SALEM, Ore. – A packed house at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center was treated to a thriller between some of the Cascade Collegiate Conference's (CCC) top squads on Friday evening. The No. 7-ranked Corban University volleyball team outlasted Southern Oregon University in a five-set nail-biter (24-26, 25-17, 25-17, 16-25, 15-10) to remain undefeated on the 2021 campaign.

"We didn't start the first set prepared for SOU's attack, but we got better through the match," said head coach Kim McLain. "It was a tough battle against a well-coached Raider team, and we were fortunate to come away with a win."

Friday's first set was a back-and-forth affair, as neither squad led by more than four at any point. The Raiders led for the majority of the stanza, though the Warriors battled back to even the score on multiple occasions. In the end, the Raiders outlasted the Warriors in a 26-24 triumph.

Corban bounced back in resounding fashion, however, claiming six of the second set's first eight points to jump in front early. Southern Oregon would not be able to overcome the early deficit, as the match evened at one game apiece with Corban's 25-17 win.

It was a similar story in the third game, as Corban forced the Raiders' backs against the wall with another comfortable 25-17 triumph.

As the pressure mounted, SOU remained resilient, forcing a fifth set with a 25-16 win in the fourth game.

With an electric crowd behind them, the seventh-ranked Warriors took an early lead in the rubber set and never looked back, sealing the exhilarating triumph with a 15-10 victory in the final game.

Rylee Troutman compiled a game-high 18 kills in the victory, attacking at a .222 mark. Avari Ridgway also turned in an exceptional offensive effort, finishing just behind Troutman with 17 putaways (season high) and doing so on a stellar .577 hitting percentage.

CLICK HERE to watch Ridgway's post-match interview.

Effective and efficient, Ally Tow (10 kills, .421 attack percentage), Cora Furman (seven kills, .421 attack percentage) and Allyson Reid (seven kills, .467 attack percentage) delivered impressive offensive performances for the Warrior attack, while Furman (five block assists) and Reid (six block assists, one block solo) were also invaluable at the net defensively.

Jadyn Mullen (32 assists) and Ciarra Judson (20 assists) combined for 52 assists for the Navy and Gold, while Kealani Ontai (10 digs) spearheaded the squad's defensive efforts with her 10^th match with a double-digit dig tally this season.    

For the Raiders, Simone Gordon (16 kills, .467 attack percentage), Hailey Van Well (16 kills, .270 attack percentage), and Shelby Young (14 kills, .233 attack percentage) headlined the squad's upset bid, turning in strong performances in the heartbreaking defeat. Defensively, Kadyn Jones' 18 digs led all performers on Friday evening.

With the loss, the Raiders move to 2-4 in CCC play (7-4 overall), and will look to rebound against Bushnell University tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile, the Warriors (12-0, 6-0 CCC) will be back in action inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center tomorrow night, hosting Oregon Tech at 7 p.m.