SALEM, Ore. – It was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-esque performance this evening for the No. 7-ranked Corban University Volleyball team in their Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) home opener, as they jumped out to notable 25-20 and 25-19 first and second set scores before RV College of Idaho forced a winner-take-all fifth set with 25-14 and 25-16 set wins of their own. The Warriors (10-1, 6-0) were able to complete the transformation back into their usual skill-level with a dominant 15-8 final set to extend their win-streak into double-digits and hand the Yotes (7-6, 3-2) only their second loss thus far in conference play.
"C of I is a talented and well coached team," began Corban head coach Kim McLain. "We came into tonight knowing we had to serve them tough in order to slow down their fast-paced offense. In the third and fourth sets, our serving and passing broke down, allowing them take advantage of our play. I am proud of our fight and determination to turn the momentum around and finish strong!"
In the first matchup between conference foes this season, both the Warriors and Yotes established dominant stretches over their five-set slugfest, with the opening set putting that on full display. After an 11-all tie through 22 points played, the Warriors would score six of the next seven points to jump out to a 17-12 advantage and force C of I into a timeout situation.
Flipping the momentum in their favor, the Yotes went on their own scoring streak of 7-1 to flip the scoreboard in their favor and lead 20-19. However, that twentieth point would be the last the Yotes score in the first set, as sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff scored the first and final kill in a five-point run to give the Warriors a 25-20 opening set victory.
Once again, the difference in the second period would be represented by a pair of Corban runs late in the set, with three-point swings at 16-15 and 20-18 allowing the Navy and Gold to lockdown a 23-18 advantage and eventually, 25-19 set win to lead 2-0 for the match in their first home contest in nearly a month.
Determined not to be shutout on the road and representing the top receiving votes team in the country that had just barely missed out on an NAIA Top 25 appearance last Wednesday, the Yotes were able to expose the Warriors' weaknesses both at the net and in transition offense over the third and fourth sets, as they held Corban to under .100 attacking or lower in both periods while crushing a .562 clip in the third and .395 over the fourth themselves. Of the Warriors' 24 attacking errors for the set, over half of them came in the third and fourth sets alone with eight and six, respectively.
The Warriors and Yotes would need a fifth set for a second-straight contest, as Corban secured a five-set victory most recently over C of I in their final regular season matchup last year in Caldwell, Idaho. Despite holding all of the advantage entering the fifth set, the Yotes reverted back to their first and second set gameplay by allowing a kill to Corban senior middle blocker Allyson Reid and an attacking error of their own put them in a 2-0 hole before a blocking play by middle blockers Alexa Wheeler and Shelbey Nichol cut the deficit to just one point.
From that point on, Reid turned on the afterburners and would go on to score two of the five points in the Warriors' 5-0 run, with Bischoff putting an exclamation point via her third service ace of the game to put Corban up 7-1 and forcing both of C of I's timeouts over the same stretch.
Wheeler would end the Warriors' five-point swing with a kill of her own, which only allowed Corban to start another four-point with junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski to blame for their 11-2 uphill battle. Roginski registered a pair of kills and when combined with redshirt junior middle blocker Jadah Schmidtke, swatted back a pair of block assists to all but put the Yotes on the bus down to Eugene with an extremely well-earned five-set effort under their belts. Ten points later, Bischoff ended the evening with her twelfth kill of the day to keep the Navy and Gold out of the loss column in CCC action.
Reid was the consistent offensive threat for the Warriors tonight when they needed her the most, racking up a season-high 13 kills with a .458 kill percentage and adding two block assists along the way. Bischoff recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 12 kills and ten digs while setting the game-high service ace mark at three. Not to be overlooked, Roginski's game-high 14 kills on her own .294 attacking percentage was critical for Corban's setters to stretch the court, with the Gresham native tying her career-best digs mark with six on the day.
The Warriors' offensive scheme was in complete sync for three of the five sets played tonight at the peak of Corban's campus, as junior setter Abby Guindy tied the game-high assist number with 28 alongside eight digs while sophomore setter Nadeiah Howard contributed 18 more dimes.
A quiet night for the Navy and Gold at the net defensively saw just ten block assists dealt out between five Warriors, with Schmidtke paving the way with a trio of swats. In the backcourt, senior libero Marissa Uehara dug up 11 attacks to represent the team-high mark.
The Yotes valiant comeback effort that fell just shy was thanks in part by the attacking combo of Wheeler and outside hitter Haley McUne who recorded 11 kills apiece, Wheeler's on a dominant .450 kill percentage from the middle position. Setter Capri Salmon tied Guindy for the assist lead with 28 herself, while setter Savannah Hutchins handed out 25 more to the C of I offense. Wheeler added five block assists to lead the field, while libero Althea Sandoval was the backcourt specialist of the night with 21 digs.
For the second-straight week, the Corban volleyball program will play in the CCC Game of the Week that was announced by the conference on Thursday, as they'll welcome No. 2-ranked Eastern Oregon University (12-1, 4-1) in yet another top ten matchup for the Warriors, their fourth of the season. The Navy and Gold will square off with the Mounties at 4pm tomorrow afternoon at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center with tickets available online by clicking HERE.
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