SALEM, Ore. – Over the past two seasons, the Corban University Beach Volleyball program has represented the Pacific Northwest in the NAIA National Championship Invitational Tournament and appeared in the final match of the year on both occasions. In the inaugural season, the Warriors were named the first-ever NAIA National Champions. Last year, a hard-fought back-to-back title bout with Vanguard University fell in favor of the Lions. With an even split among the only NAIA Red Banners for beach volleyball in the history of the sport belonging to the two west coast programs, the Navy and Gold hope to finish the year on top once again before Vanguard and a handful of other schools they've bested in postseason competition make the move to varying levels of NCAA play.
"We are excited about competing and seeing how we match up against our opponents, and that opportunity is coming very soon!" newly appointed head coach Dan Stephens began with as he was asked to discuss the expectations and goals his program has set heading into the 2024 season. "Having the opportunity to host and travel to some great programs from both the NAIA and NCAA DI levels will provide us with everything we need to determine what level play we will be able to execute at come the postseason."
Coach Stephens was named the second head coach in Corban beach volleyball program history over the summer of 2023 and hasn't allowed the team dynamic or expectations of high beach volleyball play dip since his appointment. Having served as the top assistant coach with the team since the inception of the program in 2020, Stephens expressed that the identity of Warrior beach volleyball will continue to flourish under his staff and meet the high expectations that have been set since the first match held on campus four short years ago.
For the second-straight school year, yet another full-time member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) will be getting sandy and participating in their first season of collegiate beach volleyball, as The College of Idaho will join the Warriors, Bushnell University, Southern Oregon University, and Northwest University as the lone NAIA schools in the Pacific Northwest to sponsor the sport at the varsity level.
With the addition of the Yotes, the CCC office has begun the preliminary stages of supporting the programs as full-time varsity sport members, which will begin this year with an initial conference schedule to see what practices will work best in administrating beach volleyball at the conference level. The CCC is still in need of one more program to officially consider the sport to be under their jurisdiction, but based on how quickly the sport has spread throughout the nation, CCC Commissioner Rob Cashell has made the decision to become as involved as possible as they await that final member.
In the first-ever CCC Beach Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Warriors were selected as the inaugural conference favorites to earn the top seed at the 2024 NAIA West Beach Volleyball Championships, a new hybrid tournament between the CCC and Cal-Pac Conference where the top four teams in each association's standings at the end of the regular season will play in an eight-team tournament to earn one of two automatic bids to the NAIA National Invitational that the west coast has available. Corban received three of the five first-place votes among conference coaches, while SOU garnered the remaining top votes.
Each of the five CCC programs will take turns hosting a single weekend tournament that will feature every team in the conference, beginning in Ashland at the beginning of March and ending on Corban's campus on April 6th. Warrior Nation will have their first opportunity of the 2024 season to see their team in action on Saturday, February 10th, at 9:30am in an intrasquad scrimmage up the hill at the Corban Beach Volleyball Courts.
The Navy and Gold will host a four-team tournament to kickstart the regular season in the final weekend of February, as the Beacons will travel north to join NCAA DI programs University of Portland and Sacramento State University in a round-robin styled preview for the west coast schools. The first of many matchups with Bushnell will be on Friday, February 23rd at 10am, followed by a 12pm contest with the Pilots. The Warriors will battle Sac State at 2pm the following day to conclude their first spring tourney.
Only two matches in Ashland will result in more conference contests near the end of the season for the Warriors, as they'll open league play with another Beacons matchup and then the newly-formed Yotes program on March 1st and 2nd, respectively. After a two-week hiatus, Corban will make the trek to Snohomish, Washington for the first time in program history, as Northwest will host their first-ever tournament on March 15th and 16th.
Another bye week will instead be utilized for more NCAA DI competition for the Navy and Gold instead of rest as the season begins to ramp upwards, making a midweek trip to Eugene to visit the University of Oregon and then host the Pilots for a back-to-back doubleheader on Saturday, March 23rd.
College of Idaho will host the third CCC tourney to end the month of March, with the Warriors scheduled to play the host Yotes, Eagles, and Raiders before they return to Oregon and make preparations to host a split-day tournament with the Beacons. On April 5th, Bushnell will host day one of the final CCC tourney, while Corban will host the last matchups on April 6th with two key matchups with Northwest and Southern Oregon slated that could very well impact seeding in the NAIA West Beach Volleyball Championships. The hybrid tournament featuring some of the best teams in the NAIA will take place from April 11th to April 13th in Chula Vista, California at the Elite Athlete Training Center.
The 2024 NAIA Beach Volleyball Championships are scheduled for April 25th through 27th at a brand new five-court location, as the national organization has relocated the six-team invitational to Greeneville, Tennessee at the Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex.
To view the team's complete schedule, click HERE.
Coach Stephens began explaining the 2024 roster composition by sharing, "Our program has gone through a fair amount of changes this year having graduated a large portion of our top pairings in the 2023 spring commencement ceremony. Two of those players have stayed on to work alongside me in leading this program, our associate head coach Avari Ridgway and assistant coach Kealani Ontai, who are both phenomenal additions to my staff and will both serve vital roles in the program's success this year."
Alongside the new additions to his organization at the coaching level, Stephens conveyed his excitement in both the key returners and newcomers to the program this year by stating, "Our 2024 roster consists of multiple top players from last year who have been the backbone of this team with their leadership and dedication to their teammates. The mix of returning players and new additions to the team has been developing into a fun and potentially powerful lineup."
Replacing one of the most successful senior classes in NAIA beach volleyball history will be no easy task for Stephens and his staff, as eight of the ten Warriors that made a starting pair in last year's postseason have moved on to their respective next stages of life, leaving the program with a handful of options entering the 2024 season. The two returners from last year's starting lineup are represented by juniors Megan Dennis and Jessica McMillian, who will be the experienced leaders of the program moving forward that each have dozens of matches played thus far in their Corban careers.
Alongside Dennis and McMillian, sophomore Emmi Marks moved up and down the starting lineup before eventually finding a home in the sixth-pair exhibition last season, but will represent the third student-athlete entering the spring season with in-game experience. Redshirt junior Nicole Bantilan utilized her redshirt season after making five starts and will make a return for her final season of collegiate competition to help mentor and lead the young Navy and Gold core both on and off the courts.
The 2024 recruiting class is composed of a handful of solely beach volleyball players along with the crossover freshmen that joined the Corban indoor volleyball program in the fall of 2023, with many of them set to make their Warrior debuts this upcoming spring season. All four of the incoming Warriors who have trained the entire school year as beach volleyball athletes (freshmen Danae Stokes, Kiley Powers, Jordan Faircloth, and Cammie Masanda) have potential to make immediate impacts on the program, as Coach Stephens and his staff are overjoyed about the strengths they all bring as individuals to this year's team.
Four members of the indoor program will be joining Marks as dual-sport athletes between the fall and spring seasons, highlighted by a pair of juniors and freshmen all making their collegiate beach volleyball introductions. Allyson Reid and Ainslie Ridgway represent the experienced indoor student-athletes who both look to make an impact in the sand, while Emma Bischoff and Kaile'a Ontai each have the opportunity to build upon their freshmen years. Ridgway and Ontai are both the younger sisters of their now associate head coach and assistant coach, Avari and Kealani, and will look to carry on their families' rich tradition of athletic success at Corban University.
To see the complete 2024 roster for the program, click HERE.
When asked to explain what makes this year's team unique compared to the ones in years past, Coach Stephens said, "The process of getting to know each player both on and off the sand has been a great experience for our athletes, while learning how to communicate in competition together has been taking shape nicely and we are seeing that bond develop amongst all of them. There's something about practicing in the winter of the Pacific Northwest that brings players together and building a tough team mindset."
Coach Stephens concluded his thoughts by exclaiming, "Having the opportunity to host three great teams on opening weekend of the season should be a great atmosphere for spectators and a chance for everyone to see what beach volleyball is all about. Please come check out our team and join us in the sand this upcoming spring season!"
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