SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Beach Volleyball program is gearing up for their highly anticipated competition season with the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) and training to earn another deep run at the national tournament in Greeneville, Tennessee. After a semifinalist finish in the 2024 NAIA National Championship Invitational Tournament, the Warriors begin their season with a No. 3 national ranking via this year's preseason NAIA top 10 coaches' poll.
"We have a challenging season ahead of us and it starts February 21st and 22nd when we host a trio of NCAA DI teams in the University of Portland, University of Oregon, and Sacramento State in a non-conference tournament," shared Corban head coach Dan Stephens when asked to detail the 2025 season. "This will give us a feel of where our competition level is at and what areas we need to focus on. We jump from a preseason tournament right into conference play the next weekend so adjustments and development will have to happen fast and will have to continue throughout the season. This team has a great deal of potential and I want to see them push to improve each time they are on the court."
With the addition of Simpson University, the CCC officially sponsors the sport of beach volleyball and will hold an automatic qualification (AQ) to the national tournament. The Cascade Conference will host its inaugural conference tournament on April 10th-11th, 2025, with the winner earning the league's AQ to the NAIA invitational championship.
Although selected as the CCC preseason poll favorite, the Navy and Gold realize the awaiting challenge of a conference that proves to be growing more competitive each year. To prime the team for such competition, the Warriors will host a trio of NCAA DI program for the Corban Invitational on February 21st and 22nd, featuring the Pilots, Ducks, and Hornets.
Corban will start a six-week play schedule including four tournaments and an allocated pod opponent, RV Bushnell University, to play every conference opponent thrice. The Beacons will host the first CCC tournament of the year on February 28th and March 1st, where the Navy and Gold will oppose RV The College of Idaho and Northwest University.
The Warriors will host the Warrior Tournament on March 7th and 8th, featuring their first look at the new RedHawks team and two face-offs against No. 8 Southern Oregon University. A trip down to Eugene for a pair of midweek matchups against Bushnell on March 11th marks the first of the pod opponent contests.
March 21st and 22nd will take the Warriors north to Snohomish, Washington, to battle the Yotes and Eagles, and the month will close out with the SOU Tournament on March 28th and 29th, where they will face the host Raiders and RedHawks.
As April begins, Corban will host a senior day dual against the Beacons on April 1st to close out regular-season conference play. The top four teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings will earn a spot in the inaugural CCC Championships, which will be held from April 10th-12th at the venue of the regular-season champion.
The winner of the double-elimination conference tournament will claim the lone automatic qualification to the 2025 NAIA Beach Volleyball National Invitational, set to take place in Greeneville, Tennessee, from April 24th-26th, where the national champion will be crowned.
To view the team's complete schedule, click HERE.
"This season we have a number of additions to both our roster and the coaching staff," Coach Stephens says as he welcomes nine new players and three new assistants to his coaching staff. "Jolinn Daviscourt (JoJo) has taken the assistant coaching position and is very familiar with the Corban Beach team. JoJo played on the beach team from 2021-2023 earning a National Championship ring in 2022."
"Ally Schmidt is also assisting with coaching responsibilities and is also a former Corban beach player along with two seasons playing for the Corban indoor team during 2022-2023," continued Coach Stephens. "Aleks Khmelev finishes out the beach coaching staff for the 2025 season. Aleks has been a part of the Salem beach volleyball community for years and has seven years of indoor coaching experience."
Starting since the 2022 National Championship season, NAIA All-American seniors Megan Dennis and Jessica McMillian return to lead the Warriors in their final campaign of collegiate beach volleyball. Two-time AVCA All-American, Dennis reunites with AVCA and NAIA All-American sophomore Emma Bischoff to restore the top pair for the Navy and Gold.
Sophomore Danae Stokes, who partnered with McMillian and received NAIA All-American honors in the 2024 season, also returns to the roster alongside junior Emmi Marks, redshirt sophomore Erin Scott, sophomore Cammie Masanda, and redshirt junior Sydney Sanford.
"We have a strong core of returning players and they have incorporated the new players into their competitive training and focus on sharing spiritual values," Coach Stephens shared.
The 2025 recruiting class is comprised of eight newcomers with half transferring from other collegiate volleyball programs and the other half true freshmen. Junior Alexis Adebodun and freshman Gabi Engels have the potential to make immediate impacts on the program and add to their impressive collegiate resumes. Joining from the indoor program, freshman Rebecca Wilber transitions to beach volleyball with the opportunity to also make an influence on the team in her first year.
When asked to discuss his recruits that joined his program over this past offseason, Coach Stephens stated, "The new additions to the team have brought varied levels of beach experience and have been blending their personalities and talents into an already strong team. The freshmen have been developing quickly and are showing a promising future for the beach program. The transfer players have brought with them competitive experience and are making immediate impacts on an already strong team."
To see the complete 2025 roster for the program, click HERE.
The Corban beach volleyball program enters the 2025 spring season as one of the most experienced and well-versed teams in the NAIA with one of the longest tenured programs around the country. The only question remaining: will this be the season they break through and hang yet another Red Banner next to their inaugural national championship from 2022?
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