SIOUX CITY, Iowa – With nine of the team's thirteen-player roster stepping onto the court at the NAIA Final Site for the first time of their careers on Tuesday afternoon, it would be easy to excuse the Corban University volleyball team for displaying some nerves in its matchup against The Master's University, one of the nation's best teams in 2018. Factor in a convincing first-set victory for the No. 2-seeded Mustangs, and it shows just how impressive No. 3-seeded Corban's four-set triumph (18-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17) was to open up pool play.

"The team came out a little slow in the first game, but seemed to gain momentum toward the end of the set," said head coach Kim McLain. "I was proud of how they found their rhythm to pull out wins in the next three sets and clinch their first win here at the national tournament."

Set one began as a back-and-forth affair, with Corban and The Master's matching each other point-for-point in the early going. The Mustangs caught fire midway through the first frame, however, riding a 14-5 run to claim a decisive lead and eventual 25-18 victory. Corban struggled to get anything going offensively early on, attacking at a .069 clip in the set.

Despite falling behind early in the following set, the Navy and Gold showed resilience in the squad's game-two triumph, with a consecutive trio of timely aces from Madison Pfaff proving to be a crucial turning point in both the set and the match. Corban carried the momentum from its come-from-behind game-two victory into the next game, scoring 13 of set-three's first 17 points and possessing the lead for the entirety of the 25-18 victory.

Game four proved to be more of the same for the Navy and Gold, with the Warriors capturing a 25-17 triumph to seal the four-set victory.

Pfaff's streak of service aces provided three of Corban's 10 on the match, just one shy of the season high for the Navy and Gold. The Warriors' performance from the service line proved to be a key factor in the win.

As a team, Corban finished with an attacking percentage of just .145, but Avari Ridgway (14 kills, .174 attacking percentage), Adriana Aguayo (12 kills, .111 attacking percentage) and Tori Edwards (nine kills, .227 attacking percentage) were able to provide clutch kills at the right moments to propel the Warrior offense.

Corban's two-setter tandem of Cierra Leopoldino (22 assists) and Jadyn Mullen (19 assists) were outstanding in the victory, combining for 41 assists on the afternoon without committing an error.

The win could prove to be a difference-maker as pool play continues, with the Warriors now looking ahead to the remainder of their Pool E slate—consisting of No. 1-seeded Dordt College and No. 4-seeded Reinhardt University.

Corban will take the court again tomorrow for the second of its three pool play matches, tackling No. 1-seeded Dordt at 4 p.m. PST.