LA GRANDE, Ore. – For only the fourth time in the past four years, the No. 3-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball team has dropped consecutive counting contests, as the Warriors battled to take a set off undefeated No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon University earlier tonight in La Grande, yet eventually dropped a hard-fought four-set match to set up a must-see rematch next month at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. The Navy and Gold (10-3, 4-2) won the most convincing set of the night in the second at 25-20 yet dropped a 25-23 first set followed by 25-22 and 25-23 third and fourth final scores to fall to the Mounties (14-0, 6-0) who will continue their regular season without a loss thus far as we near the midway point.
"Tonight's match was a battle from start to finish," shared Warriors' head coach Kim McLain following their match against EOU. "I'm incredibly proud of the fight and resilience our team showed on the court. Both teams brought their strengths! In the end, they were aggressive at the net both offensively and with some key blocks that challenged our offense. Still, our team stayed composed and gave it everything they had. Regardless of the outcome, I'm proud of the way we competed!"
All three sets lost tonight by the Warriors didn't come without a fight, as they either held late leads or battled back to force timeouts despite the Mounties' offense and defense playing in nearly perfect cohesion, with Corban winning the service line with ease while EOU dominated the defense at the net. The Warriors scored more points, crushed more kills, assisted on more kills, and more than doubled up Eastern Oregon in service aces, yet the unforced attacking errors and blocks at the net proved to be the miniscule difference the Mountaineers needed to escape their home court with a fourteenth-consecutive victory.
Corban junior outside hitter Emma Bischoff was by far the player of the game for either squad, as she smashed a season-high 17 kills on a .350 attacking clip and added 16 digs defensively alongside four service aces for a massive double-double outing. Senior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski continued her tear through their 2025 opponents with 14 more kills, while junior outside hitter Kendra Bittle tacked on another nine kills herself and added four more aces.
Junior setter Nadeiah Howard recorded her second double-double of the season after dealing out 18 assists with ten digs in the backcourt, while senior setter Abby Guindy set the match-high in assists with 28 dimes. Meanwhile, junior libero Kaile'a Ontai once again outperformed all players in the backcourt, as she dug up a game-high 19 digs to represent the CCC leader in digs per set.
EOU outside hitter Keira Vaughn matched Bischoff with 17 kills on a .349 kill percentage, representing the only Mountaineer in double-figure kill count. Middle blocker Kiauna Mack and outside hitter Brooke Womack each tallied nine kills apiece, while setter Kate Stidham registered a 28-assist and 17-dig double-double performance.
Another pair of CCC juggernauts will host the No. 3-ranked Warriors next weekend, as they'll begin in Klamath Falls against Oregon Tech (7-6, 1-5) on Friday, September 26th at 6pm.
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