LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Volleyball Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, begins today at Quinn Coliseum, hosted by No. 1 seeded Eastern Oregon University. The tournament will feature the six top teams in the CCC, which includes the Mountaineers, the No. 2 seeded Corban University Women's Volleyball team, No. 3 Southern Oregon University, No. 4 Bushnell University, No. 5 seeded Evergreen State College, and No. 6 seeded Lewis-Clark State College.
Tournament Central
The Warriors completed the 2022 regular season with a 27-3 overall record, going 20-2 in conference contests to finish with an identical record to their 2021 conference campaign, which at the time was a new conference record. Corban's season was highlighted with season sweeps of SOU, LC State, and Bushnell, while splitting matchups with top dog EOU and the Geoducks on the road.
Finishing No. 4 in the final regular season NAIA Top 25 rankings, Corban University was led by a group of experienced veterans and talented underclassmen. Corban garnered five all-conference honorees, with two athletes winning individual awards. Outside hitter Rylee Troutman, a sophomore in her third season at Corban, won Player of the Year in the CCC, marking the second-straight Player of the Year in the CCC for the Warriors. Freshman opposite hitter Makayla Roginski burst onto the scene for the Warriors, winning the CCC Freshman of the Year award. While Troutman and Roginski flourished for the individual awards, seniors Avari Ridgway, Jadyn Mullen and Kealani Ontai received CCC All-Conference honors as well.
Troutman joined the Navy and Gold in 2020 and quickly became a force opponents had to reckon with on a nightly basis. Earning Corban's last Freshman of the Year award in 2020, Troutman continues to grow upon her already impressive career with an MVP worthy season. She has had 13 double-double game, with 23 double-digit kill games at the net. Troutman led the conference with 422 kills overall, which was 73 more than second place, and a gaudy 4.10 kills per set which paced the CCC.
Roginski brought raw athleticism and strength opposite of Troutman and Ridgway, causing nightmare scenarios for opponents as a hard-hitting lefty. While her strength and athleticism were impressive, perhaps her best quality was her accuracy. Roginski finished second in the CCC with a hitting percentage of 31.5%, which allowed her to finish just outside the top-10 in kills (229) and kills per set (2.49).
Ridgway, the 2021 CCC Player of the Year, came out her senior year and provided the same high level performances Warrior Nation has become accustomed to seeing. Ridgway garnered top-5 status in both kills (347) which placed 3rd and 3.44 kills per set and was good enough for 4th in conference. Logging 13 double-doubles and 20 double digit kill games, Ridgway will finish her career top-3 in both kills and blocks in Corban history and looks to add to her numbers in the postseason.
Ridgway, Troutman and Roginski were impressive finishers on the season for the Warriors, but one could argue that their performances were due to the consistent presence of Mullen at the setter position. She earned her third All-CCC Second Team award in 2022, after finishing fourth in the CCC with 678 assists and fifth with 41 service aces. Mullen will finish her career in the Navy and Gold top-3 in assists and first in overall service aces.
Ontai goes five-for-five in her career receiving All-CCC awards with an Honorable Mention in 2022. Ontai will finish her career top of the leaderboard in Corban history in career digs, a record she has held since late last season. Ontai added an additional 459 digs to her career record, with a 4.46 dig per set average, good enough for fourth and sixth in the CCC, respectively.
Southern Oregon (20-9) and Lewis-Clark State (16-11) enter the CCC tournament riding two entirely different streaks, with the Raiders making significant strides over the final three weeks to earn a top seed, while the Warriors dropped some crucial contests to just barely make the CCC playoffs. Despite their recent matchups among other conference foes, both teams split their regular season contests, with each team prevailing on their home courts.
The Geoducks (14-12) found themselves in the CCC playoffs after a hot start to the conference slate, making the cut shortly after defeating Corban on their Senior Night in Olympia. One of Evergreen State's biggest foes this season now sits between them and a semifinal appearance, as the Beacons (19-11) swept the Geoducks in their two matchups to provide Bushnell with some highly anticipated momentum heading into their third contest of the season.
Top seeded Eastern Oregon, and No. 1 in the NAIA National Coaches' Top 25 Poll, enters the CCC Tournament after winning the 2022 Regular Season Championship, earning the first of two CCC automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament. The Mounties (28-2) finished with just a single game advantage over Corban for the conference crown, after splitting their two contests in the regular season on their opposite home courts. The Warriors will look to repeat as match winners in Quinn Coliseum this season, after a five set thrilling victory over the No. 1 Mountaineers back in early October.
Due to the layout of the CCC Tournament, the Warriors will be playing the highest remaining seed from the quarterfinal round, while Eastern Oregon will play the lowest remaining seed. If Southern Oregon manages to defeat LC State, then the Warriors will by default play the No. 3 Raiders later today, and the winner of the Evergreen State/Bushnell contest will become a moot point for Corban fans.
EOU will take on the lowest remaining seed later tonight at 7pm PST, looking to defend their 2022 Regular Season crown on their home court. Tomorrow at 3pm PST, the final two remaining squads will battle for the CCC Tournament Championship, while also looking to earn the CCC's final automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.
Live video will be available for all of this weekend's matches HERE, while live stats will be made on a per-game basis at the Corban Volleyball Schedule HERE.
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