SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 13-ranked Corban University volleyball team kicks off pool play today at the NAIA National Championships Final Site, taking on No. 21 Oklahoma City University at 5 p.m. CT in the first of two matches that will determine if the Navy and Gold will advance to the bracket play portion of the NAIA Tournament.

The Warriors will compete in Pool E alongside No. 21 Oklahoma City and No. 5 Northwestern College (Iowa), with each team facing off against each other in the course of the next two days. The team with the best record in the pool—or the winner of a tie-breaking scenario, should all three teams finish with a 1-and-1 record—will advance to the NAIA Final 8, which will begin with the NAIA quarterfinals on April 29.

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Corban ranks 14^th in the NAIA in kills per set (13.4) and 16^th in hitting percentage (.232), claiming one of the top offenses in the nation. The Warriors clinched their fifth-consecutive trip to the NAIA National Tournament when they claimed their third-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament Championship on April 10. Corban then defeated (RV) The Master's University in four sets in the NAIA Opening Round to punch a ticket to Iowa.

All-Conference honorees Avari Ridgway (3.02 kills per set, .210 attack percentage), Ally Tow (2.52 kills per set, .249 attack percentage), and Rylee Troutman (2.51 kills per set, .237 attack percentage) have played a big part in the Warriors' success, and they will look to continue their strong seasons in the biggest matches of the year this week.

The setting duties will be shared by All-Conference award-winner Jadyn Mullen (5.92 assists per set) and Ciarra Judson (5.17 assists per set), who provide head coach Kim McLain with a pair of skilled distributors to call upon.

Exceptional throughout the 2021 spring campaign defensively, libero Kealani Ontai has notched 5.05 digs per set so far this season, which would be the fifth-best mark in a single season in the Warrior record books should it hold. At the net, Cora Furman has averaged 1.11 blocks per game in her stellar rookie season, and that number would be the third-highest in program history if the season ended today.

The Stars earned their spot in the NAIA National Tournament via their fifth-consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Tournament Championship. Overall, they are 15-2 on the 2020-21 campaign.

Oklahoma City setter Sophia Salak leads the nation in assists per set at 12.2. The junior has totaled 709 assists on the season in 58 sets, and will be a player to watch in today's matchup. Her squad ranks seventh in the NAIA in kills per game with 13.9, led by Ella Lofton (3.5 kills per set).

Olivia Nutter averages nearly a block per set (0.9), and figures to be a key force at the net for the Stars. Meanwhile, Isabel Harwell will lead the defensive efforts for the squad, entering Tuesday's match averaging 4.7 digs per game.

For Northwestern, it is the program's fourth-straight appearance in the NAIA National Tournament, clinching a spot via a runner-up placement in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament.

The squad is led offensively by two-time NAIA All-American, two-time GPAC Player of the Year, and 2019 NAIA Player of the Year Anna Wedel, who is averaging 3.6 kills per set in 2020-21. She headlines a trio of All-American attackers for the Raiders, rounded out by Makenzie Fink (2.9 kills per set) and A.J. Kacmarynski (2.5 kills per set).

Lacey Reitz—a two-time GPAC Setter of the Year honoree—will do the facilitating, entering this week's tournament with 11.3 assists per game. On the defensive end, Emily Strasser (4.2 digs per set) will spearhead the Raiders' efforts.

After today's matchup with Oklahoma City, the Warriors will wrap up pool play will a battle against Northwestern tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT.