Sophomore Tiffany Land registered a match-high .615 hitting percentage, as she recorded eight kills on 13 swings Friday against Evergreen.
Warriors Land Victory Over Evergreen State
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Sophomore Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.) registered a match-high eight kills on 13 swings to record a match-high hitting percentage of .615, as Corban's women's volleyball team swept the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-15), Friday night inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
In front of a crowd that was less than normal due to Corban's school-wide "Study Day," the Warriors began the second half of the conference season by pushing their winning streak to two matches en route to improving to 7-12 overall and 5-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Evergreen falls to 1-17 overall and 1-9 in CCC action.
Along with Land, a trio of freshman – Jenny Harman (Salem, Ore.), Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore.), and Morgan Hirzel (Fullerton, Calif.) – added 7, 6, and 6 kills respectively as Corban recorded double-digits kill totals in each of the three sets. Sophomore Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) handed out a match-high 16 assists, while Baskoro recorded a match-high 14 digs as she led the Warriors in that category for the second straight match.
"It is really good to have two wins in a row under our belt because we have not been able to do that yet this season," said Land. "We had a lot of fun tonight, played relax, played our game, and did what we were supposed to do. I think that we are on a high heading into tomorrow night's match."
In the opening set, Corban built a quick three-point lead (4-1) before Evergreen battled back to within two points (9-7) following a kill by Kaylani Evans. The host Warriors would then score six of the next eight points and built their lead to six points (15-9) after a service ace by junior Heather Anderson (Corbett, Ore.). Following a Geoduck timeout, Evergreen used a 5-0 run to pull within a single point (15-14) before Corban re-built its lead back to six points (22-16) after a kill by Harman. The Warriors' lead would be too much for Evergreen, as Corban closed out Set #1 on a Baskoro kill for the 25-19 victory.
Set #2 was a battle over the opening 12 points, as both team put six points on the board before Corban used a 12-3 run to take command (18-9) following a Geoduck setting error. The host Warriors would close out the middle set on a 7-5 run for the 25-14 win that turned into a 2-0 lead in sets for Corban heading into the 10-minute break.
The third and final set saw Evergreen build a small lead (3-1) before Corban jumped on the serving arms of Land and Anderson in the midst of a 7-2 run that ended in a two-point Warrior lead (8-5) following a kill by freshman Karisa Calderon (Murrieta, Calif.). Evergreen would get as close as two points (15-13) after a Warrior ball handling error before Corban used a set and match-closing 10-2 run that ended on another kill by Harman.
"Tonight's win feels like we did what we practiced," said first-year head coach Nels Norquist. "It is nice to finally get two wins in a row to start the second half and get our record up to .500. We have a chance to run our middle hitters in transition tomorrow night, which will allow us to do more over the second half of the season. Tonight will give us some momentum heading into Saturday's rematch with Northwest."
Evergreen was led by Kaylani Evans, who registered six kills to go along with Irene Takahashi-Coker's four. Meghan De La Rosa handed out a team-leading 14 assists, while Chantal Petkus registered a team-high 13 digs for the Geoducks.
Corban returns to the court tomorrow night – Saturday, October 10th – against the Eagles of Northwest University beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.