SIOUX CITY, Iowa [BOX SCORE] - In a highly anticipated matchup at the 2024 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship quarterfinal, the Corban (Ore.) Warriors emerged victorious over the Montana Western Bulldogs with a final score of 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22). This win improved Corbon's record to 27-5.

The match was closely contested, with 26 total ties and 13 lead changes in the match.

The opening set was the most highly contested of the match, where the teams matched each other, scoring run for scoring run for 13 ties. It wasn’t until 14 all that Corban tied the score at 14, all with a kill by Emma Bischoff that sparked a 7-3 scoring run.  However, Montana Western was never far behind and the team worked its way back to a tied score of 22. The teams continued a back-and-forth battle, tying the score again as 23 and 24 before UMW capitalized on a kill by Peyton Vogl and an attack error for the Warriors to win 26-24.

Corban opened the following set with the initial lead. The Bulldogs tied things up at nine apiece, but a four-point run for the Warriors gave them enough space to tie up the match score at one set apiece with a 25-20 set two win.

A 12-2 scoring run by Corban set the tone in the third set. UMW struggled to get things going, where nine of the 12 points for the Warriors were Bulldog attack errors.

Set four rivaled the opening set with 10 ties and seven lead changes. The teams were never more than four points away from each other. The Warriors created some separation at a score of 14 all with a 6-2 scoring run that allowed them close out the match with a set four score of 25-22.

Corban's Emma Bischoff led the team with 15 kills, while Kendra Bittle and Makayla Roginski followed with 13 kills each. Nadeiah Howard and Marissa Uehara also played key roles in Corban's victory, as Howard recorded 26 assists and Uehara tallied 32 digs for an average of 8 digs per set. 

On the other side of the net, Jordan Olson led the Bulldogs with 13 kills. Olson's teammate, Jazi Smith also had a strong performance with 11 kills of her own. Taylor Petersen directed the offense with 17 assists, and Kelsey Goddard added 22 digs. 

Overall, Corban's strong offensive play (62 CU: 51 UMW) and solid defense at the net (16 total, 14 assisted) proved to be the difference in the match. Corban will now look to carry this momentum into the semifinals as they continue in the Battle for the Red Banner. 

Corban advances to the semifinals for the second time in championship history and will face the winner of Concordia (Neb.) vs Bellevue (Neb.) at 5 p.m. CT on Monday December 9.