SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the ninth-consecutive season, the Corban University Women's Volleyball program saw their season come to a close in Sioux City at the NAIA National Tournament, as they once again made their way to the penultimate day for the second time in a three-year span to end 2024 as a National Semifinalist. Eager for a second chance at a national title, the Warriors' unforced errors finally caught up to them and resulted in a three-set sweep at the hands of No. 5-ranked Bellevue University, despite outplaying the Bruins in every facet of the game outside of attacking percentage and service errors.
"I'm incredibly proud of our team's accomplishment in finishing in the Fab Four of the NAIA National Championships," began Corban head coach Kim McLain when asked to speak on her team's final match of the 2024 season. They faced adversity in losing a starting senior leader to injury in their first match of the week, and the way they responded was nothing short of amazing. This journey was a testament to our unity and how well we played together as one cohesive unit. A special shoutout to our seniors; their leadership on and off the court has been invaluable, and they truly set the tone for our success this season. I am honored and blessed to have coached this team!"
The unforced errors began to roar their ugly head early in the opening set, as the Bruins (32-4) opened up a 16-5 lead after countless attacking errors put the Warriors deep in what felt like an unescapable hole. Nevertheless, a five-point run put Corban down by just five points after trailing by as many as 11 points and would even cut the lead to three points at 21-18 after riding the momentum that their offense and defense produced when working in system. However, after trading a couple of side-outs, the Bruins got back-to-back kills to ice the set at 25-20.
A difficult first set resulted in a much livelier second set for the Warriors, as they kept Bellevue within striking distance the entire set, with neither team securing more than three points at a time after trading numerous runs back-and-forth. All four timeouts called in the second set came after a 21-20 advantage in favor of the Warriors, where the lead would change three more times before eventually coming to what everyone thought was the end at 26-24, Corban.
However, after replay review, a call that was originally ruled a kill for sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischof was overruled to no touch by the blocker, resulting in a 25-all draw. From that point on, the Navy and Gold would only score one more point compared to three for Bellevue, resulting in their 28-26 set loss and falling behind two sets to none.
Extra points were required once again in set three of today's semifinal rematch, eerily similar to their original contest held back in early August where two of the three sets between Corban and Bellevue went to extras, specifically a 33-31 score. In today's third set, the Warriors held a 12-7 advantage to force an early Bruin timeout and even a sub into their backcourt, and despite a mini run by BU, saw Corban regain their lead once again at 18-14 and urge Bellevue to take yet another timeout. Just like in the second set, another set-point situation for the Warriors at 24-23 went uncollected and provided Bellevue with the opportunity they needed to score three-consecutive points and take the third 26-24 and the match 3-0.
In the end, the Navy and Gold made far too many unforced errors to sniff a fourth and hopefully fifth set in the Tyson Events Center, as the Bruins benefited from consistent gameplay on their own side of the net while reaping the benefits of a Corban offense that just couldn't find their rhythm for a fourth-straight match in western Iowa. Statistically speaking, the Warriors' produced more kills, more points, more blocks, more service aces, more assists, and more digs than the Bruins, yet a .184 kill percentage along with five reception errors and 16 total unforced attacking errors (no block) was all the difference in what could have easily been a three-set sweep for Corban volleyball.
Bischoff and junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski had outstanding offensive efforts today for the Warriors, as they smashed 12 kills apiece and committed just five attacking errors between the two of them and Roginski compiling a .423 kill percentage, along with four blocks. Junior opposite hitter Kylie Davey added eight kills and sophomore outside hitter Kendra Bittle pitched in six more.
In the final game of her sophomore season, setter Nadeiah Howard dealt out a game-high 19 assists and was the defensive leader in the backcourt with 15 digs for the eighth double-double of her career and fourth of the 2024 season. Junior setter Abby Guindy was right behind Howard with 18 assists and eight digs defensively.
Redshirt junior Jadah Schmidtke was a defensive force at the net, as she was involved in six of the nine team block assists for the contest, adding four kills along the way. In the backcourt, senior libero Marissa Uehara secured a game-high three service aces and dug up 11 digs in the final game of her career, giving her 1,262 digs for her career despite starting in the rotation for Coach McLain beginning in her junior season.
Bellevue was led by outside hitter Eve Fountain and her double-double performance of ten kills and 12 digs, representing the only Bruin to reach double-figures in either statistical category. Opposite hitter Sidney Sledge dropped nine kills on a .444 kill percentage, setter Victoria Runyan tied Howard for the game-high mark for assists with 19, libero Taylan Keifer produced seven digs, and setter Mila Aiwohi scored on three service aces to match Uehara.
The Warriors finish the 2024 fall slate at 27-6 overall, with their seven losses only coming to teams ranked within the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. They remained in the NAIA national poll the entire season to further increase their consecutive years within the national eye and secured their first Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular season title since 2021. They'll graduate five senior student-athletes from their 18-woman roster, two of which were among the starting six for Coach McLain along with their ever-dependable fifth-year libero in Uehara. The program saw four more student-athletes named to All-Conference honors under Coach McLain's tenure, an All-Region Honorable Mention pick, 11 Academic All-Conference honorees, ten NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and four Academic All-District recipients.
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