Block
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Sam Boehnke and Emma Gasman challenge an Eastern Oregon attack in the fifth set.
2
Eastern Oregon EOU 15-2, 5-1
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 11-3, 5-1
Eastern Oregon EOU
15-2, 5-1
2
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
11-3, 5-1
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Eastern Oregon EOU 25 26 25 20 18 (2)
Southern Oregon SOU 20 28 16 25 20 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

Raiders stun 11th-ranked Eastern Oregon in five sets

*This story has been corrected to relfect Eastern Oregon's win at SOU in 2008.

ASHLAND – The Eastern Oregon volleyball team had never been so close to running Southern Oregon University out of its own gym, nor had the walls ever caved in as quickly as they did Friday night at Riehm Arena.

Down two sets to one and 17-11 in the fourth, the 14th-ranked Raiders stormed back to upset the 11th-ranked Mountaineers in five impassioned sets – 20-25, 28-26, 16-25, 25-20, 20-18 in the first ever top-15 matchup between the teams. EOU (15-2 overall, 5-1 Cascade Conference) fell to 1-24 all-time at SOU..

The Raiders improved to 11-3 overall and 5-1 in the CCC. Their win came at a cost, though.  After going completely flat in the third set – they allowed EOU to hit .400 in the stanza, and committed five straight errors after cutting EOU's lead to 16-14 – the Raiders lost Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson), who has led the CCC in hitting efficiency the last two seasons, to an injury at the beginning of the fourth set.

They eventually went down six points in front of a shell-shocked crowd, but were revived with a 14-3 run (including six straight to end the set), then broke match-point four times in the fifth.

Paulla Pinheiro (Fortaleza, Brazil/Colegio Farias Brito) clobbered 25 kills on 54 attacks with 12 digs, and three of her kills kept the match alive in the final set. Emma Gasman (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) had 10 kills, including four in the fifth, and Brookelynn Cole (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) came up with 26 digs. As a team SOU totaled a season-high 18 blocks, getting six assisted from Gasman, and three solo and four assisted from Keller.

The turning point correlated with the insertions of Shelby Young (Lincoln, Calif./Whitney), Kelsea MacPhee (Klamath Falls, Ore./Mazama) and Abbie Hanser (Billings, Mont./Billings Central Catholic) into the lineup. None of them played until Keller's injury, but Young finished with seven big kills, MacPhee had three kills and two assisted blocks, and Hanser got in on two blocks.

Conference MVP Casey Loper led the Mountaineers with 19 kills on 38 swings, while Amanda Miller tallied 15 kills and Rachelle Chamberlain had 54 assists. Jessalyn Smith (20 digs) and Piper Cantrell (15 digs) spearheaded a strong defense.

"To be honest, it's really hard to remember parts of that match because there were so many different emotions that we dealt with," SOU coach Josh Rohlfing said. "Obviously, losing a senior that's been your heart and soul the last few years was awful.

"Up to that point we couldn't have been more up-and-down, but the rest of the way we played to win – and I know that's a huge cliché. I felt like the biggest difference was that we were really good defensively, and even when we got beat we were disciplined."

Adding to Cole's stellar work, SOU was boosted defensively by Tyana Andrews (Rochester, Wash./Centralia)' 14 digs and Laura Morse (Edmonds, Wash./King's)'s eight. Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) was a solid middle-man with 48 assists and five digs, and Andrews had seven assists of her own.

Eastern hit .154 as a team but limited SOU to .115. The Raiders' only statistical advantage was in the blocks department.

After kills by Young and MacPhee made it 5-all in the fifth set, the teams were never separated by more than a point. SOU took advantage of its second opportunity to close it out, following a block by Gasman and Sam Boehnke (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) with Gasman's kill for the win.

Eastern's only previous loss this season was to fifth-ranked Biola.

The Raiders wrap up their pivotal weekend at 5 p.m. on Saturday against College of Idaho, which was the preseason favorite to win the conference.
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