SALEM, Ore. – Despite a late rally by the visitors, the No. 4-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball team was able to keep their home court record unscathed in their early afternoon matchup against RV Walla Walla University, as the Warriors clinched a nail-biting first set, dominant second set, and eventually a hard-fought fourth set after the Wolves were able to dig deep and steal a set on the road versus a top four national program. The Navy and Gold secured 26-24, 25-15, and 25-22 set victories, while the Wolves snagged a 25-22 third set victory to avoid the sweep on Tim Hills Court.
"Walla Walla is a very scrappy team and plays aggressively at the net, so we knew we had to bring our best game today," Warriors' head coach Kim McLain shared earlier today. "Serving tough was a big focus for us, as it was key to keeping them out of system and limiting their options. I'm really proud of how our team stayed composed and battled through the tough moments. It was a hard-fought win and a great team effort."
With the Wolves (7-5, 5-4) having already made waves this season by knocking off NAIA Top 25 teams and receiving votes in the national poll both for the first time in program history, it was apparent today's matchup with the Warriors (13-3, 7-2) would be a much tighter contest than in years past. The opening set of today's contest proved nothing less, as the two teams exchanged over five lead changes apiece before the Wolves were able to force extra points after fending off a set point at 24-23. However, Walla Walla's First Team All-Conference outside hitter Sahara Browning struggled to find her footing over the final two rallies, as a pair of attacking errors provided Corban with a 26-24 first set win.
The second period was all Warriors from the opening rally, as the Navy and Gold jumped out to an 11-3 lead that included a six-point run on the back of junior libero Kaile'a Ontai's serving and blocking at the net by sophomore middle blocker Addison Mills, resulting in a deep hole that the Wolves were unable to dig themselves out of and instead found themselves in a 2-0 set deficit against one of the Cascade Collegiate Conference's (CCC) numerous nationally ranked programs.
Numerous multi-point rallies by either program resulted in a 20-all tie deep in the third set, with Walla Walla having reclaimed the momentum behind aggressive serving, well-placed kills, and unfaltering blocks at the net after lacking an identity through the first two sets. Knotted at 20, the Wolves rattled off three-straight points to force only the second Warrior timeout of the contest and following a pair of point exchanges, secured the 25-22 set win and had fully turned the Warriors' home court advantage into their own gain.
Walla Walla led for a large majority of the fourth set as well before the Navy and Gold revitalized their offense tied the game late at 20-20 once again, and following a Wolves' kill, scored on three-consecutive rallies to force a timeout. One Walla Walla sideout later, junior outside hitter Emma Bischoff smashed her tenth kill of the match to provide senior setter Abby Guindy with the match point serve, which she aced for only the third total Warrior service ace of the day and secure the match, setting up what will likely be a wild rematch in southwestern Washington this upcoming November on the Wolves' Senior Day matchup.
Bischoff and senior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski finished today's contest with ten kills apiece to lead the Warriors, with senior middle blocker Gracie Boeder right behind at nine kills and provided three blocks defensively. Mills was the biggest defensive threat at the net for either squad, racking up a game-high six block assists and adding seven kills along the way.
Guindy's 21 assists tops the Corban team with junior setter Nadeiah Howard right behind her with 18, while the duo combined for nine digs. Junior libero Kaile'a Ontai dug up a game-high 16 digs and dished out three dimes.
Walla Walla all-around outside hitter Paula Flores and all-around setter Yaimaris Garcia each secured double-double performances this afternoon, with Flores securing 13 kills and matching Ontai's game-high 16 digs, while Garcia pelted the game-high marks in both kills and assist with 14 and 23, respectively.
Tomorrow afternoon, the battle for the second-overall spot in the CCC standings will take place on Tim Hills Court, as the first half of the conference schedule comes to a close for both Corban women's volleyball and their mascot doppelgangers from No. 14-ranked Lewis-Clark State College (10-2, 7-2) with first serve scheduled for 4pm in a must-see NAIA Top 15-ranked matchup.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter (X) l Instagram l YouTube l Email
