SALEM, Ore. – For a tenth-consecutive season, the No. 5-ranked Corban University Women's Volleyball program is heading back to Sioux City, Iowa to represent one of the final twenty-four teams remaining in the NAIA National Championship Tournament following their straight-set Opening Round sweep of Fisk University on Tim Hills Court, 25-14, 25-13, and 25-12. The Warriors (25-5) dominated the Bulldogs (29-8) in every aspect of tonight's contest to simultaneously pick up their fifth-straight Opening Round sweep and complete a perfect 14-0 record on their home court through the 2025 season.
"Fisk University is a well-coached team, and they were aggressive at the service line and big at the net which pushed us to stay disciplined in our system," explained Corban head coach Kim McLain earlier this evening. "I was proud of our defensive effort tonight, and our grit and composure in long rallies made a huge difference. Punching our ticket to the final site is a testament to the hard work this group continues to put in every day. We stayed together, focused, and earned this moment. I'm incredibly proud of this team and looking forward to the journey ahead. Truly blessed to coach this group!"
From the opening serve, the Navy and Gold never relinquished the momentum within the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center and were able to make quick work of the Bulldogs in their first ever meeting, as they led in every statistical category and needed just over an hour to improve to 8-0 all-time in Opening Round contests, all of which have come on their home court. The Warriors held Fisk to a .012 kill percentage on 18 kills and 17 errors, while smashing a 43-18 margin in kills, 40-15 in assists, and 48-35 in digs.
Junior outside hitter Kendra Bittle pummeled a game-high 12 kills for Corban on a .478 kill percentage, committing just one error all night long while securing seven digs defensively and a pair of service aces. Fellow junior outside hitter Emma Bischoff added 10 kills on a .350 attacking percentage with two aces of her own, while senior opposite hitter Makayla Rogiski tacked on another seven kills.
The two-woman setting duo of senior Abby Guindy and junior Nadeiah Howard made all the right decisions tonight in 19 and 17 assists dealt out, respectively, with Guindy falling one dig shy of a double-double with nine, matching junior libero Kaile'a Ontai who also had nine. Roginski and senior middle blocker Gracie Boeder each had a trio of block assists to lead the Warriors' defensive presence at the net.
Fisk's first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance was a short lived yet memorable trip to the Pacific Northwest for one of the top programs out of the HBCUAC, as outside hitter Shelby Chamblin led the Bulldogs both offensively and defensively with six kills and ten digs. Setter Kaia Barnett dealt out 11 dimes as the team's starting setter, while libero Nialah Gupton equaled Ontai with nine digs for the visiting squad.
Pool play assignments for the 2025 NAIA National Championship Final Site will be announced on Sunday, November 23rd at 1pm CT/11am PT, where the Warriors are expected to serve as the top seed within one of the eight pools of three. Matchups and start times will be available on the 2025 Corban women's volleyball scheduled once made public by the NAIA.