Ozarks
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
0
Coll. of the Ozarks COO 16-15
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 23-5
Coll. of the Ozarks COO
16-15
0
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
23-5
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Coll. of the Ozarks COO 17 15 14 (0)
Southern Oregon SOU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

Raiders advance to Iowa with opening-round sweep of Ozarks

ASHLAND – At noon on Saturday, the Southern Oregon University volleyball team let fly the first serve of the 2014 NAIA Volleyball Championships' opening round.

By 1:02 p.m., the 17th-ranked Raiders were ready to book plane tickets to Sioux City, Iowa, and the College of the Ozarks (Mo.) Bobcats were sent back home.

The Raiders (23-5 overall) left no doubt that a spot for them at the 24-team final site was warranted as they rushed to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-14 win over the Bobcats (16-15) at Bob Riehm Arena. They'll be back at the Tyson Events Center for the first time since 2011 when pool play begins on Dec. 2.

Ozarks had no answer for SOU outside hitter Motade Atanda (San Jose, Calif./Presentation), whose 16 kills on 32 swings led the match. The Raiders, who were the Cascade Conference co-champions, attacked at a .250 average and stymied the Bobcats at an .021 clip.

Emma Gasman (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) had six kills and she and Atanda got in on four blocks apiece, and the Raiders had 10 blocks as a team. Libero Brookelynn Cole (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) collected a match-high 17 digs, Paulla Pinheiro (Fortaleza, Brazil/Colegio Farias Brito) had 10 digs and seven kills, and Sam Boehnke (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) added seven kills. Sharing setter duties, Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) (22) and Tyana Andrews (Rochester, Wash./Centralia) (14) combined for 36 assists.

SOU trailed 11-10 in the first set before taking control of the match with 10 of the next 11 points – a run in which Atanda had three kills and Cole and Andrews served up four points apiece. Ozarks only led one more time the rest of the day: 1-0 in the third set.

The Raiders got into an offensive rhythm to the tune of 12 kills on 22 swings in the second set and 15 on 30 in the third. They also had sideout percentages of 70, 68 and 64.

Ozarks – which was the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference's regular-season and tournament champion – was led by Jenny Wuerffel's seven kills. Lindsay Boone distributed 10 assists, while Hannah Brown and Brandi Stahl had 10 digs apiece. The Bobcats got themselves into a 6-1 pickle in the second frame and it was 9-1 in the third.

The victory was SOU's third-most lopsided of the season.

The six pools of the final site will be unveiled by 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, as the 12-game opening round was to wrap up late Saturday night. Every team is guaranteed three matches, and the top-two squads from each pool advance to single-elimination bracket play.
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