SALEM, Ore. – The No. 3 Corban University Women's Volleyball team (20-2, 13-1) extending their impressive run to 13-straight games with a victory, as the Warriors downed the visiting (RV) Bushnell University Beacons (13-9, 8-6) in four sets, 25-15, 25-14, 21-25, and 25-13.
"Bushnell has been playing very well recently, and we knew we had to be prepared for a battle!" Warriors' Head Coach Kim McLain said following tonight's match.
"We were not as disciplined in the third set, making too many unforced errors. I am proud of how the team responded in the fourth set to finish out the match," McLain continued.
The Warriors and Beacons battled back and forth in the opening set, with Corban finally gaining some distance midway through with a seven-point run that resulted in one of Bushnell's timeouts being utilized, resulting in a 17-8 advantage in favor of the Warriors.
Try as they might, too many unforced errors ultimately cost Bushnell in the first set, as the Beacons registered a negative attacking percentage for the set (-.107) that provided Corban with the opening 25-15 set victory.
While the Beacons were able to clean up a bit of the errors in the second set, an onslaught of offense from the Warriors kept them from making any head way, as Corban took an 18-14 lead and belted out seven-straight scores to easily win the set. The Warriors struck early and often in the rallies of second number two, hitting for a whopping .483 attacking percentage in the set, with three of the last four points coming from kills off the arm of sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman.
A three-set sweep was not written in the stars tonight for the Warriors, as the unforced errors crept over to the Warriors' side of the court in the third set, as Corban hit an even .000 at the net (10 kills, 10 errors) to allow the Beacons to crawl back into this contest. Two straight kills by Troutman and senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway jumped the Warriors to within one point at 21-22, but back-to-back Corban errors and a kill for the Beacons closed the set at 25-21 in favor of Bushnell.
Dropping a set to the Beacons for the first time this season didn't sit well with the Warriors, as they quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the fourth and final set, eventually forcing Bushnell into utilizing both of their timeouts just 18 total points into the game, as the Warriors held a 13-4 advantage and never looked back.
In a fitting end to the contest, the offensive powerhouse trio of Corban rallied off three-straight kills, as freshman opposite hitter Makayla Roginski, Troutman, and Ridgway all tallied a kill to conlude the match and final set, 25-13.
Troutman (18 kills, 14 digs) and Ridgway (15 kills, 11 digs) just had one of those dynamic nights that Warrior fans are accustomed to seeing from the outside hitting duo, as they both completed double-doubles in kills/digs to outkill the entire Bushnell team between the two of them (33 vs 32).
Senior setter Jadyn Mullen and freshman setter Abby Guindy each took their bulk of the assisting duties tonight to earn 24 and 22 dimes, respectively. Senior libero Kealani Ontai led all players tonight with 16 digs, raising her career dig total to 2,239, and 350 on the season.
The Beacons did manage to out-block the Warriors at the net tonight, accounting for 11 total team blocks compared to the Warriors' nine. Middle blockers Maddy Ladd and Payton Jones each accounted for five assisted blocks, while opposite hitter Halle Neuman added four assisted blocks.
Bushnell was led offensively by outside hitter Shay Coons, who dropped a team-high 10 kills and was the only Beacon to hit the double-digit mark. Libero Callie Wilkins earned 11 digs in the backcourt for the Beacons, and setter Makenna Northern dealt out a game-high 27 assists.
One last weekend on the road for the No. 3 Warriors awaits them this upcoming Friday and Saturday before returning to C.E. Jeffers Sports Center once again for a weekend series, as Corban heads north to Portland to face the Warner Pacific University Knights (1-12, 1-12) and the Multnomah University Lions (2-11, 2-11), respectively.
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