SALEM, Ore. – Eight regular seasons ending at the NAIA National Tournament Final Site have come and gone for the Corban University Volleyball program, and the No. 8-nationally ranked Warriors of 2024 have an opportunity to extend that streak to a ninth season if they can add one more win on their home court to their resume. On Saturday, the Navy and Gold will host RV University of Mobile in a "winner-take-all" NAIA Opening Round matchup, where the victor will book their tickets for Sioux City, Iowa while the loser will conclude their 2024 season on Tim Hills Court.
"After competing in a very tough conference schedule, our team has been looking forward to the first round of the NAIA national tournament," explained Corban head coach Kim McLain. "I couldn't be more excited for this team! It's a true testament of the hard work that the team has put in to have made it this far. I am incredibly proud of each player's dedication, disciple, and commitment to grow throughout the year, and we're looking forward to the journey ahead this weekend!"
This weekend's opening round matchup set to be played out in the state's capital will be the first all-time meeting between the Warriors and Rams in their program histories, with Mobile making the nearly 2,700-mile trip from southwestern Alabama for a must-see NAIA women's volleyball contest. Corban (23-5) most recently wrapped up a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Co-Championship before being eliminated in the CCC Tournament semifinals by No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon University, while Mobile swept both the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) regular season and tournament championships with a 31-4 overall record and just one loss in conference play at 12-1.
The only four losses on the season for the Rams came against a pair of nationally ranked opponents and two unranked foes, as they kicked of the 2024 regular season by dropping a four-setter to Keiser University and then suffered back-to-back losses to then No. 8-ranked Park University and No. 19-ranked St. Thomas University. The Bobcats of St. Thomas represent the only program of those three losses for the Rams to qualify for the NAIA National Tournament, as their four-set home loss to Blue Mountain University in SSAC play proved inconsequential to their conference dominance and eventual automatic berth.
Much like the power combo of Coach McLain and her assistant coach/husband Dick McLain powering the recruitment and day-to-day practice regimens for the Warriors, the Rams benefit from their own husband-wife coaching combo represented by Jon and Amber Campbell in their twentieth seasons leading the Mobile women's volleyball program. Jon was recently named the SSAC Coach of the Year in 2024 for the seventh time in his career and first since 2016, while Amber was named the conference's Assistant Coach of the Year.
The Rams are led by a platoon of All-Conference student-athletes, highlighted by the SSAC's Player of the Year, Setter of the Year, and Defender of the Year that make up half of their starting lineup. Four individual award winners combined with four All-Conference team selections provide Mobile with plenty of options around the floor that will give Coach McLain and her program quite the opening round battle.
Senior middle blocker Dazsha Dean Middleton was named the conference's MVP after putting up strong numbers from the middle of the net, as she attacked at a .382 attacking clip and totaled 239 kills (2.23 kills/set) along with a team-best 89 blocks. Meanwhile, the setter-libero tandem of senior Tatum Beech and junior Jaci Drinnon provide Mobile with even more consistency across the court, as they rely on Beech's 5.95 assists per set in their 6-2 rotation and Drinnon's 5.14 digs per set in the backcourt to power the Rams' defensive efforts. All three of the upperclassmen received First Team honors, while senior setter Layton Adams (4.62 assists per set) was named a Second Team selection.
From a national perspective, the Rams garner an offense that ranks eleventh in the NAIA in kills per set, averaging 13.69 per set compared to 12.90 per set for the Warriors. Mobile's high-flying offense will come face-to-face with Corban's seventeenth-ranked blocking front, led by senior middle blockers Allyson Reid (1.31 blocks/set) and Jadah Schmidtke (0.89 blocks/set) who received First Team and Honorable Mention accolades from the CCC, respectively, for their feared presence at the net.
A pair of First Team All-Conference selections by Reid and junior setter Abby Guindy (6.12 assists/set) will lead the charge for Corban this weekend, combined with the stellar additions of Schmidtke, Second Team All-Conference/junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski (2.76 kills/set), senior libero Marissa Uehara (3.83 digs/set), and the CCC's service ace leader in sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff (0.44 aces/set and 2.34 kills/set). In addition, every reserve sitting on Coach McLain's bench is capable of hopping into the match at any given moment to provide a spark for her program, and Warrior Nation
All five of the Warriors' losses on the season have come to NAIA Top 25 opponents, with their last recorded loss to a receiving votes team occurring on August 22nd, 2018, against formerly accredited Morningside College. They've dealt out five NAIA Top 11 defeats throughout the 2024 regular season, twice to the No. 7-ranked Raiders and once to then ranked No. 11 Missouri Baptist University, No. 5 Viterbo University, and No. 6 Midland University, compared to no nationally ranked upsets for the Rams in two opportunities.
Mobile is appearing in their tenth NAIA National Tournament and representing a third-straight appearance, while the Warriors are riding a nine-season streak of not only reaching the Opening Round, but also reaching the final site in the central United States. A 14-game winning streak is on the line for SSAC champions, while the Navy and Gold are attempting to start a new streak of their own when they held a streak as long as eleven match wins throughout this year.
The Warriors and Rams will clash at 6pm tomorrow night at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, with pregame announcements beginning on the hour and the collegiate women's volleyball match starting promptly after team introductions wrap up. Tickets are available online and at the gate on gameday, the livestream for Saturday's postseason game can be found and purchased HERE, while free live stats will be made available HERE.
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