The Southern Oregon volleyball team will look to stay hot and make history this weekend against a pair of Portland-based Cascade Conference foes.

After compiling six-straight sweeps, the first-place Raiders (9-7, 7-1) hope to match a school record of eight consecutive matches without dropping a single set, a mark achieved last year. They will attempt to do so at Warner Pacific on Friday, and at Cascade on Saturday.

The Raiders also returned to the NAIA Top 25 rankings this week, landing at No. 21.

During the win-streak, the Raiders are hitting at a .322 clip compared to an opponent hitting percentage of .109. Raider hitters have setter Lindsey Stone (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) to thank for that, as the junior has now taken the last three conference Setter of the Week awards, moved into seventh in the nation in assists, and leads the conference with 11.38 assists per set during conference matches.

Middle blocker Mia Wortel (Estacada, Ore./Estacada) became the eighth Raider to reach the 1,000-kill mark at Northwest Christian on Saturday and was named the loop's Player of the Week in the process.

“It was great to watch her achieve something like that,” Head Coach Josh Rohlfing said of Wortel. “She is the exact type of athlete you want to see on that pedestal, because I've literally never seen her take a day off.

The do-it-all senior needs 24 more kills to move into seventh place on the all-time kills list, and currently ranks second in the CCC in hitting percentage (.429), third in kills (3.32/set), and fourth in blocks (1.08/set).

Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Yutzie ranks fifth in the league at 3.12 kills per game, and Heather Porter (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield)'s .404 hitting percentage in CCC contests is third-best.

Warner Pacific (3-5, 5-5) started hot with four wins to start the season, but have since lost five of six. The Raiders lead the all-time series 26-3 over the Knights and have taken all 14 matches since they joined the conference in 2000.

Senior Kara Veach is second in Cascade Conference matches with 3.45 kills per game and adds an average of 3.07 digs, and junior Leah Gradwohl is fourth with 3.21 kills per game while notching 3.14 digs per frame. Sophomore setter Samantha Kiolakowski's 8.69 assists per game are good for fourth in the CCC.

Junior Natalie Forgan paces Cascade with 2.93 kills per set, and Carla Crowder's 7.52 assist-per-set average is the league's fifth-best.

“We have to go up there and make sure we remember what our responsibilities are,” Rohlfing said. “Being in first place means we've achieved the ability of having more teams gunning for us, and that's where we want to be but now we have to take care of business.”

The Raiders return home next weekend for dates with Northwest and Evergreen State, both of whom they have already swept.