SALEM, Ore. – For the first time in nearly a decade (2017), the Corban University Women's Volleyball team completed a perfect run on their home court through the 2025 regular season slate, as the No. 5-ranked Warriors secured a four-set Senior Day victory against Oregon Tech for their 13th win on Tim Hills Court this year, thus securing the second-overall seed in the upcoming Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament in the process.
"Oregon Tech is a very dangerous team when they're in system, and we let down a bit in that second set," explained Corban head coach Kim McLain earlier tonight. "I'm proud of how our team regrouped, stayed composed, and finished strong down the stretch. It's always great to end conference play with a win. This group continues to show grit and growth, and we look forward to getting back in the gym to prepare for the postseason journey ahead."
Prior to the start of tonight's contest, the Warriors' three senior student-athletes were honored for their accomplishments and time committee to the Corban women's volleyball program, which included middle blocker Gracie Boeder, setter Abby Guindy, and opposite hitter Makayla Roginski. All three seniors sport above a 3.75 cumulative GPA and have played integral roles in the Warriors' recent success achieved from conference, regional, and national levels.
The lone scare that the Navy and Gold (23-4, 17-3) encountered tonight came in the second set after taking the opening period 25-16, as the offense hiccupped with seven attacking errors, many of which were unforced while Tech (12-15, 6-14) limited their own mistakes and secured their only set of the night with double-digit kills to eventually tie the match at one set apiece with their 25-20 shocker.
However, the slight dip in productivity came to a speedy conclusion early in the third, as the Warriors fell behind 7-3 but kicked up the intensity to another level to finish the set on a 22-7 run. A similar pattern played out in the fourth for the Dubs to take home their 23rd win of the season thanks to 4-0 and 5-0 scoring runs to end the third and fourth sets, respectively.
Junior outside hitter Emma Bischoff continued her unreal pace of play today with her fifth-consecutive double-double outing, as she smashed a game-high 16 kills and dug up 14 digs defensively to only trail teammate and junior libero Kaile'a Ontai in digs, with the Pearl City, Hawaii native responsible for a match-high 16 digs. Fellow junior outside hitter Kendra Bittle tacked on another 12 kills with five digs defensively, while Roginski scored ten kills and rejected five OIT attacks for blocks on her senior night. Redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Taylor Kieser secured seven kills on a .267 attacking percentage.
Guindy combined with junior setter Nadeiah Howard for 44 combined assists, while each of them wrangled in eight digs along the way. Each of the two setters in McLain's 5-2 offensive scheme tallied service aces as well, with Guindy leading the field at three while Howard secured one.
Boeder matched her senior teammate Roginski in block assists with five but secured the match-high mark in total blocks after earning a solo stuff in the middle of the net, giving the former NWAC Player of the Year 13 blocks on the weekend in tonight's four-set win and yesterday's three-set sweep of Southern Oregon University.
The Lady Owls' saw their 2025 season come to an end but didn't go down without a fight against one of the NAIA's most productive offenses. Corban wasn't the only team to see their seniors flourish, as outside hitter Willow Jacobson concluded a fantastic career for Tech with 11 kills, six digs, and a block assist in the final all-around performance of her collegiate women's volleyball career. Setter Lucy Boyd racked up a game-high 28 assists while playing around the court to secure seven digs, while libero Abigail Sorensen dug up 12 digs in the backcourt. Additionally, middle blocker Aleksen Thayer set the Lady Owls' new program record for career blocks with six tonight to finish her career with 339 overall.
With a top two seed now locked up for the Corban women's volleyball team entering next week's CCC tourney, the Warriors will now wait and see the result of tomorrow's Eastern Oregon-Walla Walla match to see if they will earn a share of the regular season title with the Mountaineers. Regardless of tomorrow's result, the Warriors' will head to La Grande for the conference semifinal stage, where they will play the highest remaining seed out of the quarterfinal round on Friday, November 14th at a time yet to be determined. Updates will be made to the 2025 Corban women's volleyball schedule when CCC tournament results become finalized, along with a CCC Tournament preview that will release next week on the Corban Warriors athletic website.
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