SALEM, Ore. – The No. 7-ranked Corban University Volleyball team defeated Walla Walla University 3-1, after flipping an 0-1 deficit to a dominant finale with set scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-14 at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center late Saturday night.
"Walla Walla came in serving tough, which caused us to play on the defense in the first set," stated Warriors' head coach Kim McLain. "As the match went on, we regained our focus and were able to turn things around and finished strong."
Upon the first whistle, the Warriors (12-2, 8-1) were confronted in the back row with service pressure from Walla Walla (6-6, 5-5), when six, half of their game-total, aces occurred in the opening set. This proved to be the main area of improvement as Corban outkilled the Wolves 14-11, led by senior middle blocker Allyson Reid with four kills within seven attempts.
The two teams traded points in the second set until the first four-point run by the Navy and Gold at 11-9, containing two service aces from sophomore outside hitter Kendra Bittle and forcing Walla Walla to call their first timeout of the match. Kills from four student-athletes kept Corban battling awaiting a crucial block from Reid and junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski. A kill from Roginski in the final two points resulted in a 25-21 count, placing both teams at a set apiece moving into the third set.
The Warriors gained five-straight points early in the third set during a run from sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff, including a service ace for Bischoff and a kill from Bittle from Reid to mark them ahead 5-2. The lead extended to 14-5 when Bittle got her six-point service run, catapulted by an assisted block from junior opposite hitter Gracie Boeder and redshirt junior Jadah Schmidtke, kill by Boeder, and two service aces for Bittle.
The Wolves' attempt to claw back into the fight was squashed with a kill from Reid and a combined block from Reid and Roginski. Bischoff etched two more kills and a service ace before Roginski terminated the third set 25-15 with a kill.
Now fully awake, Corban jumps to a 5-0 lead starting with a kill from Reid and an ace from junior setter Abby Guindy. Following the timeout from Walla Walla, Reid smashes three more attacks, and senior libero Marissa Uehara serves four-straight points forcing the Wolves to regroup again at 13-2. The Warriors undeniably earn the remaining 12 points with two kills each from Reid and Bischoff, three from Roginski, leading to a final block from Bittle and Schmidtke to end the fight 25-14.
Reid claims the team-high count for kills with 13 kills and ties for most defensive stops at the net of six with Roginski. Bittle snags five service aces to match her Walla Walla counterpart, Sahara Browning. Guindy registers 23 assists which is the match-high for the Saturday night contest.
Looking at the Wolves, Browning recorded the most kills (18) and captured a double-double performance with 13 digs, while both Melissa Monterroza and Danielle Faamausili ended with 16 assists on the night.
Next weekend, the Warriors travel north for a Friday night match against Northwest University (7-10, 2-7), at 6pm on October 4th in Kirkland, Washington.
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