SIOUX CITY, Iowa – After dominating their NAIA National Tournament Opening Round matchup against the University of Mobile less than two weeks ago, the No. 8-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball team is under 24 hours away from the beginning of the pool play stage for the 2024 NAIA National Final Site where they will look to represent the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) in bracket play via a pair of ranked victories. Following a top ten upset that saw No. 3-ranked University of Jamestown lose via a reverse sweep on their home court and thus rearrange every one of the eight national pools, resulting in the Warriors earning the top seed of Pool H and will face off with No. 22-ranked College of Idaho and No. 11-ranked Aquinas College this week on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
"We are excited and honored to be one of the final 24 teams in the NAIA National Championships," explained Corban head coach Kim McLain earlier this afternoon following her program's on-site student-athlete experience event. "College of Idaho and Aquinas both present unique challenges, as they are well-coached and talented teams that we cannot allow to work in-system offensively and setup defensively in both the back and front courts. I believe we must be disciplined throughout each set, focusing one point at a time, and playing together as a unit in order to succeed. Our student-athletes are eager to compete, and I have no doubt they're ready to give their all. This is an incredible opportunity for us to demonstrate our skills and teamwork on a national stage, and we're looking forward to the challenge!"
As the top seed of Pool H, the Navy and Gold will receive the coveted day off on Thursday to rest up and prepare for their Friday opponent while the Yotes and Saints play each other during the first afternoon session. Should either of the three teams end Friday at 2-0 in pool play, they will automatically advance to bracket play and matchup with the victor of Pool A (No. 1-ranked Northwestern College, No. 17-ranked University Montana Western, and William Carey University in the national quarterfinals.
Of Corban volleyball's five losses thus far in 2024, the Yotes (21-13) are responsible for one of them as they split their CCC series with the home team winning both matches, setting up a rubber-match scenario in the conference foes' first pool play matchup in NAIA national tournament history. The Warriors have dominated the all-time series as of late, taking seven of the previous eight matchups against C of I in the regular season and most recently snagged a five-set postseason win over the Yotes in the 2017 CCC Tournament that was hosted on Tim Hills Court. Their Wednesday matchup will signify the only conference opponents to play each other in pool play this year at the NAIA national final site, with every other conference splitting their representatives equally among the eight possible pools.
The Yotes are led by quartet of All-Conference performers within their starting lineup, as outside hitter Haley McUne and middle blocker Shelbey Nichol serve as the team's First Team representatives while middle blocker Alexa Wheeler and setter Savannah Hutchins both earned Honorable Mention recognition. College of Idaho maintained a top four offense and defense within the CCC over the course of 2024, logging the third highest kill percentage and fourth-most blocks within the conference to compete valiantly alongside the remaining nationally ranked west coast programs.
C of I women's volleyball is the only program within the NAIA to have recorded wins against the No. 8-ranked Warriors, No. 6-ranked Eastern Oregon University, and No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon University this year, which were all via three-set sweeps on their own home court. However, the top three CCC teams all maintained the season split results with C of I with home victories of their own, while the Yotes would go on to drop matchups with unranked Lewis-Clark State College and Northwest University, along with two of three matchups falling in favor of RV Bushnell University. Despite their rollercoaster results of a regular season, C of I was still selected for an opening round host bid and punched their ticket to Sioux City via a four-set victory over RV Benedictine University Mesa and represent a true "wild card" in this year's field.
Meanwhile, the Saints of Aquinas (40-1) have had quite the bounce back season after Corban eliminated them in the 2023 opening round, having suffered just a single loss all year long since a three-set sweep by the Warriors to end their postseason journey last year. A narrow five-set loss to then No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University, who also represents the defending national champion program, back in late August represents the only flaw in a nearly perfect season for the Saints who steamrolled the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for the program's fifth regular season title and first ever WHAC tournament championship.
The return of nearly every starter from 2023 along with the addition of WHAC Player/Newcomer of the Year in outside hitter Mallory Keller allowed Aquinas to rebound with ease in 2024, adding the consistent game play of WHAC Setter of the Year (Lydia Harper) and Libero of the Year (Bella Hommes) to cruise to an 18-0 conference record and the NAIA's longest active winning streak of 32 straight matches. All three of the Saints' conference players of the year earned First Team recognition along with middle hitter Lauren Chioini, while middle hitter Samee Teachworth was the program's lone Second Team representative.
After leading his program to their second-straight NAIA national tournament, Saints' head coach Ryan Campbell was named the 2024 WHAC Coach of the Year and will look to avenge his team's only loss to Coach McLain and her Warriors in each of their longstanding tenures within their respective programs. His team is top of the NAIA in points per set thus far with an 18.7 average, with Keller leading the charge as the third-highest scoring offensive player in the NAIA at 4.86 kills per set and 530 in total.
Top 25 matchups are nothing new for the Warriors in 2024, as they've earned a CCC-best five victories over NAIA nationally ranked opponents this season and are 4-0 against RV (receiving votes) opponents. All five of their losses have come at the hands of a Top 25 team as well, only one of which was outside of conference play when they went 3-1 to start their campaign this past August, including four-set victories over then No. 11-ranked Missouri Baptist University, No. 5-ranked Viterbo University, and No. 6-ranked Midland University. All five of the Warriors' losses this season and all of their top 25 upsets have come against teams that will be in Sioux City this week competing for a national championship.
The upperclassmen heavy lineup for the Navy and Gold is highlighted by senior middle blocker Allyson Reid and junior setter Abby Guindy, who each earned First Team honors from the CCC and have etched their names in the all-time record books. Reid represents the Warriors' all-time leader in blocks and is top five for the conference's 20-year history, while Guindy quickly approaches the 2,000-career assist mark as the 2024 season comes to a close in Iowa over the upcoming week.
Fellow All-Conference recipients in junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski (Second Team) and redshirt junior middle blocker Jadah Schmidtke (Honorable Mention) will provide Coach McLain and the team with even more attacking options at the net, as the Warriors represent one of the most well-balanced schemes within the NAIA with both a resilient defensive presence along with offensive threats from every angle of the net.
Corban's Wednesday matchup with the No. 22-ranked Yotes and Friday game against the No. 11-ranked Saints will both begin at 1pm CT/11am PT and be available to stream for free on two different NAIA platforms. Warrior Nation members can catch the team in action on the NAIA UEN Channel or the newly released NAIA Network, while live stats will be made available for free as well by clicking HERE.
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