NAIA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tyson Events Center – Sioux City, Iowa – Dec. 1-5
Tuesday 6:30 p.m. PST – #19 SOU vs. #7 Midland (Neb.) – Live Stats
Wednesday 3:45 p.m. PST – #19 SOU vs. #6 Vanguard (Calif.) – Live Stats
Thursday 3:45 p.m. PST – #19 SOU vs. #22 Coastal Georgia –Live Stats
Watch Live on NAIAnetwork.com ($25 tournament package)
Complete Tournament Schedule

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon University may have been the last team admitted to the NAIA Volleyball Championships, but that doesn't mean the 19th-ranked Raiders will have a just-happy-to-be-here attitude this week when pool play begins.

The Raiders (25-4 overall) are back at the 24-team final site, the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, for the fourth time in six seasons and the eighth time in school history. After coming up one win short of advancing out of pool play and into the 12-team single-elimination bracket last year, they hope the experience can get them over the hump now.

"It's a different feeling coming in," SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing said. "I felt good about last year's team, but just being here for the second year in a row, I think the team feels a lot more comfortable and ready to go. Whether that shows on the court, you never know."

The Raiders are guaranteed three pool-play matches: 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday against seventh-ranked Midland (Neb.) (29-3), 3:45 p.m. Wednesday against No. 6 Vanguard (Calif.) (22-5), and 3:45 p.m. Thursday against No. 22 Coastal Georgia (31-3).

The final site comprises six pools of four teams each, and the top-two teams from each pool will advance to single-elimination play on Friday and Saturday. In the event of a tie within a pool, a one-set tiebreaker will decide which team advances.

SOU has gotten out of pool play once, in 2011, and was defeated in the first round of bracket play by Embry-Riddle (Fla.). Last year, the Raiders upset three-time champ Columbia College (Mo.), which was making its 21st straight appearance in the tournament, but went on to lose to defending champ Texas-Brownsville in straight sets and Vanguard in four. The latter loss ultimately allowed the Lions to move on and left SOU behind.

The Raiders got this far by finishing second in the Cascade Conference with a 17-3 record and earning the last at-large tourney berth. In the opening round at Riehm Arena, they made quick work of La Sierra (Calif.) with a 25-18, 17-25, 25-11, 25-15 victory.

MIDLAND (29-3)
From: Fremont, Neb.
Enrollment: 1,385
Conference: Great Plains Athletic (2nd, 13-3)
NAIA Championship appearance: 3rd (3-5)
At a glance: The Warriors started the season on a 22-match win streak and peaked at No. 2 in the rankings, but dropped when that streak was halted by three straight losses. They've won six straight since, including a conference tournament championship run in which they won nine of 10 sets, and are 16-3 this season against teams either appearing or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll… Their defense ranks ninth in the NAIA at 2.6 blocks per set, and their offense is 26th with an attacking average of .233. Individually, 6-foot-1 freshman middle Priscilla O'Dowd is No. 6 in the nation with an attacking average of .383 and also sixth at 1.5 blocks per set. Senior right-side Ashlee Harms averages 3.1 kills per set and junior outside KC Heimman adds 3.0… The Warriors made their first appearance in 2013, when they were knocked out in the quarterfinals, and went 0-3 in pool play last year.
Rohlfing on the Warriors: "What sticks out most to me is how good they are defensively: Their blocking is outstanding and seeing how fundamentally sound they are, I think it's going to be our biggest challenge yet to crack that front line. There aren't many holes, and they're a team that has the potential to be as good as anyone at this tournament."

VANGUARD (22-5)
From: Costa Mesa, Calif.
Enrollment: 2,120
Conference: Golden State Athletic (1st, 15-1)
NAIA Championship appearance: 7th (8-13)
At a glance: The Raiders are plenty familiar with the Lions, against whom they've gone 3-4 since first meeting in the 2008 preseason. SOU defeated the Lions in pool play in 2011, lost the pool matchup last year, and defeated them in four sets in the second match of this season… The Lions' only loss in their last 18 matches was to fifth-ranked Biola (Calif.)… They hit .237 as a team and give up a .138 clip, led by 6-2 senior outside-hitter Charlotte Heerlyn. After hitting the Raiders up for 17 kills in last year's tourney, Heerlyn is averaging 3.0 kills per set on a .315 average, and 6-foot middle Rachael Barker adds 2.4 kills. As a team, they rank 10th in the NAIA in blocks (2.5/game)… They've made it past pool play twice in program history – last year and in 2008.
Rohlfing on the Lions: "It feels like we see them every year, and they're so talented and always really good defensively by the end of the season. Their big hitter (Heerlyn) really makes them who they are. There usually isn't a whole lot you can do to create holes against them, and that's holding to form again this year. I have a lot of respect for what they do."

COASTAL GEORGIA (31-3)
From: Brunswick, Ga.
Enrollment: 3,440
Conference: Southern States Athletic (1st, 15-1)
NAIA Championship appearance: 2nd (2-3)
At a glance: The Mariners made their first NAIA tournament appearance in 2014, winning an opening-round match against Embry-Riddle (Fla.) before going 0-3 in pool play… After defeating Southeastern (Fla.) in the opening round, they'll go into Iowa with the top team attacking average in the NAIA (.306), the second-most aces per set (2.4) and the third-most blocks (2.8) with five players standing 6-foot or taller… Twenty-six of their matches this season have been decided in straight sets, including two of their three losses… Five players average more than two kills per set – Emma Anderson (2.9), Kyra White (2.8), Regan Coughlin (2.8) and Allie Shannon (2.4) – and two of them are freshmen. Cayley Meiners, a junior setter, is 12th in the NAIA in assists per set (10.9).
Rohlfing on the Mariners: "They're a tough one to get a good read on so we'll have to really take a close look at their first two matches. From what I've seen, they look like they'd fit in our league just because they're going to be solid all over the floor."

SOU notes:
– Including opening-round matches, the Raiders are now 19-21 all-time in the tournament.
– The Raiders have totaled 31 blocks in their last three matches, the most in a three-match stretch this season. Courtney Macklin (1.2), Niki Small (1.1) and Emma Gasman (0.9) lead the team in that category.
– SOU comes into the tournament with a team attack of .266 – the ninth-best in the NAIA and well over last year's mark of .192. They haven't hit under .200 since Sept. 4.
– Outside hitter Corynn Kopra has been at her best late in the season, notching 12 or more kills in each of SOU's last seven outings. The All-CCC performer boasts a team-best 3.3 kills per set, just ahead of Tyana Andrews (3.1), Gasman (2.7) and Laura Morse (2.4). Gasman is also 15th in the NAIA in attacking average (.368).
– Lauren McGowne, SOU's junior All-CCC setter, ranks second in the NAIA in assists per set (11.7) and is up to 1,200 this season. With 98 more she'd move into the top-five on SOU's single-season assists list, which hasn't been cracked since 2003 (Jamie McCreary).
– SOU's attack is what held it back during pool play losses last year. Against bigger Texas-Brownsville and Vanguard teams, the Raiders hit .080 and .158.