aguayo's postgame interview.

Defensively, the Warriors were led by freshman libero Kealani Ontai (12 digs), who once again dazzled with her customary mix of sprawling digs and pinpoint passes. Lauren Condon and Jadyn Mullen each collected eight digs of their own, with the latter tacking on a match-best 28 assists, as well.

For Xavier, it was Jaida Dowd shouldering the load offensively, notching a team-high 12 kills while hitting at a .320 clip. Beatrice Formilan tied Ontai for the match-high in digs with a dozen, and setter Eva Le Guillou finished the contest with 26 assists.  

The Warrior defense was spectacular, holding the Nuggets' dynamic attacking duo of Vivica Price-Spraggins and Kayla Black to .071 and .132 attacking percentages, respectively. With the victory, the Warriors have now booked their ticket to the NAIA Final Site for the third-consecutive year.

To hear McLain's thoughts on the team's berth to the NAIA Final Site, CLICK HERE.

The Warriors will now await word on their final site seeding and matchups, with final site qualifiers being split into pools to determine which teams will advance to the ensuing elimination bracket.

All of the action will take place in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center, with pool play scheduled to take place on November 27-29, with elimination bracket action slated for November 30. The 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Champion will be crowned on December 1, with first serve for the match inked for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN3.