Box Score ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University volleyball team had been back in the NAIA Top 25 for barely a full 24 hours, and already Oregon Tech looked like it had found a way to get them back out.

However, once again, SOU wouldn't quite break.

The Owls took 16^th-ranked SOU to a fifth set after dropping the first two Wednesday at Riehm Arena, but their momentum stayed behind in the fourth as the Raiders fought off the upset bid and prevailed,  25-11, 25-20, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11.

The Raiders (9-2 overall, 3-0 Cascade Conference) stayed true to their usual formula – not only in terms of streakiness, but also in getting big-time play out of Motade Atanda (San Jose, Calif./Presentation), Paulla Pinheiro (Fortaleza, Brazil/Colegio Farias Brito) and Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson). Atanda amassed 20 kills and 14 digs, Pinheiro had 20 kills, 13 digs and five assisted blocks, and Keller finished 12 kills on 21 attacks in the middle while getting in on nine blocks.

Oregon Tech (11-3, 2-1), which has now dropped 23 straight matches to SOU, was on the verge of putting an end to that futility after controlling the fourth set thanks to four straight points at 11-all. They erased a 22-20 deficit in the third set with the help of three late Kelsey Sampson kills and 14 Raider attacking errors.

Sampson tallied 12 kills, but she, like the Owls, had to work for most of them. Sampson was limited to an .091 attacking average, and OIT hit .083 as a team compared to SOU's .169.

The last time SOU and OIT went to a fifth set together was six years ago.

"This team really is impressive in the idea that we dig ourselves in holes quite a bit and get pushed around, but when we rally back we're always aggressive," Raider coach Josh Rohlfing said. "As a coach, when your team is on the ropes, you don't want to see them look timid. And we haven't been when we get in those situations."

Atanda, who has hit the 20-kill mark three times this season, had 11 on 15 swings in the first two sets. Collectively, the Raiders hit .583 in the first set and .312 in the second before regressing. A lot.

OIT's 13 blocks played a part in that. Madisen Garlie was in on six to go with seven kills, and Kelsey Rank assisted five and had one by herself. Renee Baumann corralled a team-best 17 digs and smacked eight kills.

"It felt like we came out and were very rhythmic, solid and confident," Rohlfing said. "After the break, (OIT) came out ready to go and we just didn't raise our level. And when you get into a fourth or fifth set with a team that's as tenacious and serves as tough as them, you're going to have some breakdowns occasionally."

SOU took over in the fifth, going up 4-1 after a Pinheiro kill and three Owl miscues. OIT eventually trimmed the lead at 8-6, but Pinheiro responded with another kill and the Raiders took the next point, too, cashing in another OIT error. A pair of Atanda kills were the eventual exclamation points.

Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) was steady at setter with a season-best 55 assists and seven digs. Brookelynn Cole (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) led the match with 21 digs, and Tyana Andrews (Rochester, Wash./Centralia) had 13.

SOU is back in action on Sept. 19 and 20 at Warner Pacific and Concordia.

The Raiders got back into the NAIA rankings on Tuesday for the first time since the end of the 2011 season.