LA GRANDE, Ore. – Despite a career-game from the 2022 CCC Player of the Year, the Corban University Women's Volleyball team (28-4) went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 overall team in the NAIA, the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers (30-2), but fell in five sets on the Mounties' home court in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championship match, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 15-25, and 15-12.
"EOU is strong and physical both offensively as well as defensively at the net," Corban Head Coach Kim McLain shared following her team's gutsy performance in front of what was surely a national audience.
McLain provided her insight on tonight's loss by sharing, "We knew we had to come in and served tough to keep them out of system. I was proud of the team and how we competed against the number one team in the nation, going right to the end of yet another fifth set in their own gym."
"it was a great test and battle for our team, which will help us work on the details we need to improve on this upcoming week as we prepare for the National Tournament," concluded a determined head coach.
The rubber match between the Warriors and Mountaineers did not disappoint volleyball fans on Saturday afternoon, as the top ranked offenses and defenses battled down to the wire in an instant CCC classic. The last time these two teams met in Quinn Coliseum, Corban was able to topple the No. 1 team in the NAIA in another five-set showdown, snapping the Mounties 19-game winning streak in the process.
In the first set of the highly anticipated rematch, both the Warriors and Mounties put their strengths on display to show exactly how evenly matched these two teams are, as Corban's offensive attack found paydirt on multiple occasions, while Eastern Oregon's stout blocking unit at the net forced a handful of attacking errors.
After a back-and-forth start to the set, the Mountaineers quickly saw a 13-10 lead dwindle to a one-point deficit after Corban slammed down their own block, followed by back-to-back kills from sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid and senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway. However, EOU battled back to force a 23-22 score in their favor, putting the Warriors into their first timeout situation of the afternoon.
Consecutive points for the Navy and Gold put Corban back out in front momentarily, as an attacking error gave Eastern Oregon the 24-all margin to force extra points. Determined to take the early advantage in a hostile environment, Ridgway smashed another kill and unforced error by the Mounties gave the Warriors a set one victory.
The aggressive Mountaineers, playing on their home court in front of a few hundred of their supporters, stepped up on the defensive end once again in the second set, holding the Warriors to one of their least consistent attacking percentages in a single set thus far this season. While Corban was able to hold tight with the Mounties to begin the period, multiple unforced errors and many more EOU blocks provided the home team with the momentum to roll to a 25-21 set win that evened the playing field.
Up to this point in the contest, both teams had demonstrated exactly what they do best on the volleyball court, but it was the Mounties' offense and Warriors' defense that highlighted the third set. Though it did not begin in that regard, as several EOU attacking errors resulted in an 8-4 lead for Corban, forcing the Mountaineers into their first called timeout of the set and earliest in a set thus far.
As to be expected, Eastern Oregon switched up their game plan to expose multiple attacking lanes in Corban's defense, allowing them to quickly catch the Warriors' lead and force McLain into calling her own timeout.
Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman, the reigning CCC Player of the Year, had struggled offensively through the first two sets, but quickly put the team on her back to keep Corban alive in the third set with seven kills and multiple back-to-back scores to bring the Warriors within two points late in the set. Try as she might, the Mountaineers' strength at the net proved to be too consistent as they closed out another duplicate score set win, pushing the Navy and Gold into a 2-1 set deficit.
Refusing to back down from the opportunity that lie in front of them, Corban's offense was resurrected in the fourth set, as the Warriors cruised to a 25-15 set victory, setting up a winner take all fifth set scenario. The visiting Warriors crushed their game-high in team attacking percentage (.265), while holding the hometown Mounties to a lowly .031 kill rate on their own side of the net.
Not to anyone's surprise, Corban and Eastern Oregon gave everyone present that afternoon exactly what they expected out of these two NAIA powerhouses, with neither team willing to budge in the pivotal third match to end the conference rivalry that was reignited once again this season.
An incredible final set was highlighted by five ties and three separate lead changes, as both squads duked out what could possibly be their final matchup of the 2022 season. Corban was able to hold the early advantage in a 7-5 margin, hoping to force their eighth point of the set to swap back to their original side of the court. Nonetheless, Eastern Oregon tallied four-straight points, courtesy of a pair of kills and blocks with outside hitters Preslee Jensen and Ashton Haughton each having their hands in said plays.
Following a Corban timeout, Troutman once again looked to put the Warriors back in front, as she threw down another kill and combined with Reid to tie the game at 9-9. A pair of unforced EOU attacking errors flipped the script on the Mountaineers and put the home team fans on edge as the Navy and Gold looked to close out what would have been their third-straight CCC Tournament Championship.
Much to the dismay of the Warrior Nation faithful that traveled nearly across the state of Oregon to support their incredibly successful program, the Mounties were able to ride a 5-0 streak that featured multiple blocks into the momentum needed to clinch their first CCC Tournament Championship since the 2016 season.
Troutman played the game of her short career tonight in La Grande, totaling a career-best 27 kills and added 16 digs in the backcourt to once again prove why she is the best player in the conference. Reid continues to cause adjustments at the net for opposing teams, as she has come alive over the last three weeks to provide the most consistent gameplay of her collegiate career. She added eight kills and was a part of seven assisted blocking plays with zero attacking errors and a .471 kill percentage.
Warriors' senior setter Jadyn Mullen distributed a game-high 35 assists to lead one of the top offenses in the nation, recording her 10th double-double by adding 13 digs defensively. She also perfectly placed three service aces to add to her program record. Meanwhile, senior libero Kealani Ontai tied Troutman for the team-high in digs with 16 on the day.
Jensen tallied 14 kills to lead the Mountaineers, while middle blocker Kara Clayton added 14 kills of her own and was a constant threat at the net defensively with 9 block assists. Libero Hailey Arritola dug out a game-high 19 digs and added five assists when called upon.
Setters Hannah Ledgerwood and Alexis McMurtrey passed out 23 and 18 dimes, respectively, while each of them recorded double-digit dig counts for each of them to earn double-double status in their championship victory.
No. 4 Corban Volleyball will now sit in anticipation to see who their NAIA National Tournament Opening Round opponent will be, which will be announced next Monday, November 14th at 8am PST, and will be premiered as a Selection Show on the NAIA's YouTube channel, which can be accessed by clicking HERE.
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