EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell volleyball team picked up their biggest conference win in program history on Wednesday night, toppling the NAIA’s No. 4-ranked Corban University at home in five sets, 25-21, 19-25, 25-27, 25-16, 15-13.
This Warrior squad was the highest ranked opponent the Beacons had ever defeated, and it was Bushnell’s first over Corban since defeating the then-No. 6-ranked Warriors at home in 2021.
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, “What a great atmosphere tonight! We were aggressive, we made adjustments in the moment, and nothing phased the team. Bushnell is a special place and tonight we all showed why.”
With a victory that should go a long way with the NAIA national selection committee, Bushnell (13-8, 7-4 CCC) moves into sole possession of fourth-place in the CCC as the second-half of the conference circuit gets underway.
The Beacons established a strong presence at the net early, earning four of their 14 blocks in a dominant first-set win which included 22 earned points in their 25-21 victory.
Playing one of the premiere programs in the nation, Bushnell knew it wasn’t going to be an easy victory and that was never more apparent than in the second and third sets as they held leads of at least five points each time, only to see the Warriors scratch and claw their way back to win both, taking a 2-1 lead.
The Beacons wouldn’t fold under the pressure however, posting an incredible 14 kills and just one error in the fourth set to force the tie-breaking fifth.
Senior Leah Agost took over in the fifth set, collecting four kills including the match-winner as the Beacons escaped with a significant CCC win.
“We showed some incredible resiliency tonight,” said Corwin. “We played confident in the fourth set to push it to the fifth.”
The teams ended the night even in kills with 59 apiece, and the Warriors (14-4, 8-3 CCC) finished with an 85-76 margin in digs. The rest was all Bushnell as the home team hit .207 while holding the Warriors to a season-low .126, do in large part to a 14-8 advantage in blocks. The Beacons also earned eight service aces to just six for Corban.
Amyah Semau finished the evening with a double-double for the Beacons, collecting a team-high 15 kills along with 13 digs. Agost finished with 14 kills and seven blocks and Hailey Heider collected 12 kills.
Semau said, “I am so extremely proud of this team. We played our hearts out tonight and kept our standard the whole time, even when we were behind. Tonight’s win was a great way to start the second half of the season.”
“I am proud of my team for working hard in every aspect of the game,” added Agost. “Tonight we showed what we are capable of and we left it all out on the court. This is a huge win for our team.”
Soleil Sands hit .571 in the match with eight kills, along with eight blocks while Aliyah Malone tallied six kills and six blocks. Emma Fa’alogo also collected a double-double for the Beacons with 29 assists and 15 digs while Kailey Shirley earned 14 digs and a match-high three aces.
Corban was led in the loss by a 15-kill performance from Makayla Roginksi while Emma Bischoff collected 10 kills and a match-high 23 digs. Abby Guindy earned a double-double with 31 assists and ten digs along with three aces.
UP NEXT: Bushnell will close out the week on Thursday night, traveling to Portland to take on Warner Pacific University (0-11, 0-10 CCC) at 6:00 pm.