The No. 4 Corban University Women's Volleyball team (30-4) cruised to a three-set sweep to begin the 2022 NAIA National Championships at the Tyson Event Center, posting 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23 set scores against the Bethel University Pilots (22-12) to open Pool Play at 1-0 overall.
"We decided to come in today to play as a unit and carry our intensity throughout the game, which goes beyond the court both physically and mentally," Warriors' Head Coach Kim McLain said following her team's Pool Play opening victory.
When asked about the Pilots and how they prepared, McLain said, "Bethel is a great team, we knew we had to come out strong defensively if we were going to find success in this contest, which we were able to do. With a little bit of time off, we were able to focus on our approach at the net defensively and at the service line, which we were able to show up strong in both areas today."
The Pilots hung with the Warriors to open the match, sitting at a 5-5 tie before Corban was able to run off a 10-6 advantage to force Bethel into a timeout. Some fairly unorthodox points were the story up to this point of the contest, with hardly any of the points being scored coming from actual kills.
Corban held strong in their lead through the set, as both teams started to find their rhythm offensively. Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Troutman tallied the final two fills to hold off any possible Pilot comeback, icing the first set 25-19.
Back-to-back four-point swings allowed the Warriors to hold another early lead in the second set, with five of their eight points to open the period coming from kills. However, they would eventually cool off as the set progressed, as Bethel was able to climb back into a 15-all scenario, with both teams attacking percentages dipping below the .100 line thanks to a multitude of blocking plays for both squads.
Three-straight Bethel attacking errors, including solo blocks from both senior opposite hitter Ally Schmidt and freshman outside hitter Kylie Davey, is eventually what gave Corban the distance needed to secure the second set in their favor, as Troutman provided two-straight kills once again to push her team to the 25-point mark.
The third set is when the Pilots finally started to force Corban into difficult defensive and offensive scenarios. Bethel would end up smashing their highest attacking percentage of the afternoon in the third set, and even led on multiple occasions before the Warriors scored a quick three points to jump out to a 17-13 lead.
That lengthy lead wouldn't last for long, as the Pilots scored three-straight out of their own timeout to force Corban into a timeout. The Warriors would quickly find match point at 24-18, but Bethel refused to go down without a fight. Six points later, and the Warriors finally snuck away with the 25-23 set and match victory over the Pilots, thanks to a kill from Schmidt in the middle of the net.
Troutman finished with a steady pace of 12 kills and 13 digs, while senior outside hitter Avari Ridgway refused to slow down in any way, busting out 10 kills, 11 digs and an impressive three service aces to lead all players in the category. The potent Corban offense was handled with great efficiency from senior setter Jadyn Mullen and freshman setter Abby Guindy, as the two-setter duo cranked out 20 and 14 assists, respectively.
In the backcourt, senior libero Kealani Ontai led everyone on the court this afternoon with 14 digs, while Schmidt and sophomore middle blocker Allyson Reid each found themselves with three assisted blocks.
Bethel was led offensively by middle blocker Isabelle North-Greene, who tallied a game-high 13 kills and just four errors for a .310 attacking clip, marking the only Bethel student-athlete to reach double-digit kills today. Setters Elise Schildermans and Madyson Beaver commanded the Pilots' offense with 17 and 14 assists, respectively. Beaver was the only Pilot with a double-double, as she added 11 digs to the mix.
Defensive specialist Paige Hickey and libero Jackelin Fernandez held down the backcourt for Bethel, securing 13 and 12 digs against the hard-hitting Warriors. Middle blocker Maddy Payne led all eligible players at the net with five assisted blocks.
The No. 4 Warriors will finish their Pool Play matchups on Friday, December 2nd, as they will battle the No. 11 Taylor University Trojans at 4pm CST, 2pm PST. The Trojans will battle this same Bethel team tomorrow afternoon in their Pool Play match.
Original source can be found here.
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