Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SOU 3, Biola 2 Box Score

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon shocked No. 5 Biola in the evening's final match to go 2-0 in the first day of the season-opening 2012 Paul Elliott Invitational.

The Raiders knocked off Biola in five sets, with set scores of 19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24 and 15-11, after sweeping UC Merced in an early-afternoon contest. Mona Goudarzian (Albany, Ore./West Albany) tallied 22 kills and 10 digs to lead SOU to the upset victory in the nightcap, while Natalie Scheller (Bend, Ore./Bend) added 14 kills, including the match clincher in the final set.

Caryn Westrick (Bonney Lake, Wash./Bonney Lake) and Angela Spieker (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap) combined for 49 assists and Renee Yomtob (Boise, Idaho/Centennial) added 21 digs in the comeback victory. For Biola, Christine Douglas tallied a team-high 17 kills and Amy Weststeyn added 11. Justine Shoneveld finished with a match-high 34 assists.

The Raiders return to action Saturday as the Paul Elliott Invitational concludes with six more matches. Southern Oregon will play against Westminster at noon before closing the tournament with a match against Viterbo at 8 p.m. at Bob Riehm Arena.

Biola held a match-point advantage in the fourth set, holding a 24-23 lead before Southern Oregon scored three in a row to force a deciding set. The Raiders never trailed in the fifth, with the set tied at 4-4 before the Raiders used a 4-1 run to take a three-point lead. Biola would never again pull closer than two back.

With the score 9-7, Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson) sparked another 4-1 run to give the Raiders a five-point advantage. Biola called timeout and scored three of the next four points, but Scheller clinched the upset for the hosts with her 14th kill of the match.

Biola dominated the opening set with an attack percentage of .314 while limiting the Raiders to .086. The teams played within one point of each other until the Eagles used a 7-1 run midway through the set to turn an 11-12 deficit into an 18-13 advantage. After the Raiders pulled within three, Biola scored the next four points to make it 23-16. The Eagles clinched the set victory on an SOU attack error.

The Raiders bounced back in the second set, leading almost the entire way. Southern Oregon built an early 8-4 lead following a pair of Biola attack errors, prompting the Eagles to take a time out. Biola responded to pull within one at 10-9 following a pair of SOU attack errors, but the Raiders used a 9-4 run to pull ahead by six on a kill by Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson). Biola scored the next three points, but the Raiders eventually closed out the set on a Biola service error.

Biola built an early 9-5 lead in the third set, but the Raiders battled back to tie it at 13-13 following a Goudarzian kill and a BU attack error. With the game tied at 18-all, Biola used a five-point streak to take control late, and the Eagles claimed the 2-1 match advantage on a kill by Britta Blaser.

The fourth set featured 16 ties as neither team led by more than three at any point. Biola held the largest lead of the set at 12-9 following a kill by Weststeyn, but the Raiders scored the next three points to tie it up on a block by Haley Kasler (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) and Liz Madden (Manson, Wash./Manson).

The Raiders held a slim 21-20 lead after back-to-back kills by Goudarzian, but Biola scored the next two points following a timeout and eventually took a 24-23 lead on Douglas' kill. With Southern Oregon facing match point, Goudarzian tied it up with a kill and Scheller gave the Raiders the advantage. Southern Oregon forced the fifth set when Madden and Jordan Crossley (Napa, Calif./Napa) blocked an attack attempt by Chelsee Arnitz.

SOU def. UC Merced, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-20)

Box Score

The Raiders limited the Bobcats to a -.091 attack percentage in the first set, and SOU never looked back in the three-set season-opening sweep. Natalie Scheller (Bend, Ore./Bend) led the way with 11 kills and a .476 attack percentage for SOU, and Renee Yomtob (Boise, Idaho/Centennial) totaled 22 digs in the win.

Southern Oregon opened the first set on a 17-5 run before UC Merced picked up a five-point streak to pull within seven. The Raiders bounced back to close the set on an 8-3 run. The second set featured 10 ties before the Raiders opened up a 6-0 run to pull ahead 20-14, and the teams exchanged points the rest of the way as a Mona Goudarzian (Albany, Ore./West Albany) kill clinched the 25-19 victory.

An 8-1 SOU run opened the third set before Merced scored five straight points to pull within two at 9-7.  Four straight SOU points made it 16-10 following a kill by Haley Kasler (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley), and the Bobcats never pulled closer than four back the rest of the way. A Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson) kill clinched the set and match victory for the Raiders.