CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference season’s pod-style tournaments concluded Saturday at the College of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College, with only one team holding onto its unblemished record: No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon University.
With restrictions due to the coronavirus lifting, conference action is expected to return to the normal home-and-away schedule the weekend of March 19-20.
CCC Standings
After the two pod weekends, EOU sits in first place with the only undefeated mark: 9-0, 8-0 in conference. No. 13-ranked Corban University is right on the Mounties’ tail with a 7-1 overall and conference record, while LC State moved into sole possession of third (5-3, 5-3 CCC).
Three teams are tied for fourth, each with a 4-4 conference mark: Oregon Tech (7-4 overall), Bushnell University (8-4 overall), and College of Idaho (4-5 overall). Multnomah University and Warner Pacific University close out the standings, each with 0-8 overall and CCC records.
Caldwell, Idaho Pod
In Caldwell, Idaho, College of Idaho and Warner Pacific squared up against each other, with the Coyotes taking both matches in three (25-18, 25-14, 25-17and 28-26, 25-14, 25-15).
No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon University swept Bushnell University to remain undefeated (25-17, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-20, 25-14, 25-19).
College of Idaho (4-5, 4-4 CCC) vs. Warner Pacific (0-8, 0-8 CCC)
College of Idaho jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set of the day, but WPU put together a 4-1 run to get back in it. A kill from Grace Buchanan and a Coyote error put the Knights in front by two, 17-15, before College of Idaho called a timeout. The Yotes fired back and went on a 10-1 run to take the first set.
Momentum carried into the second set as C of I once again took an early 9-1 lead. Warner Pacific tried to claw back in it, but the Coyotes proved to be too much and won the set 25-14.
Determined to keep the match going, WPU came out and scored the first two points of the third, but College of Idaho pulled in front by five, 14-9. The Coyotes managed to pull away again, however, and held on for a 25-17 set victory to take the match.
Danielle Neuman and Cameron Wallace split leading duties for the Coyotes, each chipping in seven kills. Wallace also had seven blocks and Abigail Guinn finished with 17 assists, while Chloe Knudson posted 17 digs.
On the other side of the net, Buchanan had a game-high 14 kills. Matalasi Laban finished with 24 assists and Mercedes Massey finished with 11 digs in the match.
Warner Pacific showed its grit in the second match, once again coming from behind. Trailing 17-14, the Knights took advantage of some College of Idaho errors before Bethany McKnight and Tevlin Britten teamed up for a stuff to tie the set 17-17.
The Knights reached set point first, 24-23, but the Coyotes scored back-to-back points to switch momentum. Buchanan kept the set going with a kill, but College of Idaho ultimately won the set 28-26.
C of I jumped in front again in the second, and this time wouldn’t let the Knights keep it close, finishing the set with a 25-14 victory. Warner Pacific fought back in the third, but couldn’t overcome an eight-point deficit, dropping the set 25-15 to give the Coyotes the second three-set victory.
Wallace led the Coyotes with nine kills, while Jade Warren finished with a game-high seven blocks. Margie Beeler chipped in 15 assists, while Guinn added another 13. Knudson finished with 17 digs.
For the Knights, Buchanan led all attackers once again, finishing with 10 kills. Laban had 22 assists and Massey finished with 14 digs.
No. 8 Eastern Oregon (9-0, 8-0 CCC) vs. Bushnell University (8-4, 4-4 CCC)
Eighth-ranked Eastern Oregon came up big at the net, out-blocking Bushnell 9-to-4 in the first match. The Mounties posted a .248 hitting percentage, while holding the Beacons to a .089 clip, to take the match in three (25-17, 25-18, 25-21).
Breanna Shaffer led the Mounties with 12 kills, while Jet Taylor and Preslee Jensen each posted five blocks. Madison Pilon dished out 22 assists and 10 digs for a double-double. Kiley McMurtrey led the Mountie defense with 22 digs.
Claire Salness led the Beacons with 11 kills. Shay Coons had a team-high four blocks, while Makenna Northern posted 25 assists. Callie Wilkins and Cambria Lingenfelder helped keep the Beacons in the match, grabbing 11 and 10 respective digs.
Like it did in the third set of the first match, Bushnell put up a fight in the first set of the second match, dropping a close 25-20 battle. Down 20-12 late in the set, the Beacons scored four unanswered points to claw back in it. Camille Guerrero had back-to-back kills, with Coons getting in on the scoring action with a kill of her own, before Guerrero and Payton Jones teamed up for a block, 20-16.
Once again trailing by eight, 24-16, Bushnell rallied and pulled within four, but couldn’t keep momentum going as EOU grabbed the next point to take the set 25-20.
The Mounties powered through and took the next two sets 25-14 and 25-19 to win sweep the match and remain undefeated on the year.
Sade Williams led EOU with 11 kills, with Shaffer contributing another 10. Cambree Scott had seven blocks and Pilon finished with 32 assists. McMurtrey came up big on defense with 23 digs.
Coons led the Beacons with nine kills, while Jones added another eight to go with three blocks. Northern finished with 32 assists and Wilkins had 19 digs.
Lewiston, Idaho Pod
In Lewiston, Idaho, LC State hosted Multnomah for a pair of games, dominating the net and came away with two 3-0 victories (25-12, 25-14, 25-18 and 25-22, 25-15, 25-19).
Corban University and Oregon Tech battled it out, with the Owls taking one off the Warriors to spoil their unblemished record.
LC State (5-3, 5-3 CCC) vs. Multnomah (0-8, 0-8 CCC)
After marathon volleyball the day before, Lewis-Clark State grabbed two three-set victories over Multnomah on Saturday. The Warriors built their lead quickly in the first set and put together multiple five-point rallies to put the set out of reach for a 25-12 victory.
LC State kept rolling and took off on a 7-0 run to jump out to a 15-6 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Hannah Martinez ended the set 25-14 in favor of the Warriors.
Once again, the Warriors started strong in the third, but Multnomah tried to keep things close. Errors plagued the Lion offense, however, and an ace from Kenzie Dean sealed the match with a 25-18 set victory.
Tori Edwards led LC State with 14 kills, with Martinez fueling the offense with 20 assists. Kendzee Cloward posted 12 digs, while Ashlee Bachman added another 10 digs.
Kamaile Lebanon led the Lions with 10 kills and almost had a double-double with eight digs. Rachel Bailey also had eight digs and added 18 assists.
The Lions bounced back well in the second match, even taking the lead multiple times before a late seven-point run put the Warriors back in front. Trailing 21-17, Edwards and Chloe Emory brought LC within one, before Jada Wyms and Martinez put up a block to tie the set 21-21. Kills by Emory and Wyms made it a 24-21 lead, and Emory ended the set with a kill at 25-22.
LC State carried that momentum into the second set, putting together multiple-point rallies to secure the 25-15 set win.
Multnomah scored the first point of the third, but LC State answered with five consecutive points to take control of the set and never let go. A kill from Martinez and a Lion mishap ended the match with the 25-19 set victory.
Emory led the Warriors with 11 kills in the match, while Wyms finished with eight blocks. Martinez dished out 19 assists and Kenzie Dean had 16 digs.
Labanon led the Lions once again, posting 12 kills in the match. Bailey finished with 25 assists for Multnomah, which saw Alyssa Mehalovich post 20 digs.
No. 13 Corban (7-1, 7-1 CCC) vs. Oregon Tech (7-4, 4-4 CCC)
After taking LC State to a deciding set, Oregon Tech turned around and did it again with No. 13-ranked Corban University. Friday’s five-set match didn’t go in the Owls’ favor, but they rallied from behind to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-21, 15-13).
Both teams were pretty evenly matched, both scoring 59 kills and both posting eight blocks. It came down to the service line, with the Owls grabbing four more aces than the Warriors.
Nicole Reyes had four of OIT’s aces and also posted a team-high 15 kills. Faith Houck-Wylie and Ashley Ripplinger added 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Ireland Bennett led with seven blocks and Brooke Cassidy had 33 assists. Aubrey Kievit had 18 digs on defense.
Ally Tow and Avari Ridgway led the Warriors with 18 and 16 kills, respectively. Cora Furman had five blocks and Jadyn Mullen finished with 36 assists. Ridgway finished with a double-double with 12 digs, followed by Kealani Ontai’s 11 digs.
Corban bounced back in the second match between the two teams and grabbed a three-set victory (25-17, 25-8, 25-13). The Warriors were fired up on offense and finished with a .396 hitting percentage, including an impressive .607 clip in the second set. Defensively, Corban held Oregon Tech to a .032 hitting percentage in the match.
Tables turned in the nightcap as the Warriors edged the Owls 7-to-3 from the service line and more than doubled their kills (45-to-20).
Corban exploded out to a 10-4 lead, but OIT battled back to tie the set at 11-11 off back-to-back kills from Kaylin Talonen. The Warriors answered back, however, taking off on a 6-0 run to hold a 17-11 upper hand and never looked back en route to the 25-17 victory.
The Warriors carried momentum into the second and scored nine unanswered points to all but seal the win, 19-5. The Owls called a timeout and grabbed the next point, but couldn’t claw back in, falling 25-8 in the set.
Once again, Corban created some distance early and jumped out in front 8-1. The Owls pulled within two, 10-8, but it was the closest they would get as the Warriors exploded on another 9-0 run, securing the 25-13 set win to claim the match victory.
Tow led Corban with 11 kills, while Ridgway and Rylee Troutman each added another 10. Mullen dished out 25 assists and Ciarra Judson contributed another 16. Ridgway grabbed another double-double with 11 digs and Ontai chipped in 10 more digs.
Talonen led the Owls with eight kills, with Cassidy and Lindsey Beck each posting seven assists. Kievit led with nine digs defensively.