CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eight Cascade Collegiate Conference teams opened the conference season Friday, with two tournament-style pods at the College of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College.
College of Idaho Pod
In Caldwell, Idaho, C of I and Oregon Tech faced each other twice, while Multnomah University and No. 9-ranked Eastern Oregon University took on each other for a pair of matches.
Saturday puts Multnomah and College of Idaho up against each other, while Oregon Tech and EOU will square off.
College of Idaho (0-2, 0-2 CCC) vs. Oregon Tech (5-0, 2-0 CCC)
The Coyotes and Owls got the ball rolling with an early game time, but Oregon Tech didn’t need time to wake up and jumped out to an early lead. The Owls didn’t take their foot off the gas and grabbed the match in three-straight sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-16).
Nicole Reyes led OIT with 11 kills, while Ireland Bennett chipped in seven for the Owl offense. Oregon Tech was a threat from the line, serving up eight aces in the match with Lindsey Sampson converting half of them.
Kylie Crossland had eight kills for the Coyotes in the first match, with Abigail Guinn helping move the ball and finishing with 17 assists. Jade Warren made four stuffs at the net for C of I.
A few hours later, the two teams took to the court again, with OIT grabbing another 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-13, 25-22).
Kaylin Talonen had 12 kills in the second game to match Reyes’ 12, with the pair leading the Owls to a .297 hitting percentage.
The Coyotes brought a solid blocking effort with Warren putting up another four blocks in the second to go along with 12 kills. Guinn finished with 20 assists in the match.
No. 9 Eastern Oregon (2-0, 2-0 CCC) vs. Multnomah (0-2, 0-2 CCC)
Keeping the theme of taking everything in stride this year, the first match between the Mountaineers and Lions was delayed a little due to some travel issues, but EOU came out fired up. The Mounties burst out to a 25-3 first-set victory and kept rolling to win the next two on scores of 25-12 and 25-14, respectively.
The Mounties hit at a .405 clip – including an impressive .500 hitting percentage in the first set – with Cambree Scott leading the charge and finishing with nine kills. She was dominant off the block too, posting 10 blocks in the match. Madison Pilon had 21 assists, while Kiley McMurtrey had 14 digs.
On the other side of the net, Kamaile Labanon led the Lions with five kills, while Rachel Bailey finished with 13 assists. Alyssa Mehalovich had seven digs for Multnomah.
In the second contest of the day, MU showed tenacity and the ability to adapt to its opponent, especially in the second set. EOU had an early lead, but the Lions went on a five-point run to take a two-point advantage. Multnomah couldn’t keep momentum going, however, and ultimately fell in three sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-12) once again.
Scott and Sade Williams each finished with nine kills for the Mounties, both on impressive hitting performances. Scott boasted a .600 hitting percentage with no errors on 15 attempts, while Williams had three errors on 15 attempts for a .400 clip. Pilon posted another 21 assists, while McMurtrey had 18 digs in the afternoon matchup.
Labanon and Danae Stokes led the Lions with six kills apiece. Bailey had 24 assists in the match, with Mehalovich grabbing 11 digs for Multnomah.
LC State Pod
In Lewiston, Idaho, No. 13-ranked Corban University and Warner Pacific University squared off, while LC State and Bushnell University took each other on.
Tomorrow puts Corban and Bushnell up against each other and Warner Pacific facing LC State.
Bushnell (5-0, 2-0 CCC) vs. LC State (0-2, 0-2 CCC)
The Beacons and Warriors opened the day with a four-set battle, with Bushnell taking the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19). LC State came out hot and held Bushnell to a negative hitting clip to take the first set, but the Beacons found their footing and solidified the win with three-straight set victories.
Camille Guerrero led the Beacons with 10 kills, with Makenna Northern posting 32 assists in the match. Defensively, Callie Wilkins finished with 23 digs for Bushnell.
Chloe Emory and Carli Bernston each finished with double-digit kills for the Warriors with 16 and 13, respectively, while Jess Ruffing (24 assists) and Hannah Martinez (15 assists) helped move the ball around. Kenzie Dean finished with 27 digs defensively.
In the second matchup, Bushnell didn’t waste any time and jumped out to a 4-0 lead quickly, en route to a 3-0 match win (25-16, 27-25, 25-15). LC State battled back in the second set, even grabbing set-point first, but the Beacons sealed the 27-25 victory with three-straight points.
Guerrero led the charge for Bushnell once again, posting 10 kills in the nightcap. Northern added 32 assists, while Wilkins (16 digs) and Guerrero (12 digs) helped keep the Beacons in each set with solid defense.
Emory added another nine kills for the Warriors and Ruffing finished with 18 assists. Ashlee Bachman scored three aces in the match and Dean had 10 digs.
Corban (2-0, 2-0 CCC) vs. WPU (0-2, 0-2 CCC)
In both teams’ season opener, Corban grabbed a 3-0 victory (25-16, 26-24, 25-14) over Warner Pacific, with the Knights making the second set a dog fight. After the Warriors hit at .500 in the first set, WPU battled back to force extra points in the second set, ultimately just falling short.
Avari Ridgway led the Warriors with 11 kills, with Ally Tow and Cora Pelleberg each contributing another nine. Pelleberg and Tow also came up big at the net, posting five and four blocks, respectively. Jadyn Mullen fueled the offense and finished with 21 assists, while Ridgway posted a double-double with 10 digs.
Grace Buchanan led the Knight offense, finishing with 11 kills in the first match. Matalasi Laban posted 18 assists, while defense was a shared effort. Mercedes Massey and Laban each finished with seven digs for WPU.
In the nightcap, Corban found its footing early and never let go, staying in front of WPU the rest of the match. The Warriors went on to win the match in three (25-13, 25-18, 25-7) to sweep the day.
Helping the Warriors attack at an impressive .388 clip as a team — and holding the Knights to a team attack percentage of just .053 —Ridgway turned in a similar display as the morning contest, notching a game-high 15 kills on a .565 attacking clip. Pelleberg had another solid performance at the net, posting five blocks, while Kealani Ontai had 14 digs defensively.
Buchanan led the Knight offense once again with nine kills in the afternoon matchup, she also had the lone block for WPU. Laban dished out 14 assists and had an ace, while Shania Rose finished with six digs, four assists and one ace. Massey led the team with nine digs.