SALEM, Ore. – The No. 5-ranked Corban University Volleyball team will be sharing the limelight at the top of the conference standings for the foreseeable future, as the No. 4-ranked Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers took tonight's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) match in three sets to give both programs a single loss in conference play. The road team has now won three-straight regular season matchups between the Warriors and Mounties, dating back to EOU's three-set sweep of Corban last season on Tim Hills Court before falling in five sets on their own home court for the rematch contest.

"Tonight was a night that tested us both mentally and physically," Warriors' head coach Kim McLain said shortly after the conclusion of the match. "It is always tough to lose but with that comes opportunity for growth. EOU simple out passed us and we on the other hand made too many unforced errors. We must be more intentional with each touch and focus on the little things if we want to continue finding success."

The first battle of the 2023 season for the Warriors (15-3, 9-1) and Mountaineers (16-1, 9-1) began eerily similar to their opening matchup in 2022, with Corban taking an early lead before Eastern Oregon would eventually take an extra-point opening set, 26-24, to force a hush over the Warrior Nation crowd and put the Navy and Gold in "fight or flight" mode immediately.

Everything fell the Mounties way for the remainder of the contest, as Eastern Oregon clearly came prepped with a gameplan centered around containing the reigning NAIA Attacker of the Year and CCC Player of the Year, Rylee Troutman. The junior outside hitter still managed to reach double-digit kills with eleven this evening and seven digs, but nine attacking errors for a .047 attacking clip represents a season-low mark for one of the nation's best attackers.

A quick glance at the stat sheet will show exactly what Coach McLain shared to be true, as each team was evenly matched outside of passing and attack opportunities. Nearly identical stat lines for blocks and service aces showed that the Warriors weren't submitting points at a higher rate than where they have struggled in the past, but instead suffered a setback on their attacking openings and swung at a mere .052 kill percentage for the match, committing an unlikely number of unforced errors.

Eastern Oregon was passing well enough to spread the floor and utilize multiple offensive weapons, which is usually the Warriors' bread and butter in establishing themselves against their opponents. The Mountaineers had an answer for the Warriors at every turn, resulting in their second three-set sweep of Corban in the last calendar year.

The Mounties found big performances from outside hitters Keira Vaughn and Sade Williams, with Vaughn securing a game-high 12 kills and Williams handling the defensive end of the spectrum at 14 digs in the backcourt. Libero Hailey Arritola added a game-high 15 digs while setter Hannah Ledgerwood dealt out a game-high 22 assists.

Coach McLain and the Warriors will now have to wait until October 28th for an opportunity to earn a revenge win on the Mounties' home court, which will also fall on Eastern Oregon's senior night festivities. The last regular season contest played in La Grande between Corban and EOU was a five-set thriller that the Warriors added to their resume.

Another difficult conference foe heads to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center tomorrow night, as The College of Idaho Yotes (10-8, 8-2) will battle the Warriors at 7pm PT.

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