EUGENE, Ore. – After a disappointing result at home last weekend in their first home Top 10 showdown, the No. 7 Corban University Women's Volleyball team (9-2, 2-1) erased any possible notion of another upset Wednesday evening, sweeping the (RV) Bushnell University Beacons (6-5, 1-2) at the Morse Center by final set scores of 25-18, 25-14, and 25-16.
"I'm very proud of this team putting in the work this week, focusing on details, and staying mentally focused throughout the match," Warriors' Head Coach Kim McLain said on tonight's sweep.
"Bushnell is playing well, and we knew it would be a battle. But we knew we needed to stay within our gameplan to serve strong and pass well in order to leave with a win," McLain went on to share.
With yet another NAIA Top 25 opponent on tap this evening, the Warriors were looking to rid the bad taste of last weekend's home defeat to the No. 7 Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University, finding just that in the first set against the Beacons.
Having only one contest last weekend due to the forfeit by the College of Idaho on Saturday night, the Warriors clearly had some rust to shake off, as they quickly found themselves in a 1-6 hole against the Beacons, with McLain needed to call an early timeout to reset the pace.
Within minutes, Corban flipped the script on Bushnell with a 15-6 run, forcing the Beacons into yet another early timeout by both head coaches, with the Warriors leading 16-12 at the end of the run.
The Beacons would bring the margin as close as a 17-19 deficit, but the overwhelming surge by Corban, which included a service ace from senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt down the final stretch, would give the Warriors the set win by a 25-18 final.
After tasting a set win for the first time in over a week, a rare occasion for Corban Women's Volleyball over recent years, the Warriors wanted more. And not just another set win, a dominating one, which is where set number two of tonight's contest comes into play.
As the Warriors opened a 16-11 set lead, freshman setter Abby Guindy rode a four-point serving swing, including an ace and two kills from senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway, the 11-20 deficit that the Beacons dug found themselves in deemed too daunting of a task to find a way out of. Corban took the set eight points later, 25-14.
Corban's offense had shown signs of life through the first two sets but really picked up the pace in the third, and what would be the final, set of the evening. After back-to-back sets of .242 and .297 attacking percentages, the Warriors attacked at a blazing hot .436 rate in the third set, committing only two errors and smashing 19 total team kills.
The Warriors held a slight 14-10 lead in the middle of the third set, but six straight points that featured five kills and an assisted block from Ridgway and Schmidt all but locked up the three-set sweep, clutching the set 25-16 on the Beacon's home floor.
Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman could not be contained in a huge bounce-back game for the Powell Butte native, securing 18 kills with zero errors on 27 total attacks for a scalding hot .667 attacking percentage, which easily contends for her highest rate in a game where she saw a decent amount of looks this season. She also logged eight digs in the backrow and added an assisted block along the way.
Ridgway secured the only double-double of the evening with 10 kills and 13 digs, adding three assisted blocks as well. Guindy led the Warriors offense with 23 assists, while senior libero Kealani Ontai tied Ridgway with a game-high 13 digs.
Schmidt played the supporting role exceptionally well tonight, throwing down a game-high six blocks, another game-high in service aces with a pair, and added seven digs in the backcourt.
As a team, the Warriors crushed the Beacons in all major categories, including kills (47-30), service aces (4-0), blocks (9-4), and digs (54-46). They held Bushnell to their second lowest attacking percentage of their season, as the Beacons managed a lowly .092 percentage as a team this evening.
The Beacons were led on the offensive end by outside hitter Jessica Northcutt, who managed nine kills and nine digs against the No. 5 Warriors. Setter Makenna Northern tallied a game-high 24 assists with nine digs as well, while libero Callie Wilkins snagged a team-high 10 digs.
Corban Women's Volleyball gets their second-straight conference weekend at home this upcoming Friday, where they will host the Lions of Multnomah University at 7pm PDT in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
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