SALEM, Ore. – With four conference wins and zero losses, the No. 5-ranked Corban University Volleyball team holds the top spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings as they head into their final weekend at home before a two-week road trip, as the Warriors easily handled the previously undefeated in conference play Northwest University Eagles in a straight-set sweep, taking the match via set scores of 25-16, 25-12, and 25-19.
"Our goal tonight was to play with intensity yet be intentional about each touch in order to eliminate unforced errors," head coach Kim McLain shared shortly after their sweep over the Eagles. "We did a great job of doing just that, but in the third set seemed to settle, letting them get us out of system on occasion. I was proud how the team responded by focusing on one pass and serve at a time, playing together as a unit."
Opposed to their four-set victory over Bushnell University this past Wednesday, the Warriors (10-2, 4-0) defensive juggernauts came prepared in their opening set against the Eagles (6-3, 3-1), holding NU to a negative attack percentage with nine errors and eight kills, compared to just three errors and 14 team kills for the hometown squad. Before Northwest knew what hit them, the Navy and Gold had rattled off a 15-6 run to open the set and were able to hold on following a slight five-point run for the Eagles.
Coach McLain perfectly illustrated her team's ability to stay locked in through the first two sets of tonight's match, as set number two began eerily similar to the opening set with Corban jumping out to an early lead and forcing Northwest to call both of their timeouts before the Eagles even reached double-digit points for the set. NU was able to salvage some motivation in the set with three-straight points to reach the double-digits mark, but a kill from redshirt sophomore Jadah Schmidtke ended their comeback bid at 25-12 in favor of Corban.
However, the Eagles wouldn't let the Warriors run over them for the third-straight set, as both their offense and defense stepped up to make plays and force Coach McLain into calling her only her second timeout of the match while clinging to a 7-3 advantage, which they were able to stretch to 10-4 and temporarily silence the Warrior Nation members in attendance.
Nonetheless, try as Northwest might, the Navy and Gold flipped a switch following their six-point deficit, rattling off an 8-2 run to take the lead an provide NU with an opportunity to take their own timeout. The Eagles held tight with the Warriors throughout the middle of the set, but four-straight points by Corban gave them the home court advantage they needed to conclude the match in three sets on the cusp of a 25-19 final set victory.
Another double-digit kill match for junior outside Rylee Troutman was in store for the fans in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center this evening, as she earned a game-high 14 kills with only three errors to pace all student-athletes offensively, adding eight digs in the backcourt. Sophomore opposite hitter Makayla Roginski and junior middle blocker Allyson Reid both rebounded to drop seven kills apiece with only three errors between the two starters, while true freshman opposite hitter Taylor Kieser kept herself out of trouble via four kills and no errors with three block assists at the net.
Now ranked third in the CCC in assists per set, sophomore setter Abby Guindy dealt out a game-high 19 assists to lead the Corban offense to their seventh sweep of the season, with freshman setter Nadeiah Howard working with the second rotation to earn 15 more dimes to her season totals. The lower classmen setting duo continues to conduct the most efficient attacking team in the conference, as the squad held a .386 kill percentage tonight to push their season mark to .268, nearly two percent better than the next highest program.
Junior libero Marissa Uehara kept the Eagles' attackers in check with a game-high 12 digs defensively, combined with Schmidtke setting a season-high mark of four block assists to lead all defenders.
The most effective player tonight for the Eagles was represented by outside hitter Kaitlyn Mickle, who smashed 12 kills against the No. 5-ranked Warriors, which left her responsible for over 40% of her team's offensive production. Setters Morgan Harter and Allie Flynn shared setting duties to earn 13 and 10 assists, respectively, while star libero and reigning CCC Defensive Player of the Week Kelsey Moore was held to under double-digit digs for the first time this season with nine tonight.
Corban Volleyball returns to Tim Hills Court for the final match of their five-game homestand tomorrow evening, as they'll host the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College (1-7, 1-3) at 5pm PT.
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