team
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
1
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU 18-10
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 25-4
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU
18-10
1
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
25-4
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU 18 25 11 15 (1)
Southern Oregon SOU 25 17 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

Raiders beat La Sierra in 4 to punch tickets to Sioux City

ASHLAND – In an effective if unspectacular effort during Saturday night's NAIA Championship opening-round match at Riehm Arena, the familiar survive-and-advance postseason mantra suited the 19th-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team just fine.

Working the late shift, the Raiders punched their tickets to Sioux City, Iowa, for the 24-team final site at around 10:27 p.m. when they finished off a 25-18, 17-25, 25-11, 25-15 win against La Sierra (Calif.). The six-team pools will be announced Sunday by the national office, and play begins at the Tyson Events Center on Dec. 1.

SOU (25-4 overall), which was granted the final at-large berth in the 36-team field, will be appearing in Sioux City for the third time since 2010 and at the final site for the eighth time in program history.

For most of the night the Raiders had to chip away at the Golden Eagles (18-10), who had earned their spot automatically by winning the Cal Pac Conference tournament championship.

They ultimately used a considerable height advantage to get by, amassing 11 team blocks to La Sierra's four, and attacking at an average of .297 to La Sierra's .190.

Lauren McGowne was in on a team-high five blocks to go with 48 assists and seven digs. Emma Gasman notched 14 kills without an error on 21 attacks and had four blocks, while Corynn Kopra went for 12 kills and 10 digs and Laura Morse had 10 kills with six digs.

Kopra got the Raiders going with six kills in the first set, when they broke a 10-all tie with a 5-1 run and kept the Golden Eagles at arm's length the rest of the way. La Sierra responded in the second, scoring five straight and never trailing after the Raiders took the first point.

SOU regained control early in the last two frames, claiming four of the first five points in the third and the first four of the fourth. The Golden Eagles battled back in the fourth to tie it at 10, but kills by Niki Small and Courtney Macklin sparked a 6-0 spurt that put SOU up for good.

The Raiders are now 3-1 in opening-round matches in Ashland, all since 2009.

Small chipped in seven kills on 13 attacks and four blocks, and Macklin had five blocks of her own. Libero Ashlyn Flynn added a match-high 17 digs.

Three La Sierra players hit double figures in kills: Caitlin Marinos (11), Abby Latuhoi (10) and Samantha Marquez (10).

SOU finished 10-1 at home this season and is 20-1 since the start of 2014.

 
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