SALEM, Ore. – After back-to-back 3-2 match wins over their NCAA DI opponents back in March, the No. 2-ranked Corban University Beach Volleyball team (20-4) improved once again by taking an additional pair from the University of Portland Pilots (5-14), winning 4-1 in their final match before leaving for the NAIA National Invitational that begins later this week.

"The girls had fun today in our final preparation for nationals," Warriors' Head Coach Diana Villalpando shared shortly after their home victory. "We had super windy conditions and they did a great job of stopping runs on the bad side of the court. That's half the battle when it's as gusty as it was today."

Villalpando continued on about the next steps for her program by stating, "We are excited to travel to Panama City next week and giving it all we've got on the national stage."

Despite dropping the initial pairing, the Warriors rebounded with a clutch three-set victory in the battle of the fours, where sophomores Jessica McMillian and Maya Blake were able to keep the Pilots from jumping out to a 2-0 advantage with 21-17, 17-21, and 15-10 set scores to even the playing field at 1-1.

The Navy and Gold were able to dominate the field from that point forward, sweeping the top pairs, third pairs, and fifth pairs with ease to take the match 4-1 and tie their best team result against the NCAA DI Pilots in program history. Most impressively, Corban's top pairing of senior Avari Ridgway and sophomore Megan Dennis yielded just 22 points to their opponents in total, sweeping 21-8 and 21-14 to highlight the Warriors' afternoon.

The full results from today's matchups can be found below:

Corban 4, Portland 1

1. Avari Ridgway/Megan Dennis (CRB) def. Annika Stammberger/Alina Valenti (UP) 21-8, 21-14

2. Jayde Harris/Noelani Helm (UP) def. Kiana Keeling/Cameron Keeling (CRB) 21-19, 21-18

3. Kealani Ontai/Ally Schmidt (CRB) def. Grace Zilbert/Brodie Baker (UP) 21-12, 21-17

4. Jessica McMillian/Maya Blake (CRB) def. Elin Larsson/Taylor Helle (UP) 21-17, 17-21, 15-10

5. Kalisi Latu/Jolinn Daviscourt (CRB) def. Keilani Mumolo/Sophie Lee (UP) 21-14, 21-18

Order of Finish: Doubles (2,4,5,1,3)

The No. 2-ranked Warriors will serve as the second overall seed in the NAIA National Tournament this upcoming Thursday, where they will battle the No. 6-ranked Webber International University Warriors (20-5) and No. 3-ranked Vanguard University Lions (17-4) in pool play at 11am and 3pm ET (8am/12pm PDT), respectively.

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