KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released their Women's Volleyball National Players of the Week for the contests held between October 13th to 19th, where the No. 8-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball team was represented by yet another upperclassman as the national Defender of the Week following the squad's 2-0 weekend against nationally ranked programs. Junior libero Kaile'a Ontai became the second Warrior named to the national defensive honor from Corban's indoor volleyball team in 2025, joining senior middle blocker Gracie Boeder as two of the four honorees to win the award from the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) thus far this season.
To view the NAIA's release on Ontai's national recognition, click HERE.
"Kai being named the National Defender of the Week is a huge honor and so well deserved by her," Corban head coach Kim McLain shared regarding her starting libero. "She consistently puts in extra time on the court and takes pride in her craft. Her grit and determination set the tone for our team every day. Kai's selfless attitude and constant support of her teammates make her a true leader in every sense. I am blessed to coach her!"
Ontai was in the middle of a backcourt that gave opposing attackers fits over this past weekend when the Warriors hosted No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon University and No. 19-ranked College of Idaho in their penultimate home weekend of the regular season. The Mounties entered riding a 20-match win streak and had not lost to Corban since 2022, while the Yotes had recently overcome a one-set deficit at home to the Navy and Gold in September to hand the Warriors their only 0-2 weekend of the year.
However, thanks to the stalwart defensive efforts from Ontai, both the Mountaineers and Yotes fell in four sets on Tim Hills Court to keep Corban women's volleyball in consideration for a CCC regular season championship. On Friday night in front of a packed C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, Ontai tallied 19 digs against an EOU offense that is averaging the most points per set in the entire country, as she was able to hold them to under 55 kills while becoming only the fourth team all year to out-dig Eastern Oregon for an entire match.
The following evening, Ontai found another gear and out-dug all student-athletes with 28 digs in their own four-set comeback against C of I. She concluded her weekend with 47 total digs for a 5.88 per set average, ten assists, and a pair of service aces. Ontai is currently tied for the CCC lead in digs per set at 4.61 alongside Oregon Tech's Abigail Sorensen despite having played in four less sets than the Lady Owls.
A two-week road trip sits between Ontai and the Warriors from returning to Tim Hills Court for their Senior Weekend, which they'll begin at The Evergreen State College (1-17, 1-13) on October 24th at 6pm.
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