Box Score BOX SCORE

PORTLAND – Southern Oregon battled back from a two-set deficit to defeat Warner Pacific 3-2 (20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19 and 15-12) in a Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball thriller at C.C. Perry Gym.

Warner Pacific won the first two sets against Southern Oregon for only the second time in the series history. The Knights previously took a 2-0 set advantage in a 2006 match in Portland, with the Raiders claiming the next three sets to earn the match victory. The Raiders repeated the feat Friday night to earn their 32nd consecutive win over Warner Pacific.

Southern Oregon improves to 6-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Warner Pacific falls to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the CCC. The Raiders return to action tomorrow night, when they will face Concordia in a conference match at 7 p.m. at Cavalier Gymnasium.

Haley Kasler (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) tallied a career-high 19 kills and Mona Goudarzian (Albany, Ore./West Albany) added 11 for the Raiders. Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson) posted eight kills and reached double figures with 10 block assists, Renee Yomtob (Boise, Idaho/Centennial) finished with 27 digs and Caryn Westrick (Bonney Lake, Wash./Bonney Lake) and Angela Spieker (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap) combined for 48 assists. Devan Belshe led the Knights with 16 kills and Rylie Engelson added 14.

Southern Oregon and Warner Pacific exchanged early runs in the opening set as SOU led by as many as four points. With the Raiders up 11-8, Warner Pacific took advantage of an SOU service error to begin a 10-5 run and take an 18-16 advantage. A Jordan Crossley (Napa, Calif./Napa) kill began a 4-0 SOU run that put the visitors up 20-18, but WPC scored the final seven points of the set and closed it out with a kill by Nicole Lisoski.

Warner Pacific maintained the momentum through most of the second set, using a five-point streak and a 9-3 run to pull ahead 18-13 following a Lisoski ace. The Knights scored four of the last five points in the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. But with the WPC one set away from earning its first win over SOU since 1987, the Raiders stepped up in the third set.

The Knights opened the third set with a service ace, but a kill by Goudarzian sparked a four-point SOU streak to put the Raiders up early. Warner Pacific eventually battled back to tie it up at eight and even take a 9-8 lead, but the Raiders used a six-point run to pull back ahead. The hosts battled back with a five-point run of their own to tie it at 14-14, and the teams remained close up to a 17-17 tie. At that point SOU pulled away to the match victory, with three Kasler kills sparking an 8-2 set-closing run.

The fourth set continued the trend of the match with numerous runs for both teams. Warner Pacific opened with a quick 4-1 lead, but the Raiders scored six straight points to go ahead by three. The Knights pulled back within one at 8-7 before a 7-1 SOU run put the visitors up 15-8. With the Raiders threatening to pull away, WPC used a 9-3 run to regain a one-point lead. Southern Oregon finished strong, however, scoring the next five points and forcing a decisive fifth set when Sam Boehnke (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) and Keller combined for a block to give SOU the 25-19 win.

The climactic set lived up to its name, with nine tie scores and four lead changes to bring the match total to 31 ties and 17 lead changes. The teams exchanged points for the first 10 plays before SOU took the first two-point lead of the set following a block by Crossley and Keller. Warner Pacific responded with a 5-2 run to take a 10-9 lead and fire up the home crowd.

For the next four points, the Knights followed each SOU kill with one of their own to hold the slim lead at 12-11. But the Raiders kept their longest winning streak alive by scoring the final four points of the match, with kills by Keller and Goudarzian setting the stage for a final-point attack error by the Knights.