SALEM, Ore. – Hosting the only other Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) team with six conference wins outside of the league leading Mountaineers, the Corban University Women's Volleyball team easily handled The Evergreen State College (7-5, 6-2) with ease, downing the Geoducks in straight sets, 25-17, 25-16, and 25-18.
"Evergreen's offense is fast and deceptive!" Warriors' Head Coach Kim McLain said following her team's seventh straight victory.
"Serving tough was the key tonight to keeping them out of rhythm. We need to continue working on being able to stay mentally tough and consistent throughout the match. I was proud of how we adjusted defensively and battled both at the net and in the back court," McLain explained.
After beginning the season 1-3 overall, the Geoducks had begun to find a hot streak in CCC play, off to one of the best starts in recent history with a 6-1 conference record going into tonight's match against the Warriors, earning impressive road wins against Northwest University and Lewis-Clark State College.
However, Evergreen State had yet to face an offense as potent as the Warriors thus far this season, finding out awfully fast how much that mattered when battling Corban this evening at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
The Warriors began the evening on a 12-4 run, with the only Geoduck points coming on Corban miscues. Evergreen State rattled off 10-3 run to pull within a point, but another long run by the Warriors put TESC in too large of a hole to climb out of, and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman sealed the deal for a 25-17 set win for Corban.
More explosive offensive numbers from the outside/opposite hitting core of Troutman, senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway, and freshman opposite hitter Makayla Roginski left the Geoducks looking for answers with the momentum clearly in favor of Corban. A decisive 15-7 point advantage in the second set left Evergreen State with just one more timeout to try swaying the momentum back in their favor, but nothing could be done as the Warriors cruised to a 25-16 set victory.
The Geoducks took their first lead of the evening early in the third and final set, keeping the score as close as 17-18 late to provide themselves with an opportunity to claw back into this contest. But much to their dismay, Troutman, Ridgway and sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid score four straight point to take the wind right out of the Geoducks' sails, and a kill from Roginski four points later wrapped this match up in three straight sets.
As a team, Corban led Evergreen State in every statistical category, most impressively holding 52-22 kill, 60-34 dig, and 46-21 assist advantages. The Warriors defensive scheme held TESC to a lowly .069 attacking percentage as a team, while swinging a heavy hammer for a .291 attacking percentage themselves.
Troutman impressed with a team-high 18 kills this evening, while Ridgway continued her streak of consistency with 14 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. Senior setter Jadyn Mullen put in an incredibly night of work in the back court for Corban, totaling a season-high and game-high 19 digs to pair with her game-high 26 assists, earning another double-double as well. Reid wraps up the notable Warrior statistics tonight with eight kills and just one error on 12 attacks, totaling a solid .583 attacking percentage.
Outside/opposite hitting duo Zoey Shaw and Lily Stewart each provided seven kills tonight for Evergreen State. Setter Sierra Wolf dealt out 19 assists to lead her squad, while libero Amaya Carter tallied 11 digs to defensively lead the Geoducks.
No. 6 Corban Women's Volleyball takes the court tomorrow night before a two-week road trip, as they play host to the Northwest University Eagles (8-8, 4-4) at 7pm PDT.
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