NCU's Chandler Gabrio (#16) nearly registered a double-double with 11 kills and a match-high seven service aces, as Northwest Christian swept rival Corban for the second time this season.
Northwest Christian Pushes Streak to Four Straight Over Rival Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Northwest Christian University pushed it winning streak to four straight matches over Cascade Collegiate Conference rival Corban University with a straight set victory, 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 12-25), Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Northwest Christian (16-7, 9-5 CCC) would get double-digit kill efforts from Maren Mansfield and Chandler Gabrio, as the pair registered 13 and 11 kills, respectively, to go along with a match-high seven service aces by Gabrio that included three straight near the end of the match. Cori Wallace led the Beacons' offense with a match-high 37 assists, while Dana McGowan anchored NCU's defense with a team-best 12 digs.
Corban (5-19, 2-12 CCC) was led offensively by Olivia Shropshire with eight kills, while Claire Bailey chipped in with five kills of her own. The setting duo of Haley Meili and Payton Wilcox combined to hand out 24 assists, as Meili led the pair with a team-high 14 off the Warriors' bench. Defensively, Corban was led by libero Katherine Salness with a match-high 13 digs to go along with a three-block effort by Jenny Harman.
The opening set would see Northwest Christian break a 2-2 tie with a 9-3 run that resulted in an 11-5 lead for the visiting Beacons on a kill by Mansfield forcing Corban to call its first of two timeouts. The Warriors would battle back within three points (13-10) before NCU pushed its advantage to six points (20-14) on a kill by Janel Fetters that caused Corban to call its final timeout of the set. Trailing by seven points (24-17), Corban reeled off three straight points that included kills by Wilcox and Madison Purnell forcing Northwest Christian to call for a break in the action. NCU's timeout was exactly what the Beacons needed, as Northwest Christian closed out the opening set on another Fetters kill for the 25-20 victory.
Set #2 would be a back-and-forth battle with Corban earning an early two-point cushion (9-7) before Northwest Christian went on a 4-1 run to pull ahead by a single point (11-10) on a kill by Gabrio. Both teams would trade points over the next 19 combined, as Corban used a mini 2-0 run to break a 20-20 tie thanks to a kill by Bailey and a combo block from Purnell and Miah Smith that resulted in a 22-20 lead for the Warriors. Following a break in the action by NCU, the visiting Beacons went on a set-closing 5-0 run that included a pair of service aces by Mansfield for the 25-20 come-from-behind victory.
The third and final set would belong to Northwest Christian, as the Beacons broke a 5-5 tie with an 11-2 run that resulted in a 16-7 lead in which Corban burned both its timeouts trying to stop the bleeding. The host Warriors would battle back to within six points (18-12) on a kill by Smith, but NCU's lead was too much for Corban to overcome as the visiting Beacons closed out the match on a 7-0 run thanks to the hard serving of Gabrio in which she registered back-to-back-to-back aces during the run. Three kills, three service aces, and a combo block by Chelsea McGowan and Cassidy Winters would be all that NCU needed en route to earning the 25-12 victory and three-set sweep.
Overall, Northwest Christian hit .272 (43-12-114) to go along with 14 service aces. Meanwhile, Corban had one its better offensive nights in recent memory with the Warriors registering a hitting percentage of .230 (30-10-87).
Corban returns to action tomorrow – Saturday, October 26th – in its final non-conference match of the season against New Hope Christian beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem. Meanwhile, Northwest Christian is off until Friday, November 1st, when the Beacons host Evergreen beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Eugene.