Jordan Porter (right) celebrates a kill with her teammates.
Strong Offense Carries Corban Past Evergreen
OLYMPIA – Amber Parker led three players in double-figure kills and the visiting Corban Warriors hit .333 for the match to sweep The Evergreen State College, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14, in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action Friday night in Costantino Recreation Center.
The Warriors (9-4 overall, 5-2 CCC) entered the match ranked No. 24 in the NAIA Top 25, and they established themselves in the first set with a .471 attack percentage. Amber Parker, the conference leader in kills per set, put down seven kills, Marandah Boeder had five kills on seven attempts and Alaina Gentili collected four kills in six swings to get the visitors off to a strong start.
Corban scored the first point of the set and never gave up the lead, despite all the best efforts of the Geoducks. Evergreen hit .206 in the set and stayed within range of the Warriors behind five kills by Chloee Hunt. The Geoducks pulled within three points twice late in the set on kills by Natalie Taylor and Jorden Porter, but the Warriors scored the final two points to secure the set.
The second set featured two ties and one lead change, with Kylie Kytan’s kill for Evergreen tying the score for the final time at 4-4. Corban regained the lead and gradually pulled away to take set two. Parker was on point again with six kills, while Taylor had four of her team-high nine kills for Evergreen. Corban finished with a .262 attack percentage compared to .135 for the Geoducks.
Other than a tie at 2-2, the third set was all Warriors as they built an early lead and expanded on it. Adriana Aguayo had five kills in 10 swings to lead Corban, which hit .286 and had eight different players with kills in the set. Taylor led Evergreen with three kills.
In addition to Taylor's team-leading nine kills, Kytan finished with 23 assists, two service aces and a team-best 10 digs for Evergreen. The Geoducks had four team blocks, including four block assists by Hunt and three more from Porter, and they finished with a .109 attack percentage.
Parker ended the match with 15 kills, followed by Aguayo with 11 and Gentili with 10. Aguayo hit .611 and Gentili .600 as setter Madison McLain spread the ball effectively on the way to 38 assists. Haley Wells led all players with 17 digs and the Warriors finished with five team blocks, including three block assists by Boeder.
Both teams return to conference action tomorrow, Evergreen hosting Northwest Christian and Corban facing No. 20-ranked Northwest University in Kirkland.