ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Today's doubleheader matches between nationally ranked opponents was a much-needed sigh of relief for the No. 3-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball program, as they were able to avenge their pool play loss to the No. 9-ranked Bobcats of St. Thomas University from the 2023 postseason and shortly after earn their first top twenty-five sweep of the 2025 regular season over No. 16-ranked Viterbo University. The Warriors took their rematch with STU in four sets, 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, and 25-20, while earning a 25-21, 25-21, and 25-18 sweep over the V-Hawks in their second non-conference victory over Viterbo in a two-year span.
"It always feels good to open with two wins against top-ranked teams," Warriors' head coach Kim McLain shared earlier this evening. "I'm proud of the team for paying as a unit and fighting through tough competition. Their grit, energy, and teamwork made the difference today, and we're looking forward to another pair of tough matchups tomorrow!"
Match 1 – No. 3 Corban 3, No. 9 STU 1
The first game of the 2025 regular season was about as dramatic as expected for No. 3-ranked Warriors (2-0), as the No. 9-ranked Bobcats (4-2) exchanged rallies back-and-forth the entirety of the four sets played, with Corban eking out the necessary three sets to take the first of multiple top 25 matchups within the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.
As to be expected in a rematch between a pair of top ten ranked programs in the NAIA, both Corban and St. Thomas traded blows throughout the opening frame before the Bobcats found themselves in a 20-19 lead late in the first set. However, an attacking error from STU and back-to-back kills from senior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski provided the Warriors with a 22-20 advantage.
After St. Thomas knotted the contest back up at 22-all, Roginski both broke the tie and provided the Bobcats with their 23rd point as well in one of very limited attacking errors on the day for the Gresham, Oregon native, yet junior outside hitter Kendra Bittle provided set point for the Navy and Gold and following the final STU timeout of the set, sophomore libero Dani Street found the top of the tape on a flatfooted attack that found the floorboards between all six Bobcats.
Following their first set win in as many attempts thus far to start the 2025 regular season, the Navy and Gold battled back-and-forth with St. Thomas before a 6-1 run provided the Warriors with an 18-12 lead. Despite a late four-point rally from the Bobcats, Corban played even volleyball the rest of the way to go up 2-0 on a top ten program.
Jumping out to a 12-8 lead in the third set seemed like a sweep was in the making for the Warriors, yet St. Thomas began to limit the attacking errors and rattled off a 9-1 run to lead 21-14 and eventually clinched a 25-21 set victory to stave off the loss for at least one more set.
The final St. Thomas lead of the afternoon came at 10-9 in the fourth before the Navy and Gold concluded the match on a 16-10 run that would wrap up a victory in their top ten showdown season opener. The opposing offenses found their footing over the final four points scored, concluding with the thirteenth kill of the game for junior outside hitter Emma Bischoff.
The service line proved crucial this afternoon for the Navy and Gold, as Corban secured twelve aces across four sets compared to just three for St. Thomas. While the Bobcats were able to find more consistency in their limited attacks and blocking at the net, boasting a .211 kill percentage and nine team blocks compared to .174 and eight for the Warriors, yet were outpaced in every other facet of the game against the Cascade Collegiate Conference's highest ranked program.
Roginski led all players with 16 kills and a .353 kill percentage, while Bischoff recorded a double-double outing in her first opportunity behind 13 kills, 17 digs, and a pair of service aces. Bittle added nine kills, four digs, three blocks, and three aces opposite Bischoff in the rotation, while senior middle blocker Boeder swatted six blocks including a solo stuff at the net.
Behind 12 team aces, junior setter Nadeiah Howard recorded nearly half herself with five to lead all student-athletes. While senior setter Abby Guindy dealt out a game-high 24 assists and hauled in six digs, it was Howard who concluded her afternoon in double-double fashion with 19 dimes and ten digs in the backcourt. Street pitched in 12 digs and six assists as the team's starting libero for their first match of the season.
Bobcats' outside hitter Alexandra led her team with 12 kills offensively and 12 digs in the backcourt for a double-double performance, while middle blocker Aleksandra Ivanovic picked in 11 kills and two blocks. All-around setter Payton Bertke registered a game-high 35 assists and added six kills with eight digs, with libero Fabiana Mucciola picking in 12 digs and five assists to tie Bruno for the team-high defensive mark.
Match 2 – No. 3 Corban 3, No. 16 Viterbo 0
After picking up a massive top ten victory to kick off the 2025 regular season, the Warriors met face-to-face with a No. 16-ranked V-Hawk (1-3) squad looking to create their own winning streak after knocking off No. 20-ranked Midland University earlier this morning. Last fall, Viterbo hosted the annual non-conference tourney featuring four of the five programs in attendance in St. Louis this week, with Corban taking the 2024 tournament finale in four sets.
However, despite rallying late in 2024 to steal a set against the Warriors, the V-Hawks were never able to elevate to the next level needed to upset the No. 3-ranked Corban squad, as the Navy and Gold jumped out to early leads in all three sets and despite late rallies in both the opening and second sets from Viterbo, a three-set sweep was in the making from the very first serve.
The Warriors outperformed the V-Hawks in total points, kills, assists, and digs while being out-blocked and out-served by minimal margins, powering them to their second nationally ranked victory of the day. Every time Viterbo was able to go shot-for-shot against the Navy and Gold, Corban dug deeper on every occasion to win the long rallies and keep the energy high from the opening point scored on a joust at the net from Boeder.
Joining Boeder in the key performances was both Roginski and Guindy for an all-around senior student-athlete outing, as Boeder and Roginski combined for 21 kills and just a single attacking error while Guindy dished out a game-high 19 assists along with five digs. Roginski was the game-high kill leader in both contests this afternoon, hitting a balmy .444 kill percentage to start her final season of collegiate competition.
Bittle rebounded from game one to smash 12 kills and nearly clinch a double-double with nine digs in the backcourt while adding another pair of service aces. Howard was butter from the setter position with 17 dimes and seven digs, while junior libero Kaile'a Ontai suited up for the Warriors' second match of the day to secure a team-high 12 digs and assist on five kills. Additionally, sophomore middle blocker Addison Mills commanded the team's blocking presence with three assisted blocks and a solo stuff.
Not a single V-Hawk was in double-figures offensively by the end of the third set, with outside hitter Izzy Jahr leading the charge at nine kills on 28 attempts. Libero Jada Mitchell locked up the backcourt for Viterbo by securing a game-high 17 digs, while the 6-2 setter rotation of Maddie Connor and Jaden Polovina combined for 25 assists and ten digs.
The Warriors are back in action at the MBU Spartan Invitational tomorrow with another back-to-back pair of matches, as they'll battle No. 20-ranked Midland (0-2) and the tourney host Spartans (2-0) at 1pm and 4pm CT, respectively.
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