Senior Rachel Gowen continues to add season-highs to her list of accomplishments, as the 6-foot middle blocker pushed her team-leading kill total to 160 after tonight's match.
Corban Upsets Eastern Oregon Thanks to Gowen's 19 Kills
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In a must-win match for the Warriors, senior Rachel Gowen (Oregon City, Ore.) registered a match-high 19 kills in helping lead Corban's women's volleyball team to an upset victory over Eastern Oregon, 3-1 (20-25, 29-27, 25-22, 25-23), Saturday night inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
After going toe-to-toe with the NAIA's No. 22-ranked The College of Idaho last night and taking the 'Yotes to four games, the Warriors knew that a win tonight would help them keep pace with conference rival Concordia in the race for the fifth seed in the upcoming conference postseason tournament.
In front of a ruckus crowd, Corban used timely hitting and outstanding defense to upset the NAIA's No. 31-ranked Mountaineers and move within one game of the Cavaliers, who lost earlier tonight to The College of Idaho in three sets.
In the opening set, Eastern Oregon used the serving arm of Chelsea Herron to jump out to a quick 3-0 lead before Corban used a 6-0 run that was highlighted by a pair of Gowen kills to gain a three-point advantage (6-3). A kill by senior Chelsea Reeher (Powell Butte, Ore.) would push the Warriors' lead back to three points (7-4) before Eastern Oregon got a kill by Sareena Simpson and Grace Deboodt coupled with a Warrior hitting error to knot the set at 7-all. A kill from sophomore Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.) and another by Reeher would increase Corban's lead to two points (9-7) before the visiting Mountaineers used a 7-3 run to take a two-point lead (14-12) following an assist block by Jessica Lea and Julie Butterfield. Eastern Oregon then pushed its lead to six points (24-18) thanks to a 10-6 run before closing out the set on a Melanie Ceciliani kill to win by five points (25-20).
In the second set, Corban used the serving of juniors Amy Thompson (Oregon City, Ore.) and Andrea Potloff (Aumsville, Ore.) to grab a five-point advantage (6-1). Eastern Oregon then put together a 3-0 run that was answered by a Warrior run before the Mountaineers got another run, which found the score at 9-7 in favor of Corban. The two teams would battle back and forth over the next nine combined points before Gowen and fellow senior Rashelle Davenport (Kalama, Wash.) registered back-to-back kills to give the Warriors their largest lead of the set (15-10). Gowen and Davenport would team up again in helping push Corban's lead to six points (17-11) before Eastern Oregon used a 5-0 run to pull within a mere point (17-16) via a Deboodt kill. The set would continue to go back and forth until Gowen put the Warriors up by three points (24-21) with a chance to knot the match at a set apiece. Unfortunately, a 4-0 run by Eastern Oregon would give the visiting Mountaineers set point at 25-24 following a Warrior ball handling error. Davenport would atone for Corban's miscue with a kill to extend the set, as each team would not gain more than a one-point lead until Braun registered back-to-back kills to end the extra-point affair (29-27) and tie the match at one set apiece heading into the break.
In the third set, Eastern Oregon jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Corban used a 6-3 run to tie the set at 8-8 following a kill by freshman Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.). Each team would battle tooth and nail over the next 20 combined points, as the scoreboard read 18-18 following a kill by EOU's Lea. Back-to-back kills from Gowen would hand Corban a two-point lead (20-18) that the Warriors would not relinquish thanks to a set-closing 5-3 run that handed Corban a 2-1 lead in sets following its 25-22 victory in Set #3.
In the fourth and final set, the Warriors once again rode the serving arm of Thompson and Potloff to another 6-1 lead before Eastern used a 9-4 run to knot the set at 10-all. The visiting Mountaineers would go ahead by a mere point (11-10) after a Warrior hitting error before Eastern Oregon would push its lead to as much as four points (17-13) following another Deboodt kill. Corban used a 5-1 run to tie the set (18-18) for the fifth time following a Davenport service ace. Each team would battle back and forth once again until the set was tied (22-22) for eighth and final time following a Mountaineer service ace. Gowen and Land would then lead the Warriors to the victory (25-23), as Gowen registered a pair of kills to go along with Land's point-scoring play en route to handing Corban the four-set win, which was its biggest victory since last season's five-set affair with Cascade on Senior Recognition Night.
Along with Gowen's match-high performance in kills, Davenport and Reeher added 13 and 11 kills respectively to go along with Braun's nine-kill performance. Thompson and freshman Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) combined to hand out 50 assists, as Thompson registered a team-high 33 assists to go along with her match-high 22 digs. Sophomore libero Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) helped anchor the Warriors' back line with 19 digs, while sophomore Heather Anderson (Corbett, Ore.) and Potloff added 12 and 11 digs respectively. At the net, Gowen posted a team and match-high tying five blocks (3 solo, 2 assist) to go along with Reeher's two-block performance.
Eastern Oregon was led by Deboodt's team-high 18 kills, while Ceciliano and Noelle Carstens added 15 and 11 kills respectively. Lea lead the Mountaineers' offense with a match-high 37 assists, while Simpson and Lea added a team-high 13 digs each for Eastern Oregon. Lea had the best offensive night all-around for the Mountaineers, as she registered five kills, 37 assists, five service aces, 13 digs, and a team-high five assist blocks.
With the win, Corban improves to 11-10 overall, including a 9-7 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon falls to 16-8 overall, 11-5 in CCC action. The Warriors return to the court on Friday, October 31st, when they travel to Portland to take on the Knights of Warner Pacific beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside C.C. Perry Gymnasium.