SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women's Volleyball team (15-2, 8-1) made stood strong when it mattered most tonight against the Northwest University Eagles (8-9, 4-5), with the Warriors taking the match in
"Northwest is a well-coached team, they kept the pressure on us throughout the entire match," Corban Head Coach Kim McLain shared earlier this evening.
"I was proud of the team and how we adapted to the changes across the net. It was great to get another CCC win. We look forward to getting back into the gym to work on some specific details of our game, which will be much needed with a tough journey ahead," McLain concluded.
The Eagles competed down to the wire in each set against the Warriors, but the experienced upper classmen on Corban's roster provided the extra grit necessary to find a way to win yet another three-set sweep.
In the first set, Northwest rallied on multiple occasions to bring heavy deficits back to within a point or two, including a kill late to pull within a single point at 20-21. However, Corban's versatile crew logged a kill, assisted block, service ace, and forced an Eagle' error to close out set number one.
The eventual penultimate set tonight featured multiple long runs from each squad, most notably a pair of four-point swings by both sides of the court, and a five-point run by Northwest to force McLain into calling her first timeout of the evening.
After taking a 21-20 lead, Northwest suddenly had the wind disappear from their sails, as back-to-back kills from sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman and a service ace from senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt flipped the script on Northwest's set win plans. An assisted block from Schmidt and sophomore outside hitter Ainslie Ridgway followed by an attacking error on the Eagles resulted in Corban taking a 2-0 set lead.
Northwest was able to hold tight with the Warriors to the midpoint of the third and final set, but five kills from Troutman in the final nine Corban points gave the Warriors all the advantage they needed to walk out of the C.E. Jeffers Sports Complex tonight with their eighth straight win.
Troutman posted yet another dominate offensive performance with 16 kills and a .324 attacking percentage. She added eight digs with combine with senior libero Kealani Ontai's nine and senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway's six to lock down the backcourt all night long.
Freshman setter Abby Guindy and senior setter Jadyn Mullen each logged 19 assists apiece to command the Warriors' offense like a finely tuned orchestra. Schmidt added five assisted blocks to lead all players in the category.
The Eagles managed a lowly .144 hitting percentage as a team tonight, led by outside hitter Delaney Sparks with 10 kills. Libero Kelsey Moore recorded a game-high 17 digs, while setter Anna Saelens dealt out a game-high in assists with 28 for the evening.
The first half of two back-to-back road trip weekends begins next Friday, September 30th for the No. 6 Corban Women's Volleyball team, as they will battle the Walla Walla University Wolves in College Place, Washington, with the match slated to begin at 2pm PDT.
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