EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University Volleyball team upset No. 15 Corban University at home in four sets on Friday night, 25-19, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23. This marks the highest-ranked opponent the Beacons have defeated in the 11-year history of their program.
NCU (7-2, 3-2 CCC) battled fiercely throughout their four-set match, winning despite being out-hit .176 to .157 and out-dug 95-85 by the visiting Warriors. With the victory, Head Coach Kelly Pitre is undefeated at home against Corban in her career, a feat which she does not take lightly. Pitre said, “[Head Coach] Kim [McLain] has done a complete turn-around with that program. The roster is filled with top athletes, and Kim is a great coach. You cannot take a point off at any time against them. We game-planned a line of attack against them all week, during practice and our games against NHCC and Chemeketa, and it worked tonight.”
The Beacons battled back from an early four point lead by their conference opponents from Salem. After trading points to 7-7, NCU pulled away and finished the first set on a five-point run. The second set was close from start-to-finish, with the score never swinging by more than two points in either teams’ direction. This continued mid-way into the third set before Corban went on a nine-point run, four of which were kills delivered by Alaina Gentili. The Beacons rebounded in the fourth set, gaining a seven-point before Corban came back to gain a one point lead of their own at 22-21. This was short-lived, however, as NCU’s Kasey Campbell (pictured) delivered two straight kills and the Beacons wrapped-up the victory on an attack error.
Northwest Christian had huge nights from freshmen Campbell and Natalie Downes who posted 15 and 12 kills respectively, each with hitting percentages over .210%. Senior Keri Schwarz played a well-rounded match, with ten kills and three unassisted blocks on the defensive side. Reigning CCC Setter of the Week Maci Beierle turned in another monster performance with 45 assists, along with nine digs. “Maci ran a heck of an offense tonight,” said Pitre.
The Beacons Kayla Olson, Claire Salness, Haley Damian, and Sydney Rothenbush each posted double-digit digs, with Damian accumulating a match-high 28. Coach Pitre said, “Haley did an incredible job tonight. She stole so many momentum swings from Corban by digging out tough hits and that was huge for us. Our entire back row got the job done. They kept the ball in play and it wasn’t just touch digs, it was passes with purpose which we were able to run our offense out of, making us a little more unpredictable on the attack.”
Corban (9-5, 4-1) was lead offensively by Amber Parker, whole swung for a match-high 17 kills, followed by Alaina Gentili (14 kills, .387) and Marandah Boeder (13 kills, .414). Madison Mclain and Cierra Leopoldino each distributed the ball well for the Warriors, with 27 and 19 assists. Defensively, the Warriors had four players posted double-digit digs as well, with Amber Parker and Haley Wells each notching 12.
The Beacons are back in action at the Morse Event Center on Saturday night, with a 9:00 pm conference match against the visiting Walla Walla Wolves.