barcroft
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
3
Winner Vanguard (Calif.) VU 23-5
1
Southern Oregon SOU 25-6
Winner
Vanguard (Calif.) VU
23-5
3
Final
1
Southern Oregon SOU
25-6
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Vanguard (Calif.) VU 25 13 25 25 (3)
Southern Oregon SOU 18 25 15 23 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

No. 6 Vanguard stops Southern in four sets

This story has been updated to reflect Midland's win Wednesday night over Coastal Georgia. 

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Through two days of pool play at the NAIA Championships, the Southern Oregon University volleyball team has proven itself against the top teams in the nation without a win to show for it.

Less than 24 hours after an exasperating five-set loss to seventh-ranked Midland (Neb.), the No. 6 Vanguard (Calif.) Lions gave the No. 19 Raiders another tough one to swallow Wednesday by scores of 25-18, 13-25, 25-15 and 25-23 at the Tyson Events Center.

Corynn Kopra's fifth go-ahead kill of the fourth set put SOU up 21-20 before the Lions ticked off three straight points. The Raiders tied it, thanks to an attacking error and a block that Tyana Andrews and Niki Small teamed up for, but out of a timeout the Lions sealed the win on a Stephanie Flores kill and an SOU attack that sailed too far.

The Raiders (25-6 overall) finish pool play, and their season, at 3:45 p.m. Thursday against No. 22 Coastal Georgia. With 2-0 records, Vanguard and Midland are assured the pool's two spots in the final 12-team single-elimination bracket.

Either way, Vanguard (23-5), which topped Coastal Georgia on Tuesday, is moving on to the 12-team single-elimination bracket.

The Lions lost to SOU in four sets on Aug. 20. They set the tone early the second time around, attacking at a .325 clip in the first set and breaking an 18-all tie with seven straight points for the win.

What followed in the second was maybe the Raiders' best set of the season: Through their first 17 attacks, they had 10 kills without an error and ended up hitting at an overpowering rate of .538. In the third set, however, they attacked 38 times with nine errors and just five kills.

Similar to Tuesday's fifth set against Midland, which featured eight ties, the fourth was tied at 17 different points.

Kopra carried the Raiders late and wound up with 21 kills on 43 swings – good for a .349 average and bringing her total to 45 kills in two tournament matches. Andrews (8 kills, 14 digs, 5 assisted blocks) and Ashlyn Flynn (18 digs) made play after defensive play, but the Lions still managed a .268 attack, the third-highest by a Raider opponent this season.

SOU setter Lauren McGowne finished with 46 assists, Laura Morse had 13 kills and nine digs, and Emma Gasman had five kills.

The Lions were led in kills by Sarah McKinny (15) and Rachael Barker (14), and both were in on three of the team's nine blocks.

Vanguard also dealt the Raiders a devastating blow last year, winning a four-set pool play match that cost SOU a chance to move on.
 
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