September 26, 2006

BOX SCORE - CORBAN 3, NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN 1

Sophomore Jessica McGraw registered her fourth triple-double of the season tonight thanks to 10 kills, 26 assists, and 12 digs in the Warriors' four-game victory over Northwest Christian.

EUGENE, Ore.–In the first ever meeting between future Cascade Conference rivals, Corban's women's volleyball team defeated Northwest Christian College on Tuesday night in four games (30-14, 17-30, 30-27, 31-29). Sophomore Jessica McGraw (Gaston, Ore.) led the way for the Warriors, registering her fourth triple-double of the season, with 10 kills, 26 assists, and 12 digs.

The Beacons got off to a sluggish start in the first game, hitting just .104. Corban used a balanced attack, committing just one hitting error as they cruised to the game-one victory. Senior libero Becky Horn (Troutdale, Ore.) established her defensive presence for the Warriors as well, collecting nine digs.

As if they only needed a little time to get their engines moving, Northwest Christian got right back into the mix in the second game, blowing the doors off a 13-point win. The Beacons hit .361 in the game with Melissa Bishop getting eight kills, without committing an error. Brooke Stribling added eight digs and five kills, hitting .625, as NCC tied the match at one game apiece.

The Warriors continue to apply pressure in the third game, jumping out to a 17-7 lead after a series of strong serves from  junior Caylin Goss (La Grande, Ore.), including a pair of service aces. The Beacons did not want to be turned away and they soon went back to work. NCC went on a 12-3 run to climb within one point, 19-20 on an Elisha White kill, but sophomore Chelsea Reeher (Powell Butte, Ore.) put the kibosh on the rally with a kill of her own. The Warriors then stretch their lead and took the game.

NCC needed a victory in game four to extend the match to five and they weren't without their chances. The teams traded leads seven times in the game and were tied at 13 separate points and Corban grabbed a late 26-21 lead. The Beacons went on a 6-1 rush to tie the game at 27-27. After trading points, NCC took the lead on a kill by Stribling and was facing game-point in their favor. Senior Hallie Hofferd (Bend, Ore.) then recorded a kill for the Warriors and after a bad set for Northwest Christian, Corban had their own game and match-point, and they took advantage as a Reeher kill ended
the evening.

Northwest Christian, who evens its record at 7-7 overall, was led by Bishop, who finished with a match-high 17 kills, hitting .240 to go with three blocked shots. Stribling added 13 kills and 16 digs. The teams finished the night tied at 95 digs apiece as NCC had five players with double-digit dig totals. Mercedes LeClaire had a team-best 19 and Alex Jee added 18, to go along with a team-high 17 assists. Ashley Blanchfill added five kills, five service aces and two solo blocks in the losing effort.

Corban breaks a six-match losing streak with the win, improving to 3-11 overall, despite hitting just .134 as a team (54-29-187). Reeher finished with 13 kills, Horn had a match-high 32 digs and Hofferd added nine kills and 19 digs.

The Warriors will return to Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Friday, September 29th, when they host the Thunderbirds of Cascade beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Story courtesy of Nick Askew, Northwest Christian Sports Information