CORVALLIS, Ore. – After the first weekend of Cascade Collegiate Conference action, two teams emerged unblemished to begin the season.
No. 9-ranked Eastern Oregon University and No. 13-ranked Corban University won all four of their matches to sit tied for first in the conference standings, both with 4-0 overall and conference marks.
Oregon Tech (5-2, 2-2 CCC), Bushnell University (5-2, 2-2 CCC), College of Idaho (2-2, 2-2 CCC), and Lewis-Clark State College (2-2, 2-2 CCC) each won a pair and lost a pair, while Multnomah University (0-4, 0-4 CCC) and Warner Pacific University (0-4, 0-4 CCC) each leave Idaho looking for their first wins of the season.
CCC action is set to resume in two weeks (March 5-6) for another pod-style format, as C of I hosts Bushnell, EOU and WPU in Caldwell, Idaho, while LC State hosts OIT, Corban and Multnomah in Lewiston, Idaho.
Caldwell Pod
Host College of Idaho took on Multnomah, while Oregon Tech and EOU squared off.
College of Idaho (2-2, 2-2 CCC) vs. Multnomah (0-4, 0-4 CCC)
C of I set the tone early in the first set of the day, beating Multnomah 25-9 en route to a three-set sweep (25-9, 25-20, 25-20). The Coyotes came out swinging with a .455 hitting percentage, while holding the Lions to a .000 clip in the first set. C of I carried that momentum and out-blocked MU 9-0.
Kylie Crossland and Jade Warren each led the Yotes with nine kills in the match. Sarah Gold came up big at the net with six blocks, while Abigail Guinn dished out 19 assists. Ali Carpenter had 28 digs to keep her team’s defense solid.
Danae Stokes led the Lions with 13 kills, while Rachel Bailey chipped in 27 assists. Stokes completed a double-double with 15 digs, while Kamaile Labanon finished with 12 digs.
It was déjà vu in the second matchup as the Coyotes won the first set 25-9 once again. The second set saw eight early ties until the Yotes scored six unanswered points to take control and never looked back. College of Idaho used another big run (11-2) in the third to and take the match in three once again (25-9, 25-20, 25-18).
Danielle Neuman led C of I with nine kills, while Emily Vandenberg added eight. Guinn finished with 23 assists and grabbed a double-double with 12 digs in the match. Carpenter also finished with double-digit digs (13).
Stokes led the Lions once again, posting 16 kills in the nightcap. She also had three aces, while Bailey finished with 24 assists. Alyssa Mehalovich grabbed 15 digs in the match.
No. 9 Eastern Oregon (4-0, 4-0 CCC) vs. Oregon Tech (5-2, 2-2 CCC)
EOU took the first two sets of the first match, but OIT made things interesting by claiming the third to keep the match alive. Determined to remain undefeated, the Mounties rallied to grab the fourth set and win the match (25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-16).
Three Mounties finished the match with double-digit kills, led by Breanna Shaffer with 15 kills. Sade Williams added 14, while Preslee Jensen chipped in another 11 kills. Cambree Scott came up huge off the block with nine stuffs, while Madison Morgan had five and Jensen added four blocks. Madison Pilon and Alexis McMurtrey fueled the offense with 30 and 21 assists, respectively, while Kiley McMurtrey finished with 17 digs defensively.
OIT had four Owls finish with double figures in kills, led by Kaylin Talonen and Faith Houck-Wylie, who each had 11 kills. Nicole Reyes and Ireland Bennett finished with 10 kills apiece. Bennett had four blocks, while Lindsey Beck and Brooke Cassidy posted 23 and 22 assists, respectively. Aubrey Kievit finished with 24 digs to keep her team in the match.
The Owls came out fired up in the second match and took the first set 26-24. The second set went into extra points, with the Mounties grabbing the victory 27-25. EOU kept rolling and won the next two to take the match 3-1 (24-26, 27-25, 25-14, 25-19).
Williams and Shaffer led the Mountaineers with 14 kills each, while Morgan added 13 kills. Pilon finished with 37 assists and Alexis McMurtrey added another 20. Aspen Christiansen led the defensive effort for EOU with 26 digs. Cambree and Shaffer each finished with four blocks.
On the other side of the net, Talonen led the Owls with 18 kills and tied with Bennett for four blocks in the match. Beck had 23 assists and Cassidy finished with 21 assists. It was a shared defensive effort for OIT as five Owls finished with double-digit digs – Beck (15), Sampson (13), Reyes (12), Cassidy (10) and Kievit (10).
Lewiston Pod
In Lewiston, Idaho, host LC State took on Warner Pacific, while Corban and Bushnell faced each other.
LC State (2-2, 2-2 CCC) vs. WPU (0-4, 0-4 CCC)
LCSC bounced back from two losses Friday to beat Warner Pacific in three (25-20, 25-18, 25-21). The Knights came out strong with six straight points before the Warriors could get on the board. LC State used two big runs to seal the first-set victory and carried momentum the rest of the way.
Tori Edwards and Jada Wyms led the Warriors with 10 kills apiece. Edwards had three aces, while Carli Berntson had five blocks and Wyms added another four. Hannah Martinez posted 25 assists. Edwards completed the double-double with 11 digs.
Grace Buchanan led WPU with 11 kills. Matalasi Laban finished with 20 asissts, while ‘Alohilani Keola and Mercedes Massey each had 10 digs in the match.
In the afternoon matchup, LC State kept rolling and won the match 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-16). The Warriors kept the Knights off balance on the attack as WPU finished with a team hitting clip at .044.
Edwards and Chloe Emory led with eight kills each for the Warriors, while Martinez had 19 assists and Jess Ruffing had 14 assists. Kenzie Dean led with 17 digs.
Buchanan led the Knights with eight kills. Shania Rose had 10 assists, while Massey had 10 digs defensively.
No. 13 Corban (4-0, 4-0 CCC) vs. Bushnell (5-2, 2-2 CCC)
Corban took the first match in three (25-21, 25-21, 27-25), but not without a fight from Bushnell.
The Beacons opened with the first four points of the match, but Corban tied the match up at 14-14 as momentum shifted in the Warriors’ favor. The Warriors took the second set and then had to fight to take the third to win the match. After Bushnell scored four-straight points to reach set-point first, Corban tied the set up and then finished the match with three consecutive points to secure the win.
Cassie Cunningham led the Warriors with 12 kills, followed by Avari Ridgway with 10. Cora Pelleberg had five blocks in the match. Ciarra Judson and Jadyn Mullen each had 22 assists, while Kealani Ontai led Corban with 32 digs.
Cambria Lingenfelder and Camille Guerrero each had seven kills for the Beacons. Payton Jones led with six blocks and Makenna Northern had 28 assists. Callie Wilkins finished with 21 digs.
The second match brought more fire, this time needing four sets to decide a victor. Corban won the first set, but Bushnell battled back to take the second. The Warriors sealed the victory to remain undefeated with the next two sets, grabbing the 3-1 win (25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-22). It was a battle at the net with both teams posting 12 blocks.
Ridgway led the Warriors with 13 kills, followed by Cunningham with 11. Pelleberg was huge at the net for Corban, finishing the match with 11 blocks. Judson had 19 assists, while Ontai posted 28 digs and Ridgway added 22 digs.
Claire Salness led with 16 kills, while Natalie Martin came up big for the Warriors at the net with a career-high nine blocks – just one off the school record. Northern had an impressive 43 assists in the match, while Wilkins posted 29 digs and Cambria Lingenfelder added another 21 digs.