Northwest Christian's Tami Brown was the lone Beacon to register double-digits in kills with a match-high 20, as NCU defeated Corban for only the second time in the series history Friday in four sets.
Northwest Christian Powers Past Rival Corban in Four Sets
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In a match against Cascade Collegiate Conference rivals Northwest Christian and Corban, Tami Brown registered a match-high 20 kills en route to leading the visiting Beacons to a four-set victory, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 17-25), over the Warriors Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's result, Northwest Christian pushes its winning ways to 4-out-of-5 matches improving to 9-7 overall and 3-4 in CCC matches. Meanwhile, Corban falls to 3-10 overall and 1-6 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.
Brown would lead all players with a match-high 20 kills, while Chelsea McGowan and Taylor Richardson added nine kills each. The setting duo of Cori Wallace and Alyssa Dorr combined to hand out 53 assists with Wallace leading the way with 32 assists, while Dana McGowan led all players defensively with a match-high 22 digs.
The opening set would be a back-and-forth battle over the opening eight combined points until Northwest Christian used a mini 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead on a kill by Chelsea McGowen. The visiting Beacons would continue to hold the lead until the score was 18-15, as Corban used a 7-2 run that resulted in a two-point lead (22-20) on a combo block by Jenny Harman and Katherine Salness. Following a Northwest Christian timeout, the Warriors would never relinquish their lead cruising to a four-point victory (25-21) thanks to a hitting error by the visiting Beacons that ended the set.
Set #2 would see Corban build a four-point lead late (19-15) before Northwest Christian used a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead (22-19) on a service ace by Maren Mansfield. The host Warriors would battle back to tie the set at 22-22 thanks to a kill by Teague before Northwest Christian scored three of the final four points to tie the match at a set-apiece (25-23) on a kill by Chandler Gabrio.
The third set would be a close encounter with Northwest Christian gaining the early advantage and holding the lead throughout, as Corban attempted a comeback getting within a single point on numerous occasions that included a combo block by Harman and Courtney Mulford that made the score 20-19 in favor of the visitors. Unfortunately, Corban could not get over the hump as Northwest Christian used a 5-4 run to take Set #3 (25-23) on a kill by Janel Fetters.
The fourth and final set would belong to Northwest Christian following a 13-13 tie, as the visiting Beacons used an 11-3 run that resulted in a 24-16 lead with three straight Corban hitting errors closing out NCU's run. Northwest Christian would allow the Warriors one more point before the Beacons closed out the match by the score of 25-17 thanks to a match-ending kill by Brown.
Chandra Teague led Corban's offense with a team-high 13 kills, while Olivia Shropshire and Caitlin Marinos added nine and eight kills, respectively. Salness guided Corban's offense with a match and season-high 41 assists, while libero Hannah Flores anchored the Warriors' defensive efforts with a team-best 19 digs in her return to the libero position since Corban's second match of the season. At the net, Shropshire and Harman tallied a match-high four blocks each to lead the Warriors' net attack.
Corban will return to action on Friday, September 28th, against the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Klamath Falls, while Northwest Christian returns to action tomorrow night – Saturday, September 22nd – against cross-town rival and first-year program New Hope Christian at 7:00 p.m. in Eugene.