Amber Parker tallied a career-best 36 kills in the win over Northwest. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University volleyball received career-best performances from sophomore outside-hitter Amber Parker (Albany, Ore.) and freshman setter Madison McLain (Albany, Ore.) en route to earning a thrilling four-set victory over Northwest University on Friday night (31-29, 29-27, 17-25, 25-20). For Corban, the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) triumph was critical as it keeps the Warriors in a spot in the standings where they will still control their own destiny down the stretch of the 2015 regular season.
“I am very proud of how the team came out to play tonight,” said head coach Kim McLain. “We reset our goals as individuals and as a unit and it really paid off! Every girl was a part of this win because of how they have been working at practice!”
The first set of the night set the tone for what was to come, as it was back and forth the entire time, with both teams registering a number of set points, but both sides were resilient, not wanting to fall in the opener. Corban eventually prevailed, resulting in the 31-29 marathon win in set one.
The second set was more of the same, as Corban needed a little bit extra to secure to 29-27 triumph, bringing the Warrior faithful to their feet. In those first two sets, Corban was fairly efficient offensively, hitting at a .306 clip in the first stanza, while registering a .282 clip in set two.
Northwest responded in a big way following the intermission, as the Eagles hit for a .364 attack percentage en route to the comfortable 25-17 set win, forcing set four to be played.
The Warriors jumped out in front in the fourth stanza, forcing Northwest to have to play from behind. Corban eventually got the set to 24-20, and on match point, Corban freshman outside-hitter Victoria Schroeder (Corvallis, Ore.) recorded an ace for the Warriors, sealing the huge match win for Corban.
On the night, Northwest actually hit for a better overall percentage than Corban at .272 compared to just a .230 mark for the Warriors. The difference, however, was that Corban took nearly 20 more swings offensively and racked up 67 kills, 11 more than the Eagles.
Parker led the way with a career-best 36 kills for Corban, while McLain dished out a career-best 63 assists, once again serving as the team’s primary setter. Also big offensively was sophomore Bethany Filipenko (Salem, Ore.), as she registered a career-best performance herself, totaling 14 kills and a .423 attack percentage to go along with a team-best seven block assists.
Defensively, sophomore libero Haley Wells (Albany, Ore.) had herself a night as well, totaling 31 digs and a number of diving saves to keep numerous rallies alive for Corban.
For Northwest (15-8, 10-6), Amanda Waterman recorded a team-best 16 kills, while Sydney Schlect totaled 13 kills for the Eagles. Morgan Pilon notched a team-best 41 digs, while both Waterman and Emmaline Stockton combined for 25 digs between the two in a solid all-around team defensive effort.
The C.E. Jeffers Sports Center has been friendly to Corban in 2015, as the Warriors boast a 6-1 record at home with tonight’s victory.
Corban (10-11, 8-7 CCC) returns to CCC action tomorrow night when it takes on The Evergreen State College in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. First serve is set for 5 p.m.