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10 a.m. Thursday - SOU vs. Menlo (Calif.) - Live Stats - Live Stream

4 p.m. Thursday - SOU vs. Vanguard (Calif.) - Live Stats - Live Stream

8 a.m. Friday - SOU vs. Bellevue (Neb.) - Live Stats - Live Stream

12 p.m. Friday - SOU vs. Hastings (Neb.) - Live Stats - Live Stream

ASHLAND – One of the luxuries a senior-dominated lineup afforded Southern Oregon volleyball coach Josh Rohlfing last season was the ability to develop his newer crop behind the scenes.

That makes the fact that only a quarter of his 2015 roster has in-game experience at SOU a little less scary. But with the program five wins away from becoming the 10th in NAIA history to hit the 1,000-win mark, Rohlfing is not entirely confident in predicting when the milestone will be celebrated.

"For us, it's really about getting into a game right now," he said. "It's such a cliche, but we need to get into a match against someone else in an unfamiliar place. It's going to help us understand what we are. We were pretty set by this point last year, but we're going to go through a trial period."

The Raiders were CCC co-champions last season for the fourth time since Rohlfing took over in 2007 with a 16-2 record. They went 24-7 overall, won a pair of NAIA Championship matches, finished 13th in the rankings, and the impression they made on the rest of the country was good enough that they appeared in this year's NAIA preseason rankings, at No. 16, for the first time since 2011.

On the other hand, they lost two all-conference outside hitters in Motade Atanda (San Jose, Calif./Presentation) and Paulla Pinheiro (Fortaleza, Brazil/Colegio Farias Brito), an all-conference libero in Brookelynn Cole (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), one of the most efficient attackers in school history in middle Nikki Keller (Carson City, Nev./Carson) (who missed over half of last season with an injury), and three more seniors. The only proven players left are juniors Emma Gasman (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) and Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) – a pair of third-year starters at middle and setter – and seniors Tyana Andrews (Rochester, Wash./Centralia) and Laura Morse (Edmonds, Wash./King's), both versatile enough to step in at a few positions and primed to move into starting roles.

"In contrast to last year when we came in with 11 upperclassmen, now we only have two seniors and two juniors who've been with us all three years," Rohlfing said. "But this group will not have lacked for playing experiences. It's really just a matter of getting acclimated to what we're trying to do and making little adjustments to be able to play at this level."

Some of SOU's newcomers have already been tested at the collegiate ranks: Niki Small (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) at Northern Arizona and Oregon State, Corynn Kopra (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow) at Western Oregon, Courtney Macklin (Placerville, Calif./El Dorado) at American River (Calif.) and Natalie James (Salem, Ore./Sprague) at Clackamas. All four were standouts at those schools. And Rohlfing hasn't ruled out playing any of the Raiders' eight freshmen.

POSITION BY POSITION

SETTERS: McGowne was recognized as the Northwest Region freshman of the year as a freshman and was honorable mention All-CCC as a sophomore after averaging 9.95 assists per set, the fourth-best mark in the conference, and 1.59 digs. But whereas she and Andrews shared setting duties for a large chunk of last season with no other backups, McGowne is now the clearcut starter with three capable backups. James and freshmen Hannah Absalonson (Spokane, Wash./Mead) and Hannah Bogatin (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis) could all get chances, and Rohlfing won't be afraid to tinker with some multi-setter rotations as he's done in the past.

"The setter position is improved, and the point of focus this offseason was to make sure we didn't run into what we did the last two years: having only one or two setters on the roster at any given time," Rohlfing said. "We have four potential starters – any of them could start and we'd be fine – but Lauren is playing really well right now."

MIDDLES: SOU's defense, starting in the middle, made its CCC title and postseason run possible last season. The Raiders ranked second in the NAIA at 2.75 blocks per set (No. 1 in that category was Park (Mo.), which went 40-0 and won the title) and have the personnel now to continue challenging at the net and expand their attacking options.

The 6-foot Gasman was No. 8 in the NAIA at 1.26 blocks per set – upping her average almost half a block over the previous season – and was fourth in the conference with a .303 attacking average during CCC play, getting in 2.3 kills per set. She'll be joined at the net by Small, another dual threat who redshirted in 2014. A native of Ashland, the 6-1 Small went to Northern Arizona out of high school and started 26 matches as a freshman, hitting a team-best .253 with 2.17 kills and 0.6 blocks per set. She then transferred to OSU before her playing career was temporarily derailed by injuries.

Macklin, a 6-foot sophomore, went to Concordia-Irvine (Calif.) out of high school and, after suffering an injury, transferred to American River where she was an all-league performer last season. Emily Eckart (Eugene, Ore./Willamette), a true freshman from Eugene, could provide some additional depth.

"It's probably our strongest position," Rohlfing said. "We have Emma, who's been great since she got here; Nikki, a Division I (NCAA) talent who had some rough times in terms of health but is playing really solid volleyball right now; and Courtney, who has honestly improved every single practice since she got here last winter."

OUTSIDE HITTERS: Losing two go-to hitters, Atanda and Pinheiro, is likely SOU's greatest concern. But it will also give well-earned opportunities for expanded roles to Andrews and Morse. The 6-foot Andrews got most of her work in as a setter last season, using her versatility to total 219 assists and 1.9 digs per set. She'll show off another side of her game while being used primarily as an opposite.

Morse, now in her third year in the program, appeared in 27 matches in 2014 but usually came in to serve and totaled just 54 attacks. At 5-9, she'll transition to the outside, where she'll be depended on for more than just hitting.

"She had a great offseason and really improved her tenacity and aggression at the net," Rohlfing said. "She's a good athlete and now she gets to show that she's capable of playing that (Pinheiro) role in terms of ball control and being solid."

Perhaps ready to become SOU's most oft-used weapon on the outside is Corynn Kopra (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow), another seasoned player who redshirted in 2014. Kopra averaged 2.1 kills per set at Western Oregon in 2011 before sitting two years out. 

"She's one of the most dynamic athletes we have and I don't know if ever I've coached anyone with as heavy a ball as she hits," Rohlfing said. "I think the redshirt year helped develop that complete game, too."

Three freshman are also in the mix on the outside: Nila Lukens (Sisters, Ore./Sisters), Ariana Sattler (Honolulu, Hawaii/La Pietra Hawaii), and Taylor Ristvedt (Portland, Ore./Cleveland) as an opposite.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS/LIBERO: The second- and third-most prolific individual seasons in terms of digs in Raider history were produced the last two years by Cole and Renee Yomtob. Attempting to follow up their acts will be a pair of freshmen, Kiley Barcroft (Dallas, Ore./Dallas) and Ashlyn Flynn (Phoenix, Ore./Phoenix), who were both redshirts last season.

"It's virtually a stalemate in regard to who's taking that position and it could be that way all year," Rohlfing said. "They're going to do great. They're quality and competitive and just really tough people, which is exactly what you need and exactly what we've had at that position."

FIRST UP: The Raiders, who were picked to finish second in the CCC, have two weeks to prepare for conference play, starting with Thursday and Friday's Biola Summer Slam. In that annual slugfest they drew two other ranked opponents – No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.), which effectively eliminated them last year, and No. 22 Hastings (Neb.) – along with defending Cal Pac champion Menlo (Calif.) and Bellevue (Neb.), which is coming off a 22-win season.