SALEM, Ore. – In the first matchup of two of the Cascade Collegiate Conference's (CCC) premiere volleyball programs, the No. 13 ranked Corban University Warriors and No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers delivered a match that lived up to the expectations surrounding the two NAIA top-15 powerhouses. The Mountaineers would end up edging the Warriors in a five-set thriller (27-25, 19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10).

"It was a great battle tonight!" said head coach Kim McLain afterwards. "We struggled with consistency at times, both in passing and at the net. We must do better at controlling our unforced errors. We look forward to another battle tomorrow night!"

Eastern Oregon capitalized on a couple of faulty stretches by the Navy and Gold, such as the beginning of the first set, when the Warriors allowed the high-powered Mountaineers to claim 10 of the game's first 11 points, six of which came via unforced Corban errors.

Even despite the early deficit, the resilient Warriors battled their way back into the game, at one point even claiming a 25-24 advantage. Eastern would rattle off three-straight points, however, narrowly holding on to the game-one victory.

The Warriors looked like themselves in set two, blending their traditional mix of steady defense and balanced attacking to a 25-19 victory, evening the set count while hitting .444 as a unit.

Miscues once again plagued the squad in set three, however, as the Warriors hit at a season-low -.091 mark and the Mountaineers took a two-sets-to-one advantage.

A testament to the squad's grit, the Navy and Gold responded with a 25-22 victory in set four, forcing a deciding fifth game. Though the Warriors got out to a hot start in the rubber set, the pesky Mountaineers came from behind to earn an exhilarating road triumph.

Breanna Shaffer (14 kills, .308 attack percentage), Preslee Jensen (12 kills), and Sade Williams (11 kills) led the attack for EOU, while veteran staples Madison Pilon (31 assists) and Kiley McMurtrey (22 digs) were up to their usual tricks for head coach Kaki McLean Morehead and company.

For the Warriors, Sarena Bartley turned in one of the best individual efforts of her career, tallying 18 putaways on an efficient .371 attack percentage. In addition, Avari Ridgway and Ally Tow each notched 13 kills in the defeat.

Jadyn Mullen (27) and Ciarra Judson (25) combined to dish out 52 assists, while Kealani Ontai's 22 digs matched McMurtrey for the game high.

Corban (9-2, 9-2 CCC) will look to see if it can hand Eastern (12-0, 11-0 CCC) its first loss of the season tomorrow evening, when the squads rematch inside of the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center at 7 p.m.