LA GRANDE, Ore. – In the likely Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) volleyball game of the year, the No. 5 Corban University Women's Volleyball team (19-2, 12-1) stormed into Quinn Coliseum on Saturday night to stun the No. 1 Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers (19-2, 12-1) in a five-set showdown, handing the Mounties their first loss since opening weekend, snapping their 19-game winning streak, and earning the revenge game victory they so desperately needed.
"The team came out focused and ready to battle tonight!" Corban Head Coach Kim McLain shared earlier this evening after her team's gutsy road performance.
"Eastern is a well-coached and very talented team with many offensive threats. I was proud of how we made our presence known at the net tonight, slowing down their offense and forcing them to adapt. The grit, fight, and tenacity both defensively and offensively was incredible throughout the match, as this was most definitely a full team effort!" McLain explained as she broke down her team's upset win.
The Warriors entered the contest on an 11-game winning streak, taking down CCC opponent weekend after weekend since their three-set home loss to the Mounties, and tonight's results showed exactly how much McLain and her squad have grown as a team since that conference-opening defeat.
In an electric atmosphere at Quinn Coliseum, the "Let's Go Warriors" chants were faint and muffled, but resilient through the five complete sets needed for Corban to walk away with the season split against an Eastern Oregon squad that had earned their first ever NAIA No. 1 ranking just a week and a half prior.
Determined to make an early statement, the Warriors rode a five-point streak early in the first set to gain momentum and added a 7-1 run midway through to force EOU into utilizing both of their timeouts for the set, staring down an unfamiliar 13-20 deficit for the Mounties.
The Mountaineers did manage to scrap together five-straight points to pull within a 21-19 margin, but the Warriors closed the set with four points in a row, including back-to-back service aces by senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt to close the first set at 25-19.
While Corban clearly held the energy, Eastern Oregon continued to loom in the shadows, as the two teams battled back and forth in the second set, with Corban taking a 22-17 advantage before the Mountaineers kicked up the intensity. Before anyone could blink, Eastern Oregon had rattled off six-straight points on the Warriors, highlighted by their defensive front at the net scoring three-straight blocks to keep Corban looking for a new gameplan.
After the Warriors battled back to find themselves in a set-point scenario, EOU scored on back-to-back kills to now claim set point service, looking to flip the script on the Corban faithful. However, a kill from sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman, followed by a service ace from the 5'11 Powell Butte native and an assisted block from freshman opposite hitter Makayla Roginski and sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid gave Corban the set win they so desperately needed.
With Corban now leading 2-0 in sets, the Mountaineers needed to switch up their attacking strategy fast, as they couldn't allow their home court advantage to go to waste in a must-win game for both squads. Eastern Oregon accomplished exactly that in the third set, as the Mounties swung a .295 attacking percentage in the set to blow by the Warriors 25-19, thus preventing the prospective three-set sweep.
In yet another extra-point affair, the evenly matched Warriors and Mountaineers battled tooth and nail in the fourth set, with EOU's early 8-3 lead being the largest margin of the set. Corban thundered back to lock the contest in an 18-all tie, before avoiding a potential set-point on back-to-back plays. Now evened at 23 points, the Warriors and Mountaineers swapped set-point after set-point, and the Warriors came within one point from ending the contest in four-sets.
Unfortunately for Warrior fans and those with late dinner plans, the Mountaineers would clutch out the final three points via a kill and back-to-back blocks to force a fifth and decisive set, giving the entire NAIA the matchup everyone expected going into tonight's battle of the titans.
The Warriors and Mounties exchanged runs to begin the fifth set, with both squads locked in a six-all tie before Corban scored on two-straight attacking errors to force the courtside swap.
With an immense amount of conference outcomes riding on the result of this contest, the two NAIA Top 5 teams found themselves in a 12-12 tie late in set number five, before EOU middle hitter Kara Clayton put the Mounties up 13-12 and forcing McLain into her final timeout of the evening.
Little did those present in Quinn Coliseum know, McLain's timeout would prove to be exactly what Corban needed to walk out of tonight's contest with a victory, as the stoppage of play gave the Warriors the motivation they needed to score on back-to-back kills from Troutman and senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway, thrusting match-point on Eastern Oregon's shoulders and compelling them to call their final timeout as well.
Nevertheless, the Mounties timeout would prove to be a moot point, as Ridgway and Schmidt sent an EOU attack back into their outside hitter's lane, causing her to attack into the net, thus giving Corban the gritty 15-13 set five win, and send Mountaineer fans home empty handed for the first time in nearly two months.
Troutman bolstered her resume for a potential Player of the Week award with a career-high 24 kills tonight, adding another game-high in digs with 16 to notch her seventh double-double of the year, and third in the last three matches played. Roginski and Ridgway provided exceptional support to Troutman's dominate night by smashing 16 and 15 kills, respectively, with Ridgway adding 12 digs to give the McMinnville native a double-double as well.
Senior setter Jadyn Mullen dealt out a game-high 31 assists to keep the EOU defense on their toes, recording 13 digs in the backcourt to also earn a double-double for Corban. Meanwhile, freshman setter Abby Guindy eclipsed the 20-assist mark for just the third time in her career with 23, and senior libero Kealani Ontai tied Troutman in the game-high for digs with 16 on the evening.
Clayton led the Mountaineers offensively with 15 kills, adding eight assisted blocks at the net to nearly clinch the rare kill/block double-double. Setter Alexis McMurtrey tallied 29 assists and 10 digs to earn the only EOU double-double tonight, while defensive specialist Jessie White locked down the backcourt for Eastern Oregon with a team-high 15 digs.
The No. 5 Warriors return home to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center for the first time in almost three weeks, riding their twelve game winning stream into a midweek rivalry contest with the (RV) Bushnell University Beacons this upcoming Wednesday at 7pm PDT.
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