SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Corban University Women's Volleyball team is headed to the NAIA National Championships Final Site once again this year, as they punched their ticket for the seven-straight trip to Iowa with a three-set sweep of Benedictine University at Mesa on Saturday evening in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
For a complete look at the 2022 NAIA Volleyball Championship Pool Play schedule, click HERE.
The Warriors will compete as the No. 1 seed in Pool E, which also features No. 2 seed Taylor University (Ind.) and No. 3 seed Bethel University (Ind.). This is one of two pools that include conference opponents matched up with one another, as the Trojans and Pilots most recently battled out their third matchup of the season in the Crossroads League Semifinals match, which the No. 11 Trojans took in four sets.
Pool play will take place from November 30th to December 2nd at the Tyson Event Center, with the Navy and Gold set to tackle each of the aforementioned teams in a round robin format. The top team from each of the final site's eight pools will then advance to a single-elimination bracket, which will start on Saturday, December 3rd and end with the National Championship match on December 6th.
Corban will look to advance out of Pool Play for the first time since 2019, when the Final Site held it's final 'Round of 16' format before switching to the current model of three-team pools of eight, followed by bracket play with the top eight teams from each pool. Each of the last two seasons, the Warriors' magical postseason runs have come to an end in the final pool play game, with losses to then No. 5 Northwestern and No. 11 Bellevue providing this veteran graduating class with the knowledge and experience to battle it out once again in their final NAIA National Championship appearance.
The Warriors will rely offensively on the outside hitting duo of sophomore Rylee Troutman and senior Avari Ridgway, who have each been recognized as the Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Both of them recorded double-doubles in kills and digs in their three-set sweep of the Redhawks in the Opening Round, proving their versatility will cause problems as opposing teams look to control the two-headed outside hitting beast.
Corban's assisting duo of senior Jadyn Mullen and freshman Abby Guindy will provide both experience for their NAIA Top 5 offense, while causing disruption as their competition tries to anticipate what their next play will be.
Outside of Troutman and Ridgway lies multiple weapons at the net in both the middle and opposite ends, as senior Ally Schmidt and sophomore Allyson Reid have come alive over the last few weeks to provide an intense offensive gameplan with yet another arsenal of options.
Meanwhile, freshman opposite hitters Makayla Roginski (2022 CCC Freshman of the Year) and Kylie Davey have supplied incredible support opposite Troutman and Ridgway to close out a potent Warrior attacking brigade.
Defensively for Corban, senior libero Kealani Ontai will look to leave an exclamation point on her historic career in the backcourt, as she will have her final opportunities to grow her program record in career digs, which currently puts her at 2,392 all-time.
Below is a preview of the teams competing alongside Corban in Pool E, organized by the order in which Corban will compete against them.
(#3) Bethel University (Ind.) - November 30th, 4 p.m. CST
The Pilots received an At-Large bid after an up-and-down conference schedule in which they finished 12-6 to qualify as the final team in the Crossroads League Championship Tournament. They were able to upset (RV) Mount Vernon Nazarene in the conference quarterfinals, but fell to the Trojans in the semis to leave their fate up to the NAIA Volleyball Selection Committee.
Bethel was placed at the Columbia, S.C. Opening Round regional with host No. 22 Columbia International University, where the Pilots made short work of the Rams to sweep them on their home court in dominate fashion, 25-15, 25-22, and 25-17. They are one of four teams to finish the Opening Round victorious on their opponents' home court and could be considered as one the "Cinderella Teams" of this Final Site's Round of 24.
This squad has the capability to keep pace with the best the NAIA has to offer but can sometimes struggle with consistency at the net to stay in the race for a victory. However, junior middle blockers Isabelle North-Greene and Maddy Payne, both First Team All-League selections, have been the guiding lights for this Pilots' offense, with each of them recording 270 kills or more and boasting an impressive .352 and .338 attacking percentages, respectively. They both are averaging over a block per set as well, which can cause issues for opposing offenses looking to attack at any part of the net.
Much like Corban, Bethel runs a similar two-setter offensive scheme with an experienced veteran and a promising newcomer, where senior Madyson Beaver (Second Team All-League) and freshman Elise Schildermans (Crossroads All-Freshman Team) each handle a majority of the offensive decision making. Beaver also makes her appearance known at the net offensively, as the 6'1 Silverdale, Washington native can also double as an opposite hitter, racking up 215 kills this year alone.
Junior libero Jackelin Fernandez, a 2022 Honorable Mention All-League selection, locks down the backcourt for the Pilots with 386 digs on the year, averaging 3.51 digs per set. The final All-League honoree for Bethel comes in the form of junior outside hitter Cheyanne Seymour (Second Team), who provides another option for the Pilots' offense outside of their middle blockers to lead the team in kills with 293 on the season.
With a respectable offensive system and playmakers in the backcourt providing support, the Pilots are prepared to offer a challenge for both Corban and Taylor in Pool Play next week.
To find the livestream for the Warriors and Pilots matchup, click HERE. To see the game statistics roll out in real time, click HERE.
(#2) Taylor University (Ind.) - December 2nd, 4 p.m. CST
Taylor could provide some of the most intense competition that the Warriors have seen all season long, as the Trojans enter the 2022 postseason as one of the juggernauts that have the ability to completely ruin a team's approach to victory. As the 2022 Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament Champions, the Trojans sport a 31-5 overall record, recording only two losses in Crossroads play to finish 16-2 in conference contests.
The Trojans dropped only a single set in their dominant run through the Crossroads Tournament, with their lone set loss coming to Bethel in the semifinals. Following their second trophy ceremony of the season, Taylor hosted (RV) Campbellsville University in the NAIA Opening Round, where the Trojans dropped the initial set 28-26 to the Tigers, only to then follow up with overwhelming set scores of 25-15, 25-19, and 25-20 to finish their home schedule unbeaten.
Troutman and Ridgway will come face-to-face with their Crossroads League counterpart in senior opposite hitter and 2022 Crossroads Player of the Year Ryan Czerniak, who has put together an incredible final season offensively with 442 kills to average 3.65 per set. More impressively, she has done so with minimal errors, resulting in an extremely consistent hitting percentage of .396 over 121 sets of action, which leads the entire NAIA in qualifying attackers. The only student-athlete to put together higher overall numbers so far in Pool E: Troutman.
Another outside hitting duo joins the Warriors in Pool E in Taylor's junior Anna Frey and senior Arlanda Faulkner, who each tallied over 320 kills on the year to earn First Team and Second Team All-League honors, respectively. The Trojans' offense is all ran through senior setter Kacy Bragg, who was selected as the 2022 Crossroads Setter of the Year and ranks fifth in the NAIA in assists per set at 10.97 in 130 sets played. Her 1,426 assists rank top of the NAIA, adding yet another point of emphasis to a threatening offense.
The final piece to the Taylor starting lineup comes in one of the most impressive freshman performances to begin their career in the collegiate backcourt, as freshman libero McKaylah Flagle has recorded 427 digs to lead the team. Despite having plenty of help with Frey and Bragg providing over 300 digs apiece as well, Flagle remains the workhorse in a hard-working backcourt for the Trojans.
With their conference MVP and First Team All-League setter heading for the graduation podium later this school year, the Trojans are looking to complete their impressive season with another piece of hardware added to their trophy case. However, the No. 4 Warriors sit in their path, unwilling to budge in what will surely be a huge NAIA showdown at the Tyson Events Center on Friday afternoon.
To watch the Warriors and Pilots battle it out live, click HERE. If you're a statistics nut who would rather see the play-by-play breakdowns, click HERE.
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