SALEM, Ore. – After nearly fumbling a 2-0 set lead against No. 9-ranked Southern Oregon University, where the Raiders held match point on multiple occasions and had the win in their grasp before video replay took it right back, the No. 9-ranked Corban University Volleyball team overcame the self-induced errors to secure the season sweep over SOU in a five-set thriller tonight at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. Thanks to 25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 18-25, and 18-16 set scores, the Warriors (19-4, 15-3) were able to force a tie for second place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings where they now hold the outright tiebreaker head-to-head against the Raiders (21-3, 15-3) heading into the final two weeks of the 2024 regular season.
"SOU is a well-coached and senior heavy team, we knew we had to stay mentally tough and disciplined with a 'never give up' attitude throughout the match," Corban head coach Kim McLain detailed. "In the third and fourth sets, we struggled with our passing and were not challenging them with our serves, which allowed them to run their fast-paced offense. In the end, our blocking was key tonight, as well as our defensive approach in the backcourt."
With these two NAIA powerhouse programs going the distance in Ashland this past September, every person in attendance tonight at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center knew the most recent installment in the Corban-SOU volleyball rivalry would be a nail-biter, yet no one knew the exact magnitude of how dramatic this match would be played out. As to be expected between two of the conference's four nationally ranked squads, tonight's matchup was extremely meaningful in the CCC standings, as the Warriors, Raiders, and No. 4-ranked Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers have now completed a round-robin of season sweeps to complicate both conference seeding and national tournament implications, with SOU having swept EOU, the Mounties sweeping the Warriors, and Corban sweeping Southern Oregon.
After the first 18 points were split down the middle between the Warriors and Raiders, a three-point run by Corban would prove to be the difference in the opening set, as even despite a late rally by SOU, the Navy and Gold would clinch the early set win thanks to the connection of redshirt junior middle blocker Jadah Schmidtke and sophomore setter Nadeiah Howard, a combo that would prove instrumental as the contest progressed.
The momentum Corban established in their first set victory bled into the second set gameplay in convincing fashion, as the Warriors would hold a 22-13 lead thanks to their defensive presence at the net that forced Southern Oregon to attack at a lowly .091 kill percentage for the period. While the Raiders would make it interesting after a 6-0 scoring run, back-to-back Warrior points via the eighth SOU attacking error of the set and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Kendra Bittle saw the Navy and Gold pull within a set of sweeping on their home court.
However, determined to not be swept on the road for the second time in a five-game span, the Raiders leapt out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never looked back to force a fourth set, as they flipped their sub-.100 kill percentage into an impressive .516 attacking clip with a game-best 18 kills out of 25 points scored with just two errors while holding Corban to under .230 in a set for the first time this evening.
Another 9-all result to being the fourth was met with a 7-1 SOU run that put Coach McLain and the Warriors on their heels, eventually calling their final timeout of the set in an attempt to not have to play their fourth five-set home game in CCC play. Nevertheless, Southern Oregon was able to trade points for the remainder of the set that would result in a winner-take-all fifth set late on Saturday evening.
With all of the energy in the building now being embodied by the Raiders and their rambunctious traveling fanbase, SOU hit the ground running early in the fifth to force the first of two Corban timeouts after doubling up the Warriors 6-3 on their seventh service ace of the night. A well-timed kill by junior opposite hitter Gracie Boeder pulled the Warriors to within a point at 9-8, but a service error and blocking play for Southern Oregon resulted in another three-point deficit and stemmed into the final timeout of the match for Coach McLain.
Slowly but sure, the Warriors chipped away at the Raiders' lead before a crucial 12-12 rally that was originally ruled in favor of the Navy and Gold but was reversed into a point for SOU following a replay review challenge. A Corban attacking error on the next play resulted in match point for Southern Oregon, the first of four opportunities that the visiting team would have to clinch the reverse sweep and repay the favor that the Navy and Gold handed them in the Lithia Motors Pavilion earlier this year.
At 14-12, the replay system would be utilized once again, this time by Coach McLain as Warriors' senior middle blocker Allyson Reid's attack was long on the baseline, yet argued a Raider was in the net on the block and would thus result in a kill that would prolong the match. Upon further review, the Corban challenge would prove to be upheld and the call on the court was overturned, flipping a 15-12 loss into a 14-13 continuation.
Southern Oregon's second match point would be wasted on an attacking error by outside hitter Marin Mackey that knotted the score at 14-all before Mackey provided her team with a third try thanks to a convincing kill. Warriors' junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski answered back with a kill of her own to stretch the game to 15-15, yet another SOU kill offered yet a "fourth time's the charm" mentality that was squandered on another unforced attacking error.
With the replay system having taken away her 12th kill of the match, Bittle smashed a back row attack to represent the first Corban lead of the entire fifth set, which roared Warrior Nation supporters to their feet as the match had seemed all but settled on numerous occasions. Bittle then served the final attempt over the net, Boeder collected the dig off the Raider attack, and Howard would connect with Schmidtke for the game-winning kill that saw the Warriors' bench flock to center court.
The Warriors complete the season sweep of SOU with a pair of five-set victories, extending their winning streak over the Raiders to three-straight matches and representing the ninth of the past ten meetings to lean in favor of the Navy and Gold. Four of the past five contests between Corban and Southern Oregon have resulted in five-set decisions, with the most recent sweep on record being held by the Warriors on Tim Hills Court back in 2022.
A Warrior offense that eventually settled for a respectable .227 kill percentage was led by the three-headed beast of sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff, Roginksi, and Bittle, who tallied 14, 13, and 12 kills, respectively, with Schmidtke adding ten more from the middle of the net. Reid was errorless on the night at eight kills on a .533 attacking clip, while Boeder had seven timely kills that all resulted in momentum shifts in favor of Corban.
The offensive success was due to the stellar gameplay of junior setter Abby Guindy and Howard, who dealt out 31 and 24 assists with nine and seven digs defensively to properly demonstrate why the Warriors' offensive scheme is one of the best in the country.
It was the defensive presence at the net that proved to be the difference maker for the Warriors, as a 14-7 advantage in blocks, led by Reid's seven block assists and a solo stuff, kept the Raiders' offense guessing when it mattered most. Bischoff, Boeder, and Schmidtke added four block assists apiece. In the backcourt, senior libero Marissa Uehara dug up a team-high 12 digs.
Raiders' opposite hitter Megan Perry was nearly unstoppable tonight for the visiting team, tooling attacks off the block all night long for a game-high 16 kills on 30 attempts. A double-double performance by outside hitter Mylena Testoni of 11 kills and 15 digs kept Southern Oregon competitive throughout the night, along with all-around performances by Mackey (seven kills, nine digs, six blocks) and middle blocker Sadie Byrd (11 kills, five blocks). Libero Kayla Neidigh held the game-high mark in digs at 16, while setter Annie Hite matched Guindy with 31 dimes of her own.
Senior Weekend begins next Friday at 7pm for the No. 9-ranked Corban volleyball team, as they'll host The Evergreen State College (4-17, 4-14) in their penultimate home matchup of the regular season.
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