FREMONT, Neb. – With one final NAIA Top 10 opponent sitting between the Warriors and their final match of the weekend, the No. 2-ranked Corban University Volleyball team put on a defensive clinic to secure a four-set victory (25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24) over the No. 8-ranked Missouri Baptist University Spartans, followed by a three-set sweep of the Grand View University Vikings to conclude their time in the Midwest. The Warriors concluded the Midland Showdown with a 3-1 record, including two Top 10 victories and their lone loss coming in a five-set nailbiter to No. 7-ranked Viterbo University.
"The team came out focused and finished the tournament strong," Corban head coach Kim McLain shared before hopping on a plane back to the west coast. "Missouri Baptist is a great team, strong offensively which put pressure on our defense at the net and in the back court. I was proud how we battled with a never giving up attitude. This weekend has made us better, growing and finding our rhythm each set. We are excited to get back in the gym to prepare for the rigorous CCC!"
GAME 1 – #2 Corban 3, #8 Missouri Baptist 1
A straight set sweep of Midland carried into the first set for the Warriors (6-2) against the Spartans (8-2), as what was originally a 16-13 advantage was stretched to 24-14 after an 8-1 run by Corban. Missouri Baptist was able to lockdown a few more kills with set point against them, but Coach McLain called timeout and gave the Warriors the breather they needed to win the next point and go up 1-0 in sets won thanks to a 25-17 set victory.
The Spartans fought back with a vengeance in the second set, securing an early lead and holding it until they led 7-4 and forced a Warrior timeout. However, Corban was able to flip the scoreboard via a five-point run and put the pressure back on MBU.
Back-to-back runs by both NAIA powerhouse programs resulted in multiple timeouts being utilized and a 15-14 Missouri Baptist lead going into the Spartans' final timeout. MBU would find itself on the correct side of the various runs by either team in the second set, as Corban would have to settle for less than a sweep and allowed the Spartans to knot this contest at a set apiece with a 25-20 set win.
The Navy and Gold kicked off the third set on a 6-0 run, led by a pair of service aces by junior defensive specialist Graci Zanona. Missouri Baptist would rattle off a few points, but a kill from junior outside hitter Rylee Troutman and yet another block by junior middle blocker Allyson Reid forced an MBU timeout with the Warriors leading 9-2.
The Spartans made yet another comeback bid to pull within three points, however the Warriors remained persistent in regaining their set lead, stretching the lead back to six points at 16-10 to force the final Missouri Baptist timeout of the third set. It was all Corban from there, as the Navy and Gold secured a 25-17 third set win and sat one set away from another Top 10 victory.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle between the Warriors and Spartans, as neither team could advance their leads further than a couple of points, forcing Coach McLain to call timeout as her team led 17-16 but had dropped multiple points in a row. While the timeout had provided Corban with enough energy to slap a few more points on the scoreboard, Missouri Baptist rallied to tie the contest at 22-22 and force multiple timeouts along the way.
Despite earning match point opportunities on two separate occasions, the Spartans rallied to tie the set at 24-all, reversing the pressure back on Corban to secure a set victory or risk playing in their third five-set match of the season thus far, where the Warriors have suffered their only two losses. However, MBU would eventually shoot themselves in the foot metaphorically, as a service error followed by the fourteenth blocking play of the day for Corban would seal the four-set win at 26-24 and thus the match.
While junior outside hitter Rylee Troutman continued to lead all players in offensive output (14 kills, 9 digs), it was the lower classmen who stole the stage at the Wikert Event Center this morning. Freshmen outside hitter Kendra Bittle and middle blocker Emma Bischoff each reached double-digit kills for the first time in their careers with ten apiece, while Bischoff recorded yet another career-high in block assists with 8.0 in total plus a solo stuff.
Freshman setter Nadeiah Howard fell just one dig shy of her first career double-double, registering a team-high 25 assist alongside nine digs to cement herself as a lethal weapon in both the front and backcourt. Howard's rotation partner, sophomore opposite hitter Makayla Roginski, continued to prove why she's one of the best right-side hitters in the NAIA with 12 kills and 3.0 block assists. Junior libero Marissa Uehara led the team in digs and tied the game-high with the only double-digit defensive stat of the match for Corban at 12 digs.
The Spartans saw three student-athletes register at least 13 kills, but the support was far and few between from there with no player registering more than three kills behind their starting core. Due largely in part to the 14.0 total blocks from the Warriors, Missouri Baptist had the pressure put on their own defensive to step up, but couldn't handle the multifaceted Corban attacking scheme and were instead held to a season-low 3.0 team blocks.
Outside hitter Tayler Neal tied Troutman for the game-high in kills with 14, yet 11 attacking errors due to the brick wall of defense by Corban resulted in a .068 attacking percentage for one of the best outside hitters in the NAIA. Setter Maiana Coelho earned the game-high in assists with 35 dimes to her Spartan teammates, while defensive specialist Natalie Edson matched Uehara's 12 digs.
GAME 2 – #2 Corban 3, Grand View 0
In the Warriors lone unranked matchup of the weekend, they didn't waste long to establish dominance against the Vikings (0-4), cruising to a 25-4 victory in a first set that featured a new season-high for a Warriors' scoring run at 14-straight points. Corban held Grand View to a negative attacking percentage in the first set at -.192 with seven attacking errors and only two kills.
The Vikings battled in the second set to keep pace to a 5-4 advantage, but then relinquished another large run of nine uninterrupted points to trail 13-5. Grand View put together their own run with five points in a row to follow, but the damage had already been done as Corban secured their second set victory at 25-20.
GVU would lead by as many as three points against the Warrior reserves in the third and final set, but Corban flipped the scoreboard once again and would eke out a 25-22 set win to close out the weekend ending sweep.
The Warriors attacked as a group at a stifling .324 kill percentage, led by Troutman and her 13 kills and .429 kill rate, as the Powell Butte native surrendered only one error on the match. Roginski was right behind Troutman with another double-digit kill performance of 10 in the contest, while four other Corban student-athletes scored at least three kills on at least half of their attempts.
Sophomore setter Abby Guindy dropped game-highs of 26 assists and 12 digs for yet another double-double this season, while junior setter Courtney Garwood added 14 dimes and three digs. Uehara and Zanona picked up 10 and 11 digs apiece, respectively, while the latter earned a game-high three service aces.
Grand View had at least five kills spread out around three different attackers, led by outside hitter Ellie Dougherty and her team-high seven kills. Setter Jenna Bentz recorded 15 assists while libero Chevy Wagner-Chun was the only double-digit student-athlete defensively with ten digs.
The No. 2-ranked Warriors will turn their attention to one of the toughest conferences in the NAIA, the Cascade Collegiate Conference, where they start conference play by hosting five-straight home games, beginning with Warner Pacific University (0-7) and Multnomah University (0-0) next Friday and Saturday at 7pm and 5pm PT, respectively.
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