SALEM, Ore. – The No. 12-ranked Corban University Volleyball team hosted their first non-scrimmage of the 2024 regular season earlier this evening at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, where the Warriors handled NCAA DII Western Oregon University with ease in a three-set exhibition sweep of the Wolves, 25-12, 25-15, and 25-19.
"It was great to be on back on our home court in front of an amazing Warrior crowd!" explained Corban head coach Kim McLain. "I'm proud of the team and how they came out ready to play! The defensive efforts at the net were a huge presence for us tonight and set the tone for the match. We are excited to get back in the gym to prepare for the beginning of conference play next weekend!"
An extremely successful weekend in La Crosse, Wisconsin last weekend set the Warriors (4-1) up for a highly anticipated home opener tonight at the peak of Corban's campus, as students arrived on campus at the beginning of the week for the start of fall term and flooded the gym following the annual Block Party hosted by Student Life. Ironically, Corban volleyball decided to host their own "block party" against the Wolves (0-0) in their first exhibition match since 2021, as they held WOU to a negative kill percentage for the match after tallying ten blocks and forcing 19 more attacking errors.
Back-to-back points for the Wolves had the visitors feeling confident early, yet Corban would go on to score the next eleven points and force both Western Oregon timeouts by the time the scoreboard read 17-5. Before the nearly 250 fans in attendance managed to settle in, the Warriors had already taken the opening set 25-12 in WOU's worst attacking set of the match at -.182, tallying just three kills the entire period.
Another lengthy scoring streak that extended Corban's lead in the second set to 15-6 set the tone and allowed the home team to cruise to another early victory, highlighted by freshman defensive specialist Dani Street's tallying a pair of service aces amid eight-straight service attempts for the Corvallis native.
Over half of senior middle blocker Allyson Reid's block assists came in the third and final set, as the all-time career leader for blocking plays in program history tallied four, including the match point block alongside junior opposite hitter Makayla Roginski in a 25-19 set win. Reid and Roginski combined for 12 of the 16 assisted blocking plays and each had a solo stuff to power the defense at the net.
Senior libero Marissa Uehara was the shining defender in the backcourt for Corban tonight, as she dug up 13 balls for the game-best mark in digs while adding an assist along the way. She was the only player on the court tonight to earn double-digit digs.
Offensively for the Warriors, sophomore outside hitter Emma Bischoff earned a game-high eight kills with nine digs and tied Street with two service aces, while Roginski and Reid added seven and six more, respectively. The offense had an efficient .231 kill percentage thanks to the work of junior setter Abby Guindy (14 assists) and sophomore Nadeiah Howard (11 assists), with Guindy adding seven digs in the backcourt.
Wolves' outside hitter Madison Hornback compiled a team-high seven kills, yet seven attacking errors resulted in a .000 kill percentage for the evening, along with six digs in an all-around performance. Libero Sidney Friesen had nine digs to lead WOU, with setter Samantha Darby notching 11 assists.
The Warriors officially wrapped up non-conference play with their victory tonight over Western Oregon and will now turn their attention to the start of their Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) schedule with the first five games on the road over the next two weeks. They'll begin just north of Salem in Portland over September 6th and 7th, with contests scheduled against Warner Pacific University (0-0) and Multnomah (0-2).
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l YouTube l Email