ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 19-ranked Corban University volleyball team battled toe-to-toe with the No. 7-ranked team in the NAIA on Thursday evening, but the Warriors came up short in a tightly-contested match, falling in four sets (31-29, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21) to Northwestern College (Iowa).

"The team bounced back tonight and proved that they can compete," said Corban head coach Kim McLain. "We continue to improve, but must focus on being consistent throughout the match with the little things."

Corban compiled a .317 hitting mark on the night while Northwestern hit at just a .232 clip, but Northwestern had nearly 30 more attacks than Corban and 13 more kills. In addition, the Red Raiders were deadly on the serve, totaling 13 aces.

After dropping the first set in heartbreaking fashion, Corban bounced back nicely to take set two by seven points. The third and fourth sets went to the home side, however, as Corban was unable to pull out the comeback.

Adriana Aguayo led the way with 18 kills on a .350 hitting mark, while Cassie Cunningham hit at a .429 clip with 13 kills. Tori Edwards chipped in eight kills and Avari Ridgway added seven.

Keeping the offense flowing was Cierra Leopoldino with 23 assists, while Jadyn Mullen added in 22 assists in the two-setter offense. Defensively, Kealani Ontai recorded 19 digs to lead the Warriors.

Corban (2-3) returns to action on Friday and Saturday at the Red Raider Classic for four matches against ranked teams.