CALDWELL, Idaho. – The No. 7 Corban University Women’s Volleyball team (1-1, 0-0) began the 2022 regular season by splitting two NAIA Top 25 Matchups, sweeping No. 3 Bellevue University (1-1) in three sets (25-23, 25-21, 28-26), before dropping the afternoon contest to No. 23 Southern Assemblies of God University (2-0) by going the distance of five full sets (20-25, 25-10, 25-18, 23-25, 10-15).
“We played two very good teams today!” Warriors’ Head Coach Kim McLain had to share. “We learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to improve on.”
McLain went on to say, “I look forward to competing again tomorrow, and focusing on what we need to accomplish in order to get better during this non-conference slate.”
GAME 1
The Warriors wasted zero time in making a statement for the 2022 campaign, as the three-set victory over #3 Bellevue provided no doubt as to which of the two teams had the competitive advantage through the morning session in Caldwell. Whenever the Bruins pushed, the Warriors pushed right back, and even stronger in their retaliation.
Despite falling behind 3-7 early in the first set, Corban held strong and rattled off five straight points of their own, reclaiming the lead at 8-7. Both teams wouldn’t gain more than a three-point lead the remainder of the set, as a 23-all tied set would decide the crucial first set.
Senior outside hitter and reigning Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year Avari Ridgway made her presence known early and often for the Warriors, with her most clutch kill of the set breaking the 23-23 tie, setting up senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt with the block opportunity to clinch the initial 25-23 set win.
The adrenaline rush carried with Corban into the second set, as three kills by three different Warriors, combined with a block from sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid, set the Warriors up with a 4-0 lead, and the Bruins looking for answers quickly.
Bellevue managed to put together their own four-point swing, tying the game at 8-8, and the back-and-forth scoring ensued once again. Ridgway threw down six kills in the second set alone, with multiple blocks from Reid and freshman opposite hitter Makayla Roginski setting the pace for the Warriors’ 25-21 victory in set two.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins began set three by putting the Warriors in a 7-10 hole, before the wheels began to fall off once again for Bellevue, with three straight errors tying everything up at 10-all.
However, despite a two-set deficit, the Bruins refused to concede late in set number three by forcing extra-points with a 24-all tie, and even managed to take a 26-25 lead over Corban in hopes of forcing a fourth set.
The last-ditch effort proved to not live up to its potential for Bellevue, as a kill from Reid and back-to-back kills from Roginski provided the Warriors with the 28-26 win, and thus the three-set sweep over an extremely talented Bellevue lineup.
Ridgway set the standard with a game-high 18 kills in three sets of action, with Roginski adding 10 kills to the mix as well. Senior setter Jadyn Mullen recorded 22 assists in the season opener, with sophomore setter Courtney Garwood following shortly behind at 14 dimes dealt.
Defensively for the Warriors, senior libero Kealani Ontai recorded a team-high 17 digs, with Ridgway accounting for 13 digs to record a double-double in her first outing of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman hauled in 12 digs to pair with her eight kills.
The Bruins were led by outside hitter Sierra Athen, who tallied 11 kills and ate up 7 digs in the backcourt for Bellevue. Libero Taylan Keefer defended a game-high 18 digs for the Bruins, while middle blocker Jacki Apel swatted five balls back at the Warriors feet.
GAME 2
The first set of Corban’s first ever volleyball game against SAGU was doomed from the start, as the Warriors just couldn’t find the consistent rhythm they had in their first match against Bellevue. The Lions had no problem taking advantage of the Warriors’ struggles, running Corban into a 11-18 hole, and kept the pressure on to give SAGU the 25-20 first set victory over the Warriors.
Losing their first set of the season, the Warriors began the second set with a clear objective in mind: don’t let it happen twice in a row. Corban left zero doubt in anyone’s mind at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center during set number two, running away with a 25-10 victory to even the match at a set apiece with the Lions.
The Warriors utilized multiple runs of four straight points to secure a back-to-back set victory, as Troutman rallied off three straight kills and four points total in the set to give Corban a 2-1 set advantage over the Lions.
Corban and SAGU battled back and forth in set four, with the Lions holding a slight edge at 20-17 over the Warriors, and the momentum swinging back into their favor. Tied at 23 points, the Lions called timeout, and utilized the stoppage to set up a game plan to secure the final two points they needed to force a decisive fifth set, winning the fourth set 25-23.
SAGU peaked at just the right moment for the fifth set comeback victory, as after two small rallies by both teams began the final set, the Lions were able to finesse a 7-2 run and force McLain to utilize both of Corban’s two team timeouts. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it was too late to flip the script on the Lions, and fell in five sets, with the final ending 15-10 in favor of SAGU.
Ridgway once again put together a masterful performance offensively for Corban, notching a game-high 19 kills and 12 digs for yet another double-double, while Troutman totaled 16 kills with eight digs. Mullen provided 21 assists in another busy contest, with freshman setter Abby Guindy backing up in the second rotation with 17 assists.
Errors ultimately cost Corban the day one sweep over back-to-back Top 25 opponents, as 25 total team errors in costly situations gave the Lions the motivation they needed to clinch the upset.
Lions’ outside hitter Ava Myers led the team with 14 kills and collected eight digs in a full game of action. Middle blocker Emma Tompkins followed in part with nine kills and slapped four blocks down.
Setter Riley Burcham tallied a game-high 32 assists for the Lions, while on the defensive side, libero Tessa Glick recorded a game-high 38 digs, earning four assists as well.
The Warriors will return to the court in Caldwell tomorrow morning, where they battle Montana Western and the University of Saint Katherine at 9am and 1pm (both MT starts), respectively.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l Snapchat l YouTube l Email
Download our App: iOS (iPhone/iPad) l Android