Corban downed Oregon Tech on Saturday night in four sets. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – After the first week of conference play, the Corban University volleyball team sits atop the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings as one of only three remaining teams that is undefeated in CCC play. On Saturday night, the Warriors used a total team effort en route to the four-set victory (25-14, 22-25, 25-14, 25-14) over Oregon Tech.
"It is always a good feeling to come out of the weekend with two wins," said Corban head coach Kim McLain. "We again started strong, but found ourselves making too many errors in the second set. I was proud of how the team refocused and finished strong."
Besides the second set in which the Owls hit for a .231 percentage, Corban played great defense, holding Oregon Tech at or below a .200 hitting percentage for the rest of the match. Offensively, Corban hit its stride late in the match, ultimately accumulating a .289 overall hitting mark in the triumph.
In the three set wins, Corban really locked down defensively while continuing to attack efficiently, holding the Owls (4-4, 0-2 CCC) to just 14 points in each of the stanzas.
Sophomore Madison McLain led the way for Corban, playing great defense with 10 digs while dishing out 55 assists, her second-best mark on the year. Many of those assists went to junior Amber Parker, as Parker totaled 17 kills on a .298 hitting mark.
Providing a presence up front was junior Alaina Gentili, as she notched 14 kills with five block assists. In addition, Warrior freshman Lauren Condon recorded 10 kills on the evening with six digs and three block assists.
Defensively, it was once again junior Haley Wells who was all over the court, totaling a season-high 22 digs in the victory.
For Oregon tech, Marlee Smith and Kelsey Sampson led the way offensively with 19 kills combined, while Sampson also totaled a team-best 19 digs.
Corban (6-2, 2-0 CCC) returns to the court next Friday in a pivotal matchup with No. 8 Eastern Oregon University. First serve in La Grande is set for 7 p.m.