Corban combined to register 39 kills on 83 swings with only seven hitting errors Friday in the Warriors' home opening three-set sweep over Mills College.
Corban Sweeps Cyclones of Mills in Home Opener
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In the home opener for Corban University, Claire Bailey registered a match-high 12 kills in the Warriors' three-set sweep (25-9, 25-9, 25-13) against Mills College Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's win, Corban improves to 1-6 overall and Mills falls to 0-2 on its young season after dropping a pair of matches today against Cascade Collegiate Conference schools.
Along with Bailey, Olivia Shropshire and Payton Wilcox tallied nine and six kills, respectively, as Wilcox was a perfect 6-for-6 on hitting attempts. Wilcox would also handed out a match-high 17 assists, while Haley Meili registered 10 assists to go along with a team-best 12 digs by Katherine Salness. At the net, Madison Purnell registered a match-high four blocks to go along with a match-high three service aces.
The opening set would belong to the Warriors, as Corban jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead on a bad set by Mills. The Warriors would increase their lead to double digits (14-4) on a Cyclone attack error before Corban pushed its advantage to 19 points (24-5) on a mill by Purnell that set up set point. Mills would score four straight points on the serve of Kate Smith before Shropshire ended the opening set with her second kill for the 25-9 victory.
Set #2 would once again belong to Corban, as the Warriors used a 3-0 run to break away from a one-point lead (4-3) thanks to a service ace by Purnell. Corban would then score six of the next eight point en route to securing an eight-point lead (13-5) on a service ace by Kelsey Wright. Following a timeout by Mills, Corban used a 5-3 run to open a 10-point lead (18-8) before cruising to a 25-9 victory that ended with a combo block by Alex Matulewicz and Purnell.
The third and final set would see Mills pull within two points (6-4) before Corban used a 13-5 run to go ahead by 10 points (19-9) on another service ace by Purnell. The host Warriors would grab double-digit leads three more times (20-10, 21-11, 23-13) before closing out the match on a service ace by Brittany Sweet for the 25-13 victory.
Mills was led offensively by Brittany Docherty with five kills, while Julia Harencar and Cecilia Orantes added four and three kills, respectively. Emma Baumeister handed out a team-high six assists for the Cyclones, while Harencar posted a match-high 13 digs for Mills.
Corban will return to the court tomorrow – Saturday, August 31st – with a pair of matches against NCAA Division III members Linfield and George Fox at 12:00 and 4:00 p.m., respectively, on the campus of George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.