Kopra
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
2
College of Idaho CI 17-10, 15-4
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 22-3, 15-3
College of Idaho CI
17-10, 15-4
2
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
22-3, 15-3
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
College of Idaho CI 26 25 25 17 17 (2)
Southern Oregon SOU 28 19 17 25 19 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

SOU outlasts Yotes in five-set thriller, takes back second place

ASHLAND – Less than 24 hours since being subjected to its most agonizing defeat of the season, the 14th-ranked Southern Oregon University volleyball team stared down another potential gut-wrenching loss Saturday evening at Riehm Arena and didn't flinch.

Fighting to take second place back from College of Idaho, the Raiders trailed 2-1 in sets and had to break three match-points in the fifth, but came through in the clutch to score a 28-26, 19-25, 17-25, 25-17, 19-17 victory that seemed to be stolen away and snatched back a dozen times.

In fact, there were 12 ties in the final frame and four lead changes. Of Laura Morse's 13 kills, three were pounded home as SOU scored its last four points. And of Courtney Macklin's five blocks, she assisted three and had one to herself in the fifth set.

"Both teams battled and showed a lot of heart, and I think we showed that we're playing some of our best volleyball of the season and peaking at the right time," SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing said. "Even though we had some lulls, we came out of them. We were aggressive all night long."

The Raiders – who on Friday dropped an emotional four-set decision to 10th-ranked Eastern Oregon – went to 22-3 overall and 15-3 in the Cascade Conference, while the Coyotes fell to 17-10 and 15-4. The hold on second place is not only significant because the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament gets a bye to the semifinals, but also because an SOU loss would have meant the Coyotes jumping them in the rankings and probably dropping the Raiders out altogether.

SOU and C of I have gone to five sets at least once in five consecutive seasons.

Corynn Kopra smacked 20 kills, including nine in the first set, and collected 20 digs for SOU. Ashlynn Flynn also had 20 digs and Morse added 16.

As solid as the Raiders were in the back row, they couldn't stop Yotes middle Kylie Porter at the net. Porter finished with 28 kills on 46 attacks, and at one point had 20 kills with just one attacking error.

All-American setter Sierra Porter pushed C of I with 54 assists, six digs, five kills and three blocks, and Randi Sturtz benefited with 16 kills.

C of I attacked at averages of .417, .308 and .400 in the first three sets, but just .044 and .088 in the last two.

Macklin's defense was a big reason for that, as four of SOU's nine blocks were recorded in the fifth set. Tyana Andrews also assisted four.

The Yotes had 13 blocks of their own – Jackie van Vliet assisted eight – but the Raiders still managed to hit .273 as a team.

Trailing 15-14 in the fifth, Corynn Kopra's slam forced a tie, and a pair of Morse kills forced two more ties following long rallies to make it 16-all and 17-all. After a C of I attacking error, Morse's final kill ended it.

Once C of I tied the final set at five, neither team led by more than one until Morse's clincher.

SOU's regular season concludes next Friday and Saturday at Corban and Northwest Christian.
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