CORVALLIS, Ore. – Two teams are ready to compete for the 2021 Cascade Collegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, Saturday afternoon.
CCC Tournament Page
Top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Corban University and second-seeded, No. 12-ranked Eastern Oregon University will battle it out at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the tournament title. Live video can be found
here for a fee, while live stats are provided for free
here.
Both teams have secured their spots in the NAIA National Tournament, so it all comes down to the hardware. Corban picked up the CCC’s first automatic qualifier (AQ) after clinching the regular-season championship, leaving the second AQ for whoever advanced to the CCC tournament championship with the Warriors.
As the top-two seeds of the tournament, the Warriors and Mounties each picked up a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Third-seeded, No. 25-ranked Oregon Tech picked up a first-round win to face EOU in the semis. The Mounties secured their spot in the championship match with a five-set thrilling victory (25-19, 23-25, 25-27, 25-22, 15-8) with EOU having a slight attack percentage advantage at .293-.264. Sade Williams led the Mountie offense with 16 kills and hit .295. The Owls’ Faith Houck-Wylie led all players with 20 kills and hit .395.
Fourth-seeded Bushnell University earned its opportunity to face Corban in the semifinals and the two teams battled it out in another five-set thriller (22-25, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 15-12). Rylee Troutman led the Warriors with 23 kills on a .353 attack percentage and had 20 digs for a double-double. Shay Coons led the attack for the Beacons with 15 kills, while Camille Guerrero had 12 kills and 18 digs in the match.
During the regular season, Corban won both the matchups with a three-set victory on the road (25-15, 25-21, 25-17) and a dramatic five-set win at home (24-26, 25-19, 18-25, 27-25, 15-12).
In the first match, then-ranked No. 7 Corban turned in a dominant performance, marking the first time since 2017 that EOU – which was No. 14 at the time – has been swept inside of the Quinn Coliseum. Rylee Troutman's 11 kills and .276 attacking percentage helped propel the Warriors to victory. EOU’s Cambree Scott and Breanna Shaffer shared the load with seven kills apiece.
One month later, the Warriors – ranked No. 6 at the time – battled back from the brink of defeat to force a fifth set with the Mounties – then ranked No. 13 – and came out on top. Once again, Troutman led all performers with 18 kills for Corban. Shaffer led EOU’s efforts with 16 kills on a .295 attack percentage.
Just seven months ago, almost to the date, Corban and EOU squared off for the 2020 CCC Volleyball Tournament title during the unusual spring campaign with roles reversed as the Mounties had the top seed. The Warriors upset EOU on its home court to win the tournament championship in four sets (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25).