Eastern Oregon was led by Stefani Sorenson (#7) Saturday, as the Mountaineers earned a three-set sweep over Corban and extend their winning streak against the Warriors to four straight matches dating back to 2010.
Eastern Oregon Comes From Behind to Earn Three-Set Win Over Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – A match-closing 15-4 run in the third and final set would propel Eastern Oregon to a three-set sweep, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21), over Corban in Cascade Collegiate Conference women's volleyball action Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's result, Corban falls to 3-14 overall and 1-10 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon improves to 13-6 overall and 7-4 in league matches.
Eastern Oregon was led by Stefani Sorensen with a match-high 15 kills, while Casey Loper added 10 kills of her own. The setting duo of Karly Stack and Bobbi Sumpter combined to hand out 34 assists with Stack registering a team-high 18, while libero Kaitlyn Duncan was a mainstay in EOU's defense with a match-high 22 digs. Duncan also served up a match-high tying three service aces, while Loper and Kenzie Kaba controlled the net with a match-high tying two blocks each.
The opening set would be dominated by Eastern Oregon, as the visiting Mountaineers broke an early 3-3 tie with a 5-0 run behind the serving of Sumpter en route to grabbing an 8-3 lead. Corban would get as close as four points late (17-13) before Eastern Oregon used another 5-0 run to pull ahead 22-13 on back-to-back Warrior hitting errors. The visiting Mountaineers would cruise to a victory in Set #1 (25-16) thanks to another Corban hitting error that ended the opening set.
Set #2 would be a back-and-forth battle with Eastern Oregon breaking a 9-9 tie with a 4-2 run that resulted in a 13-11 Mountaineer lead. Corban would then use a 5-0 run to pull ahead by three points (16-13) on a kill by Olivia Shropshire before the host Warriors traded points with Eastern Oregon resulting in a 21-18 lead for the home team. The visiting Mountaineers would then use a 7-0 run to close out the middle set en route to earning a 25-21 victory behind the serving of Duncan.
The third and final set would see Corban use a 6-0 run following a 6-6 tie en route to grabbing a 12-6 advantage on a hitting error by Eastern Oregon. The host Warriors would continue to hold the lead making the score 17-10 in favor of the home team on a kill by Courtney Mulford. Eastern Oregon would then use a 9-1 run that resulted in a 19-18 lead for the Mountaineers on a combo block by Loper and Sorensen. Corban would tie the final set at 19-19 before Eastern Oregon used a 4-0 run behind the serving of Loper to earn a 23-19 lead. A pair of kills by Sorensen and Rebecca Haight bookended a Corban kill, as Eastern Oregon earn the come-from-behind victory (25-21) that resulted in a three-set sweep for the Mountaineers.
Corban's offense was led by setter Katherine Salness with a match-high 26 assists, while she also registered a team-high 14 digs defensively. Salness dished out assists to six different Warriors led by Claire Bailey with nine kills, while Chandra Teague, Kendra Staymates, and Shropshire added eight, six, and five kills, respectively. Teague would aid Salness defensively with 11 digs, while Karisa Legg served up a match-high tying three service aces to go along with a pair of match-high tying two-block showings by Salness and Shropshire.
Both teams are back in action this week, as Eastern Oregon takes a mini one-match break from conference play to take on NCAA Division II member Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday, October 9th, in La Grande and Corban will return to action on Friday, October 12th, against conference rival Concordia inside Cavalier Gymnasium in Portland. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.