Corban received the remaining two first-place votes to earn 93 total points, just four behind the 97 that OUAZ received.

Beach Volleyball 4/3/2024 5:00:00 PM Clayton Messerle, Assistant Athletic Director

Warriors Within Reach of Top Ranking in Most Recent Beach Volleyball NAIA Top 10 Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the fourth of five NAIA Beach Volleyball Regular Season Coaches' Top 10 polls for the 2024 spring season earlier this morning, where the Corban University Beach Volleyball program cut the deficit even closer between them and the top ranked team in the country.

To view the NAIA's release on their most recent poll, click HERE.

"We are always appreciative of the respect we've been given by the rest of the NAIA and we're working hard to maintain the high standard the program has established," stated Warriors' head coach Dan Stephens. "Without much crossover play between conferences, it's really hard to determine exactly where the ranking should be at this point of the season. I know things have been tightening up in the CCC, and this weekend will determine who's the top team in our conference for good. But until we reach the NAIA West Championships, we won't really know how we stand nationally. This is the time of the season where bodies start wearing down and sometimes it's the healthiest teams that prevail in the postseason. We will work hard to stay healthy and continue to train through this final stretch."

After suffering their first conference loss of the season, No. 1-ranked Ottawa University at Arizona (OUAZ) narrowly held on to their top ranking thanks to clinching the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season title, as they received six of the eight first-place votes in this week's national poll. Corban received the remaining two first-place votes to earn 93 total points, just four behind the 97 that OUAZ received. Arizona Christian University, the program that knocked off the Spirit in a 3-2 thriller, rounded out the top three with 85 points.

The Warriors managed a 5-1 record since the most recent national poll, with their only loss coming to NCAA DI University of Oregon in their sole matchup with the Ducks this season. They improved to 7-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference contests this past weekend by handing out losses to RV College of Idaho, Northwest University, and RV Southern Oregon University to maintain a firm grasp on the conference standings. For the third-straight week, a Corban duo was named the CCC Pair of the Week as redshirt junior Nicole Bantilan and sophomore Emmi Marks moved on to the national ballot and became the second pair of the season to take home the National Pair of the Week honor as well.

With the final five conference duals scheduled between now Sunday morning, the Warriors have an opportunity to lock up the inaugural CCC regular season championship on their home courts, but first need to take care of business in Eugene where they're scheduled to battle C of I and Bushnell University over the course of Friday afternoon.

2024 NAIA Beach Volleyball Regular Season Coaches' Top 10 Poll – No. 4

	Team [First-Place Votes]	Record	Points
1.	Ottawa (Ariz.) [6]	15-4	97
2.	Corban (Ore.) [2]	11-2	93
3.	Arizona Christian	13-10	85
4.	Park (Mo.)	12-5	80
5.	Ave Maria (Fla.)	10-4	73
6.	Saint Katherine (Calif.)	11-4	64
7.	Webber International (Fla.)	10-7	63
8.	Vanguard (Calif.)	6-15	55
9.	Westcliff (Calif.)	10-5	54
10.	The Master's (Calif.)	5-12	43