GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Representing the only program in the nation to have finished in the top four of NAIA Invitational in every season of its existence, the No. 2-ranked Corban University Beach Volleyball team saw their season come to a close in the national championship match after pulling off a reverse sweep in the national semifinal over conference rival and No. 8-ranked Southern Oregon University. After falling down 2-0 in the national semifinals, the Warriors picked up the next three pairings to complete the reverse sweep over the Raiders, followed by a hard-fought 3-0 loss in the national championship to No. 1-ranked Ottawa University-Arizona where four of the five pairs came down to a decisive third set.

"The national tournament didn't end in the storybook fashion we hoped for, but man was it close," explained an extremely proud Warriors' head coach Dan Stephens. "This Warrior team fought hard for each other all season and today wasn't any different. Measuring their growth as players, teammates, and young ladies, this was a championship winning season and that will resonate in their lives moving forward. We're proud of this Warrior team and the great season we had, and we look forward to building off what we started this year even more so in 2026."

The Warriors' (26-2) kicked off the final day of competition across the NAIA with one of their most incredible comebacks in program history, as one of their most fierce rivalries across the conference and nation with the SOU Raiders (19-11) was on full display on the national stage.

For the first time in their six matchups through the 2025 season, Southern Oregon jumped out to a 2-0 pair lead with wins in the twos and fours, resulting in must-win pairings the rest of the way for the Navy and Gold. Starting in the fives with redshirt sophomore Erin Scott and freshman Rebecca Wilber, the Warriors slowly started knocking off their Raider opponents over the final three pairs, with top overall pairing of senior Megan Dennis and sophomore Emma Bischoff tying up the match with a clean 22-20 and 21-13 victory over SOU's Madi Gray and Tessa Zimmermann one final time.

With the entire facility surrounding the second court with senior Jessica McMillian and junior Emmi Marks needing just one more set to clinch the reverse sweep, the CCC Pair of the Year dug deep and secured the 21-19 second set victory to secure the come-from-behind win. This was Corban's first reverse sweep win of the year in their penultimate match of the season to complete a 6-0 record against Southern Oregon.

With OUAZ (19-5) having clinched a revenge victory over Park University (Mo.) in the other national semifinal, the top two ranked programs in the NAIA would battle for the second-straight postseason tourney, this time in the national champion match. Four of the five pairs would go the distance with a third set being necessary to break these incredibly evenly matched pairings. Although the Warriors came out on the wrong side of the three pairings needed to clinch the national title, any of the five pairs were within grasp at any one point, and will provide further motivation moving forward for the inaugural NAIA champion program.

#2 Corban 3, #8 Southern Oregon 2

1. Megan Dennis/Emma Bischoff (CRB) def. Madi Gray/Tessa Zimmermann (SOU) 22-20, 21-13

2. Grace Gulbrandsen/Linda Conceicao (SOU) def. Cammie Masanda/Danae Stokes (CRB) 21-16, 21-17

3. Emmi Marks/Jessica McMillian (CRB) def. Kira Sandoval/Lucretia Benolken (SOU) 21-15, 21-19

4. Natalie Perez/Dessa Soares (SOU) def. Alexis Adebodun/Gabi Engels (CRB) 18-21, 21-19, 15-11

5. Rebecca Wilber/Erin Scott (CRB) def. Skyy Botelho/Kendal Hadwick (SOU) 21-18, 21-16

#1 OUAZ 3, #2 Corban 0

1. Megan Dennis/Emma Bischoff (CRB) led Summer Hanks/Amey Rainaud (OUAZ) 21-16, 19-20 (truncated)

2. Olivia Andersh/Eliana Dean (OUAZ) def. Cammie Masanda/Danae Stokes (CRB) 21-13, 20-22, 15-7

3. Railey Dykstra/Amanda Carlson (OUAZ) def. Emmi Marks/Jessica McMillian (CRB) 8-21, 21-16, 15-6

4. Grace Hughes/Shayna Martinez (OUAZ) def. Alexis Adebodun/Gabi Engels (CRB) 22-24, 21-17, 15-13

5. Diana Enriquez/Shea Marovich (OUAZ) led Rebecca Wilber/Erin Scott (CRB) 21-23, 21-18, 1-6 (truncated)

The Corban beach volleyball program concludes the 2025 spring season with a 26-2 overall record, which included their fourth-straight top four finish in the country and third national title match appearance in four years. They were crowned the CCC regular season champions for a second-straight season, clinched the inaugural CCC tournament title, and set new program records for most wins (26), fewest losses (2), best winning percentage (.929), and most consecutive matches won (25).

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