Freshman Morgan Hirzel was the lone Warrior to record more than 10 kills in Tuesday's victory over NCAA D-III member Lewis & Clark.
Corban's Hirzel Showcases Skills Against Lewis & Clark
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman Morgan Hirzel (Fullerton, Calif.) led a balanced Warrior attack both offensively and defensively, as Corban's women's volleyball team defeated NCAA Division III member Lewis & Clark, 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 25-23), Tuesday night inside the Pamplin Sports Complex.
With tonight's non-conference victory, Corban improves to 6-12 overall and remains at 4-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Lewis & Clark falls to 9-6 overall yet remains in second place in the Northwest Conference at 5-1.
Hirzel's team-leading 13 kills powered a Warrior attack that registered 45 kills, including double-digit totals in each of the four sets. Fellow freshman Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore.) and sophomore Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.) added 8 and 7 kills respectively, while sophomore Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) handed out a season-high 26 assists to go along with Baskoro's match-high 21 digs defensively. At the net, three Warriors – HIrzel, Land, and junior Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.) – registered a team-best three of the team's 12 blocks.
In the opening set, Corban built a seven-point lead (20-13) following a kill by Braun before Lewis & Clark began to fight back and got within one point (21-20) thanks to a 7-1 run. The visiting Warriors would then push their lead back to four points (24-20) after a Land kill before closing out the opening frame on a bad set by the host Pios for the 25-23 victory.
Set #2 saw Lewis & Clark build an early 5-0 lead before Corban battled back to capture a two-point lead (12-10) after a combo block by Land and Hirzel. Unfortunately that lead would not hold up, as the host Pios would use a set-closing 15-7 run to even the match thanks to a 25-17 victory.
The third set would see Corban build a nine-point lead (12-3) after a Baskoro kill before Lewis & Clark got within two points (17-15) thanks to a 12-5 run. That was as close as the host Pios would get, as the Warriors used a 5-0 run that included a kill by Baskoro to increase their lead to seven points (21-15). Corban would close out Set #3 via a LCC service error that handed the victory to the Warriors, 25-18.
In the fourth and final set, Lewis & Clark would secure an early lead and hold it until the set's 25th point when Corban took its first lead (13-12) following back-to-back kills by Hirzel. The two teams would battle back and forth until the score was knotted at 23-all. The visiting Warriors would close out the set via a Pio attack error before Braun closed the door on the evening with a match-ending kill for the 25-23 victory and four-set win.
Lewis & Clark was led by Margaret Dowling's match-high 20 kills, while Katherine Fiedler and Sarah Hall added 13 and 6 kills respectively. Leia Matsunaga handed out a match-high 37 assists for the Pioneers, while Lou Ohki anchored LCC's back line with a team-leading 19 digs.
Corban will return to the court to kick off the second half of the Cascade Collegiate Conference season on Friday, October 9th, against the Geoducks of The Evergreen State College beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.