ty
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 3-0
0
Bellevue (Neb.) BELL 1-2
Winner
Southern Oregon SOU
3-0
3
Final
0
Bellevue (Neb.) BELL
1-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Southern Oregon SOU 25 25 26 (3)
Bellevue (Neb.) BELL 13 18 24 (0)
2
Hastings (Neb.) HASVB15 3-1
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 4-0
Hastings (Neb.) HASVB15
3-1
2
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
4-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Hastings (Neb.) HASVB15 22 25 23 25 9 (2)
Southern Oregon SOU 25 23 25 18 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

SOU tackles state of Nebraska, off to best start in 10 years

LA MIRADA, Calif. – With a 4-0 showing at the Biola Summer Slam, the Southern Oregon University volleyball team validated its No. 16 NAIA ranking, got off to its best start in 10 years and moved one triumph away from the program's 1,000th win all at once.

On Friday morning the Raiders dismissed Bellevue (Neb.) in straight sets (25-13, 25-18, 26-24), and a couple hours later they broke 22nd-ranked Hastings (Neb.) in five sets – 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-9.

When they met, SOU and Hastings were two of only three unbeaten teams left at the 14-team gathering. SOU defeated Menlo and eighth-ranked Vanguard on Thursday, and Hastings had already defeated two ranked teams and another that was receiving votes.

Tyana Andrews (Rochester, Wash./Centralia) continued to enjoy a breakout tourney while leading the way against the Broncos with career-highs of 19 kills and eight assisted blocks to go with 15 digs. She and Corynn Kopra (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow) – who recorded 14 kills and 12 digs – had four kills apiece in the final set, during which the Raiders enjoyed a sideout rate of 80 percent.

Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) was three off a career-high with 56 assists and eight digs. Emma Gasman (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) had 10 kills, Laura Morse (Edmonds, Wash./King's) nine and Niki Small (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) eight, while Ashlyn Flynn (Phoenix, Ore./Phoenix) handled 24 digs. But while the Raiders were the less efficient hitting team (.202 to .166) and blocked fewer attacks (12 to 9), the difference in the match was likely their zero service errors to Hastings' 12. Hastings only had one more service ace.

The Broncos got a match-high 23 kills from Jennifer Klaudt.

The morning session was more one-sided, as SOU hit .277 as a team and held Bellevue to an .086 mark. Gasman stood out in a balanced lineup with 13 kills on 20 attacks. Kopra (10 kills), Andrews (8 kills) and Morse (8 digs, 7 kills) were also steady, and McGowne had 38 more assists.

SOU needed just 68 minutes to finish off the match.

The Raiders – who have attended the Biola Summer Slam the last five years, going 0-4 in 2013 and 3-1 last season – haven't started a season with four straight wins since 2005, when they went 5-0 before losing. They haven't won more than six straight to start a season since 1991, when they won 17 in a row.

Sitting on 999 wins since the program launched in 1969, SOU's first crack at No. 1,000 will be next Friday at California Merced. Only nine other teams have accomplished the feat in NAIA history.
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