LA GRANDE, Ore. – A banner will soon be added to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, as the No. 13-ranked Corban University volleyball team won its third Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament Championship in team history on Saturday. The Warriors handed top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon University its first loss of the season in four sets (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25) in the 2020 CCC Tournament Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, which took place on the Mountaineers' home court.

"I am so proud of this team and how they came focused and ready to play tonight," said head coach Kim McLain. "We knew we had to be aggressive throughout the whole match, not giving any advantages to a well-coached and strong EOU team. We are excited to represent the CCC at nationals!"

Prior to tonight's match, the Mountaineers were 16-0 on the season. Both Corban and EOU will advance to the NAIA National Tournament, laying claim to each of the CCC's automatic bids.

Eastern hopped out to an early lead in the first set of the day, claiming each of the game's first five points. Trailing at one point by a 17-13 margin, a 7-2 run led to a pivotal momentum swing for the Warriors, propelling the squad to a come-from-behind win in set one.

In contrast, Corban claimed eight of the second game's first nine points, riding the early lead to victory in the set two. At one point leading 19-10, the resilient Mounties put together a seven-point run to make things interesting, but the Navy and Gold was able to endure the rally to put the hometown squad on the ropes.

It would be hard to forget how the previous matchup between the two NAIA top-15 squads went down on March 27, when the Mountaineers stormed back from down two sets to none to stun Corban at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Eastern tried to recreate that magic on Saturday, winning the third set to force a fourth game. In the next set, the Mountaineers erased a 17-10 deficit to take a 20-19 lead, as the momentum began to tangibly shift in the hometown squad's favor.

Keeping poised, the Navy and Gold responded with a crucial three-point swing, as Sarena Bartley, Rylee Troutman, and Ally Tow powered home kills to quickly quiet the Mountaineers.

The two conference powerhouses battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the thrilling fourth set, but back-to-back putaways from Avari Ridgway and Cora Furman sealed the thrilling championship win for the Navy and Gold.

CLICK HERE to watch the match's final point.

Corban held the high-powered EOU offense to an attack percentage of just .182, the squad's third-lowest clip of the 2021 spring campaign.

Tow led the Navy and Gold with 15 kills on a .250 attack percentage. In addition, Ridgway (13 kills, .231 attack percentage), Bartley (12 kills, .192 attack percentage), and Troutman (10 kills, .167 attack percentage) all finished with double-digit kill tallies for the evening.

Jadyn Mullen's 27 assists led the squad, while Ciarra Judson added 22 of her own.

On the defensive end, Kealani Ontai (20 digs), Makenna Campbell (10 digs), and Marissa Uehara (10 digs) all turned in strong efforts for McLain and company.

Sade Williams (14 kills, .256 attack percentage) and Cambree Scott (12 kills, .171 attack percentage) paced the Mountie attack, with each reaching the double-figure kill plateau.

The Warriors (12-4, 10-4 CCC) will next be in action in the NAIA National Tournament, starting with the NAIA Opening Round on April 17. Corban will find out its opening-round foe on Monday, April 12 at 10 a.m. CT.