KIRKLAND, Wash. – With the original starting lineup back in full force, the No. 3 Corban University Women's Volleyball team (25-2, 18-1) avoided a set one scare to take down the Northwest University Eagles (13-14, 9-10) in straight sets, 34-32, 25-12, and 25-13. The Warriors extend their winning streak to 18 games in a row, now a single game away from tying the program record set just last season.
"NU is a well-coached team and came in aggressive tonight!" Corban Head Coach Kim McLain said earlier tonight.
"I was proud of the team for how they played through some very tough rallies. We made adjustment, kept pressing them, and focused on the little things to stay disciplined," McLain concluded.
The first set couldn't have been any closer of a contest, as the Warriors and Eagles couldn't build more than a three-point lead each, gridlocked and battling it out kill by kill as the set continued into extra points.
Northwest came back to force extras by tying the contest at 24-all, finding themselves in multiple set point opportunities down the stretch. However, Corban was able to come out on top of the back-and-forth affair, clinching back-to-back kills from sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid and senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway to win the extended period 34-32 and take a single set lead.
The Warriors carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead and forcing the Eagles into their first timeout just 14 points into the set. Another lopsided run in the favor of Corban put the Warriors comfortably ahead with a 19-9 margin, resulting in NU needing another stoppage to talk things over.
A 6-3 run later, and the Warriors clinched a quick 25-12 set thanks to their destructive offense at the net, with almost half of Corban's attack attempts resulting in kills throughout the second set.
Corban and Northwest began the second set much like the first, with neither team able to put any distance on the scoreboard until the Warriors were able to rattle the Eagles for three-straight points to take an 11-8 lead. That streak continued through an NU timeout to extend the lead to 16-8 in favor of the Warriors, with all the advantage on the Warriors' side.
Despite a couple of streaks from the Eagles, Corban easily ran away with a 25-13 result in the third and final set to take the contest in straight sets and finish the season sweep of Northwest.
The Warriors pulled off one of their best all-around performances of the season tonight, holding the Eagles to just one set of positive attacking all night long, while swinging a heavy .433 attacking percentage at the net over the course of the contest. Overall, Corban led in every statistical category, with the line of 46-32 kill count resulting in an even more stunning 7-21 error count in favor of the Warriors.
Ridgway jumped back into a full-time role to drop 14 kills and the game-high in digs with 12 for the only double-double of the evening by either team, smashing a .520 attacking percentage with just a single error. Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman extended her double-digit kill count to fourteen-straight, as she pummeled a game-high 15 kills and had nine digs in the backcourt to fall just one shy of four-straight double-doubles.
Senior setter Jadyn Mullen dealt out a game-high 21 assists on the evening, who also fell just one dig shy of a double-double with nine digs in the backcourt. Freshman setter Abby Guindy handled the second core of the Warriors' lineup with 18 assists to rank second on the evening in total dimes. Meanwhile, senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt earned a game-high three service aces, adding a game-high four block assists as well.
Just one Eagle was able to find consistency at the net tonight, as middle blocker Abi Broussard tallied 10 kills and had just a single error to keep Northwest's attacking percentage above water. Setters Anna Saelens and Morgan Harter shared the duties tonight to log 14 and 13 assists, respectively.
Libero Kelsey Moore led the Eagles in the backcourt with 11 digs, while outside hitter Reece Denney snatched a pair of service aces.
Corban Women's Volleyball will compete in their final road CCC contest of the 2022 season tomorrow evening, as they will head to Olympia, Washington for a huge matchup with The Evergreen State College Geoducks (13-10, 12-7), with the match set to begin at 5pm PDT.
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