LA GRANDE, Ore. – A first-set comeback for the ages wasn't enough momentum for the No. 6-ranked Corban University Volleyball team to find the rallies they needed to stretch their win-streak to double-digits, as they fell to the No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers in four sets this evening inside Quinn Coliseum. A 26-24 opening set win by Corban was quickly extinguished by 25-17, 27-25, and 25-14 set scores by the Mounties to propel them into the first-place slot via the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings.
"We knew it would be a battle tonight with everything on the line," Warriors' head coach Kim McLain shared shortly after the match. "I was proud how we held our own throughout the night pushing them on their home court. We look forward to getting back in our own gym after a long weeks on the road, putting in more work and responding this week to prepare for what lies ahead."
In what everyone expected to be another exciting installment in the Corban-EOU rivalry as of recent years, the first set was nothing short of exactly that, as the Mounties (26-1, 19-1) stormed out to multiple large leads only for the Warriors (24-4, 18-2) to rain on their opening-set parade. Holding a 24-22 lead and having their hometown fans rise in support, the Mountaineers were quickly silenced by a four-point run by the Navy and Gold, with an exclamation point by junior outside hitter Rylee Troutman smashing down the come-from-behind finishing kill.
Eastern Oregon didn't allow an opening-set fumble to rain on their Senior Day festivities, as they rebounded with a 25-17 victory in the second set thanks to a handful of blocks and taking advantage of the Warriors' miscues. A trio of service aces, including the first of the match for EOU, was also key in their ability to knot this match at a set apiece, alongside committing only four attacking errors the entire set.
Winning the third set is often the key to securing a match win in most collegiate volleyball scenarios, and both the Warriors and Mounties fought to the bitter end in order to secure that set. In the end, the Mounties were able to clinch a 27-25 nail biter, but not before Corban put together yet another set-point comeback bid, scoring on back-to-back set points to force extras and put EOU into another uncomfortable position on their home court.
With the energy and momentum all in favor of Eastern Oregon, the Mounties were able to cruise to a 25-14 fourth set victory where the Warriors just couldn't find a go-to option down the stretch, providing EOU with the season sweep and needing one more win to clinch at least a share of the CCC Regular Season Championship.
A massive part of the Mountaineers' victory came in their ability to keep Troutman in check for a majority of the match, making adjustments from the first set to allow the Powell Butte native just 13 kills. She did however log yet another double-double with 13 digs in the backcourt. Sophomore opposite hitter Makayla Roginski added eight kills and four block assists in the Warriors' efforts.
In an off-night for the Corban offense where they managed just 37 team assists, junior setter Courtney Garwood hit the team-high mark in dimes with 19 this evening, while sophomore setter Abby Guindy added 14 assists and six digs.
Junior libero Marissa Uehara broke her career-high dig mark once again with 26 this evening in La Grande, while junior libero Graci Zanona dug up 21 balls for her best single-match defensive output in the navy and gold clad uniforms. Roginski was joined by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jadah Schmidtke and junior middle blocker Allyson Reid with four block assists each.
Outside hitter Keira Vaughn managed a game-high 17 kills for the Mountaineers on a .375 hitting clip, while outside hitter Sade Williams managed 11 more. Setter Alexis McMurtrey held the game-high mark in assists with 22 and secured a double-double with 18 digs, while libero Hailey Arritola put together the only other double-double worthy performance with 29 digs and 10 assists.
The Warriors will return home after their 3-1 road trip for the final weekend of the regular season taking place on Tim Hills Court, as they'll welcome No. 16-ranked Southern Oregon University to Salem on November 3rd with a 7pm start time currently scheduled.
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