EUGENE, Ore. – Two of the last three undefeated teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) took center stage for the entire conference to watch in a midweek rivalry matchup for the No. 9-ranked Corban University Volleyball team, as they handed Bushnell University a brutal sweep in the Beacons' home opener for the 2024 season in straight sets, 25-14, 25-23, and 28-26. This marks the sixth-straight win for the Navy and Gold over Bushnell dating back to the 2022 season, having dropped just three sets over that span and marking the second sweep recorded in the Morse Center during their dominant stretch.
"We're extremely proud of the way our team executed tonight, especially with our strong defensive play both on and off the net, explained Corban head coach Kim McLain. "Our blockers were disciplined, and our back row was relentless in picking up everything that came their way. Winning in three sets is a testament to the focus and energy we brought from the first serve to the last. We knew we had to be aggressive and control the tempo, and our defense really set the tone for that."
There was absolutely no doubt that the Warriors (7-1, 3-0) held the momentum to start the contest with the Beacons (7-4, 2-1) as they were able to extend an early lead to 16-11 and would go on to score the next six points to own an immense 22-11 advantage. Six points later, Corban took the set at 25-14 and held Bushnell to a -.050 kill percentage, as the home team secured only nine kills but produced 11 errors thanks to four Navy and Gold blocks.
Not to be disregarded on their home court and in their first match at the Morse Center all season, the Beacons jumped out to sizeable lead in the second after taking advantage of some Warrior miscues, eventually resulting in a four-point lead at 7-3, causing Coach McLain to call an early timeout.
Slowly but surely, the Navy and Gold chipped away at the Bushnell lead and went on an 8-2 run to do so to flip the scoreboard in their favor 16-15 and force the Beacons into a timeout situation. With the momentum pendulum now back in the Warriors' corner, they were able to fend off a four-point run by Bushnell to tie the match at 23-all and eventually take the set 25-23, thanks to a sneaky kill by sophomore Nadeiah Howard and an overpowering service ace from freshman defensive specialist Madison Hernandez.
Once again, Bushnell took advantage of a pair of attacking errors and a service ace against Corban to emerge from the second set break with a 5-2 lead, yet junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski would score on back-to-back kills, followed by an assisted block alongside senior middle blocker Allyson Reid to put the Warriors ahead 11-10.
Another four-point Beacon run resulted in Coach McLain utilizing her first timeout of the third set, which would result in her own program's four-point swing to put Bushnell into calling their own timeout. The Beacons would eke back ahead at 22-21, yet three-straight Corban points via a kill by sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff and back-to-back blocks from Reid resulted in match point for the Warriors.
A service error and Beacon kill kept Bushnell alive at 24-all, but after exchanging points on four-straight rallies, Schmidtke and Bischoff would combo for their ninth kills of the match to seal the three-set sweep deep in enemy territory. The final two kills of the match put Schmidtke and Bischoff in a two-way tie for the match-high mark in kills, with the duo attacking at highly efficient rates of .438 and .333, respectively.
Junior setter Abby Guindy and Howard combined for 31 assists in one of their most proficient games of the season, as three different Warriors recorded at least six kills alongside Schmidtke and Bischoff (Bittle, Reid, Roginski).
The defensive specialist of the game appeared in the form of senior libero Marissa Uehara and her 15 digs, adding three dimes along the way. At the net, Reid tallied five block assists and a solo stuff, while Roginski was right behind her and matched her own solo block and added four block assists.
Beacons' outside hitter Leah Agost led the team in total kills with nine on the day, yet ran into seven attacking errors for a .071 kill percentage on 28 attacks. No Bushnell student-athlete hit above .222 this evening on a team attacking percentage of .064, their second-worst mark of the season and lowest thus far in CCC action. Setters Kate Palelek and Elijah Sanders each had 13 assists, while libero Bella Parque dug up 12 balls hit her way.
The Warriors now turn their attention to yet another NAIA top ten matchup for the 2024 season, as they'll travel to Ashland this upcoming Friday for a marquee CCC matchup with No. 5-ranked Southern Oregon University (9-0, 3-0) at 6pm in the Lithia Motors Pavilion, with the victor emerging as the last remaining undefeated team in conference play.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l YouTube l Email
