Corban's women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches with a thrilling five-set victory tonight over Northwest.
Corban Thrives in Five Against Northwest
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In dramatic fashion, Corban's women's volleyball team extended its season-high winning streak to four matches Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center with a thrilling five-set victory over Northwest, 3-2 (25-13, 21-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-11), as a trio of freshman combined for 38 of the Warriors' 57 kills.
With tonight's breath-taking victory, Corban moves to 8-12 overall and 6-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Northwest falls to 6-14 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Tonight's win moves the Warriors back into the playoff race, as Corban sits a mere one game back of Eastern Oregon in the overall conference standings after the Mountaineers fell to nationally-ranked Southern Oregon in four sets.
Freshman Jenny Harman (Salem, Ore.) led the Warriors' attack, as she registered a match-high 14 kills and six service aces. Meanwhile, fellow freshman Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore.) added 12 kills and freshman Morgan Hirzel (Fullerton, Calif.) chipped in with 10. Sophomore Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) and freshman Karisa Calderon (Murrieta, Calif.) combined to hand out 42 assists, as Dees led the way with 23. Defensively, Corban combined for 89 digs as junior libero Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) registered a match-high 21 digs. At the net, Corban registered a combined 10.0 blocks with junior Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.) recording a match-high eight (1 solo, 7 assist).
"Tonight's win feels amazing," said Harman. "Everything about tonight's match was amazing for me both offensively and behind the service line. I felt that I was in a flow offensively and connected with both our setters tonight. [My serving tonight] was one of those feelings that once I got two aces in a row, the adrenaline just kept it going. [Tonight's win] definitely helps the team's momentum, as we are clicking and things are getting a lot easier."
In the opening set, Northwest jumped out to a three-point lead (4-1) before Corban used the serving arm of junior Heather Anderson (Corbett, Ore.) for a seven-point lead (13-6) following a 12-5 run. Anderson served 10 straight points for the Warriors, as the third-year Corban member registered three aces during the run. Corban would not look back after gaining the lead, as the Warriors cruised to a 25-13 win to open the match.
Set #2 was a completely different story for both teams, as Northwest scored the first six points behind the serving of Lauryn Ernster. The visiting Eagles would never relinquish the lead, as Corban battled back to knot the set four different times but could not get over the hump. Northwest scored the final two points en route to capturing the 25-21 victory via a Ernster kill that knotted the match at a set-apiece heading into the 10-minute break.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams battled back and forth over the opening 16 points. With the score tied at 8-8, Northwest used a 12-8 run to grab a four-point lead (20-16) following a Warrior attack error. Using its never-say-die attitude, Corban battled back and got its first set-point after a Hirzel kill made the score 24-23. Looking to end Set #3, Corban returned to Hirzel for what-seemed-to-be the winning kill only to have a questionable no-touch call made that knotted the set at 24-all. Not letting the referee's call effect how they played, the Warriors got another kill by Hirzel before a Northwest hitting error ended the extra-point affair, 26-24.
In the fourth set, Corban built a five-point lead (10-5) and held the advantage until the 36th point of the frame when Northwest took its third and final lead after a Lauren Holtz service ace made the score 19-18. The visiting Eagles would close out the set on a 6-3 run that concluded with a Kacie Simpson kill for the 25-21 victory that would force a fifth and deciding set.
For the third time this season, Corban was extended to the fifth and final set. Following a pair of heart-breaking losses previously, the host Warriors quickly built a four-point lead (8-4) thanks to a combo block by Calderon and Braun as the teams switched sides. Corban would continue to apply the pressure, as its continued to hold the lead and extended to as much as five points (14-9) following a service ace by sophomore Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.). Needing only one point for the victory, Corban feel victim to a pair of offensive errors before Northwest ended the five-set affair with its 15th and final service error to give the host Warriors the 15-11 victory and their first victory after going the distance this season.
"It was nice to get some payback [after falling to Northwest earlier this season on the road] in our gym," said first-year head coach Nels Norquist. "The girls did a nice job of playing through the referee's calls. Northwest played very tough defense and seemed to get every balls up that we attacked. We just kept going at them and played through the adversity."
Northwest was led by Anu Akamine and Simpson's team-leading 12 kills each, while Holtz added 11 kills and 15 digs defensively. Ernster handed out a match-high 44 assists to go along with her 15 digs, while Akamine anchored the Eagles' back row with a team-high 20 digs.
Corban will return to the court on Friday, October 16th, against the NAIA's No. 6-ranked Coyotes of The College of Idaho beginning at 7:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho.