SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The NAIA's No. 13-ranked Corban University women's volleyball team earned a four-set victory, 3-1 (25-18, 28-30, 25-14, 25-15), over No. 21-ranked Oklahoma City University in the opening match of pool play at the 41
st Annual NAIA Volleyball National Championship Tuesday afternoon inside the Tyson Event Center.
"We were excited to finally step on the court and play today," said head coach
Kim McLain. "We came in aggressive, loose, and playing together as a unit! We look forward to continuing this journey!"
With the win, Corban has won 5-of-6 matches played in the month of April that includes four in a row to improve to 14-4 overall. On the other hand, Oklahoma City falls to 15-4 overall and is effectively eliminated from the national tournament with a record of 0-2 in pool play to conclude its 2021 season.
After a ten-day layoff between the Opening Round and today's preliminary match of pool play, the Navy and Gold was led by Avari Ridgway with a match-high 19 kills on 38 swings with only two hitting errors. The all-conference hitter led all players with an attack percentage of .447.
Cascade Collegiate Conference Freshman of the Year Rylee Troutman also tallied double digits in kills with 10, while Sarena Bartley chipped in with eight of her own. The setting duo of Ciarra Judson and Jadyn Mullen combined to hand out 40 assists, as Judson registered 23 compared to Mullen's 17. Defensively, all-conference libero Kealani Ontai led all players with 23 digs to go along with a combined 10 blocks (1 solo, 9 assist) by Cora Furman. As a team, Corban tallied a season-high 20 blocks (3 solo, 34 assist).
Early in the match, Corban built a 4-1 lead before Oklahoma City battled back to within a single point (5-4) on a kill by Catelyn Vargas. Immediately following the Vargas kill, the Navy and Gold used a 7-0 run behind the serving arm of Maddie Stimmel to build a 12-4 lead on a Star hitting error. Oklahoma City pulled within five points (15-10) before both teams traded points until the score was 23-18 in favor of the Warriors. Corban scored the final two points of the opening set with the clincher coming via a solo block by Ridgway for the 25-18 victory.
Set #2 was a back-and-forth affair until Corban earned an 11-6 lead on a kill by Ridgway. Oklahoma City battled back to tie the set at 17-all after putting together a pair of 4-0 runs with the tying point coming via a service ace by Caitlin Briggs. The Navy and Gold rebounded with a 4-0 run of its own to take a 21-17 lead on a kill by Troutman. A combined six points later, Corban had its first set point (24-21), but Oklahoma City answered with 3-0 run to tie the set at 24-all and force extra play. Neither team secured more than a one-point lead until the Stars broke a 28-28 tie with kills by Olivia Nutter and Kenady Bertling to secure the hard-fought 30-28 victory and tied the match at a set apiece.
Corban started Set #3 by jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead before extending the advantage to 11 points (17-8) on a kill by Ally Tow. Five points later, the Navy and Gold had once again extended its lead this time to 12 points (21-9) on a kill by Ridgway. Despite fending out a pair of set points by the Stars, Corban settled for a 25-14 victory with Bartley providing the set-winning kill.
The fourth and final set saw Corban jump out to leads of 4-0 and 10-3 with the final run concluding with a service ace by Ontai. The Navy and Gold increased its lead to 12 points (18-6) on a Troutman kill before seeing Oklahoma City put together a 6-1 run to pull within six points (19-13) on a Warrior attack error. The teams would trade points over the next four combined points before Corban concluded the match on a 4-0 run to secure the 25-15 victory in Set #4.
Oklahoma City was led offensively by Vargas with 11 kills, while Ella Lofton added 10 kills and 13 digs. The NAIA's leading setter, Sophia Salak, registered a double-double with a match-high 41 assists to go along with 13 digs. The Stars had four players – Isabel Harwell, Lacy Beeler, Lofton, and Salak – register double digit dig totals with 16, 13, 13, and 13, respectively.
Corban will return to the court tomorrow – Wednesday, April 28 – against No. 5-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) College beginning at 1:00 p.m. CST. The winner of tomorrow's Pool F finale will advance to the NAIA quarterfinals.
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