CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference’s top-two teams are ready to compete for the 2022 CCC Volleyball Tournament Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, Saturday afternoon.
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Top-seeded and top-ranked Eastern Oregon University and second-seeded, fourth-ranked Corban University will battle for the title once again, marking the third-straight CCC championship match between the two teams.
Both teams have secured their spots in the NAIA National Tournament, so it all comes down to the hardware. EOU 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 Mounties.
As the top-two seeds of the tournament, the Mounties and Warriors each picked up a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Third-seeded Southern Oregon University grabbed a first-round victory over sixth-seeded Lewis-Clark State College to advance to the semis, facing Corban later that day. SOU started strong in its second match of the day but couldn’t hold off the Warriors in a 3-1 loss (19-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-22). CCC Rize Laboratory Volleyball Player of the Year Rylee Troutman led all attackers with 19 kills and added 18 digs.
Fourth-seeded Bushnell University won its first-round matchup over fifth-seeded The Evergreen State College to take on EOU in the semis. The Mounties came out swinging in a three-set victory over the Beacons (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) to earn their spot in the tournament title. Kara Clayton led the Mounties with 15 kills, while Hailey Arritola finished with 25 digs.
During the regular season, two of the top teams not just in the CCC but the NAIA, split the conference series, with each team winning on the road.
The then-ranked No. 7 Mounties grabbed a 3-0 upset over then-ranked No. 5 Warriors (27-25, 25-21, 25-17) to open the conference slate. Preslee Jensen led EOU with 11 kills, while Clayton finished with nine blocks and Alexis McMurtrey dished out 14 assists. Jadyn Mullen led the Warriors with 19 assists and 13 digs, while Avari Ridgway finished with 11 kills.
About a month later, it was Corban’s turn for an upset victory. The then fifth-ranked Warriors battled to a five-set victory over the top-ranked Mounties (25-19, 27-25, 19-25, 27-29, 15-13). Troutman led the Warriors with 24 kills on the night and tacked on 16 digs. Clayton was all over the place for the Mounties, finishing with 15 kills, two aces and eight blocks.
Corban comes off back-to-back CCC tournament championships and looks to make it three in a row Saturday. Last year, the Warriors
earned a four-set victory over the Mounties (24-26, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20) to sweep both the 2021 CCC Regular-Season and Tournament titles.