SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the fourth-consecutive season, the No. 14-ranked Corban University volleyball team will reach the round of 16 in the NAIA National Championships. The Warriors clinched a berth in bracket play at this year's national tournament with a four-set victory over Martin Methodist on Wednesday evening (23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-21).
"We came out slow and couldn't find our rhythm in the first two sets, but we found a way to win and we look forward to competing again tomorrow night," said head coach Kim McLain. "We are excited to be in the Final 16 and we are looking forward to continuing our pursuit of the goals we set at the beginning of the season."
Neither team led by more than three points in the tense first game, with back-to-back kills from Chandler Salvig and Rebecka Cronin helping the RedHawks break away from a 23-23 tie and win set one.
The Navy and Gold bounced back in the following game, however, evening the set count with a 25-23 triumph of their own.
From there, Corban found its offensive rhythm, attacking at an impressive .304 clip in set three en route to a seven-point victory.
The RedHawks jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the fourth game, but the Warriors would respond with a dominating 16-5 run, effectively sealing the triumph.
Corban flourished at the net, racking up 11 total blocks on the evening—just one off the squad's season high. Lanae Wohlmacher was in on six of those, leading the squad in the category, while Avari Ridgway assisted five blocks of her own.
Ridgway also tied with Jacquelyn Clark for the Warriors' game-high in kills, with each racking up 13 putaways. Clark's precision was on full display, as she hit at a stellar .440 mark.
Cassie Cunningham rounded out Corban's double-digit kill-getters, notching 12 on a .242 attack percentage.
Jadyn Mullen (26 assists) and Ciarra Judson (24 assists) did the distributing, while Kealani Ontai spearheaded the defensive efforts with 24 digs.
The Warriors will now look ahead to their final matchup of pool play, taking on the top-seeded Northwestern at 6 p.m. CST tomorrow evening. The Raiders—ranked second in the NAIA—swept each of their first two matches of pool play, and have also clinched a trip to the Final 16.
The two squads competed in a five-set thriller earlier this fall, with Northwestern edging Corban in a nail-biter on August 23 (22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12).