SALEM, Ore. – In a nearly two-hour long match despite playing only three sets, the No. 4-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball team was able to sweep the RV Eagles of Northwest University in an absolute dogfight at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, as both the Warriors and Eagles exchanged numerous rallies lasting over 25 touches apiece before eventually falling Corban's way via 25-23, 25-16, and 25-22 set scores. A pair of Warriors (9-1, 3-0) put together career-high numbers to defeat Northwest (7-2, 1-2) in just the Eagles' second loss of the season.
"Northwest is a well-coached and scrappy team, and we knew coming in that we'd have to bring our best effort defensively," Warriors' head coach Kim McLain detailed regarding her team's performance earlier tonight. "Defense was the key tonight, and I'm really proud of how the team responded. We really focused on winning the battle at the net, and our blocking was a difference maker. Our back row was just as solid, making smart reads and keeping rallies alive. It was a total team effort, and the girls executed the game plan and finished strong!"
In both the first and third sets of tonight's matchup, Northwest jumped out to slight leads early only for Corban to battle back and take all three sets played, with the second period seeing the Warriors take advantage of unforced errors by the Eagles who were forced to use both of their timeouts once the deficit had nearly reached double-digits.
For a second-straight match, the Navy and Gold held their opponent to an attacking percentage under .100, as the Eagles managed to score via kills on just over 8% of all attacks. Meanwhile, the Warriors' offense rattled off 45 kills to extend their match streak of at least 40 team kills to a seventh-straight contest amidst their six-game winning streak. Additionally, Corban has swept all five of their previous matchups, all of which have come on their home court.
With the defense taking centerstage tonight for either squad, junior outside hitter Kendra Bittle stepped up and posted a career-high in the backcourt of 13 digs while leading all attackers with the only double-digit kill count of ten for her second double-double in the past three contests. Senior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski and senior middle blocker Gracie Boeder added nine kills apiece and had just three combined attacking errors as they represent two of the top three kill percentage leaders in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC)
With another 27 assists in tonight's three-set match, senior setter Abby Guindy jumped into the top five on the CCC's assists per set leaderboard at 6.76, while junior setter Nadeiah Howard secured a pair of service aces to move up into fourth across the conference in aces per set with an average of half an ace per set played.
Junior libero Kaile'a Ontai put together one of her best defensive performances to date with a staggering 31 digs in the backcourt despite playing only three sets tonight while adding a service ace along the way. Ontai has shot to the top of the CCC rankings following her monster defensive night for the Warriors, as she now leads all student-athletes with 4.71 digs per set.
Tomorrow night, the Warriors will conclude their homestand before kicking off a two-week road trip, as they'll welcome The Evergreen State College Geoducks (0-7, 0-3) for a 4pm start time on Tim Hills Court.
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