7 p.m. Friday – Corban at #16 SOU – Live Stats – Live Stream
5 p.m. Saturday – Northwest Christian at #16 SOU – Live Stats – Live Stream

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University volleyball team was unbeaten at home last year for the second time in four seasons, and the 16^th-ranked Raiders will get their first chance of 2015 to protect Riehm Arena this weekend as Cascade Conference play begins.

The Raiders (7-0 overall) – last season's CCC co-champions and this season's pick to finish second – welcome Corban (2-4) to town for Friday's 7 p.m. match and will host Northwest Christian at 5 p.m. Saturday.

SOU's start, which includes wins over two ranked opponents, is the program's best since 1991, when the Raiders went undefeated through their first 17 matches. Last weekend the Raiders became the 10^th NAIA program with 1,000 wins while mowing down three opponents in straight sets at the U.C. Merced Invitational. The odds are in their favor to prolong the streak, too: SOU has won 24 consecutive matches against Corban and 17 of 18 all-time against Northwest Christian.

"Last weekend felt very yeomanlike; we just kind of went in and took care of business and improved throughout the tournament," SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing said. "That's what we're focused on doing right now, just continuing to close gaps and move forward."

Outside Perspective: Departing with last season's graduating class were 78% of SOU's kills recorded during conference matches. All-star outside hitters Motade Atanda and Paulla Pinheiro were responsible for most of those. And so far, Corynn Kopra and Tyana Andrews have been responsible for picking up most of the slack.

Andrews had three kills total during CCC play in 2014, playing almost exclusively at the setter position, and currently averages four kills per set while having recorded 16-plus kills four times this season. Kopra, on the floor for the first time since the 2011 season at Western Oregon, has gone for 10-plus kills in all seven matches with a season-high of 20 against Vanguard (Aug. 20). Andrews, Kopra and Warner Pacific's Janessa White are currently the players ranking in the CCC's top-10 in both kills and attacking average. Andrews also ranks second in the CCC in blocks with 24 assisted.

Quick Hits:
– As a team, the Raiders have attacked at a clip of .245 or better in six of seven matches this season. They did that in eight of 31 matches in 2014.
– The Raiders have scored on 35 services aces and allowed 13 to this point. They're led in that category by Andrews (9) and Ashlyn Flynn (8).
– SOU leads the league in blocks per set at 2.15. Last year's clip of 2.75 was good for second in the NAIA.
– Lauren McGowne is still No. 1 in the CCC with an average of 11.96 assists per set. When Erin Lytle set SOU's single-season assists record (1,508) in 1999, she averaged 12.16.
– SOU is 114-16 at Riehm Arena over the last 10 seasons.

About Corban: The Raiders swept Corban last season and have won 18 straight sets against the Warriors dating back to 2012… The Warriors were picked in the preseason to finish sixth in the CCC after losing six starters from a team that went 3-15 in the circuit last season… They've won two of their last three coming into the weekend after scoring four-set wins in Montana against Dickinson State (N.D.) and Montana State-Northern… Corban is led in kills by a pair of first-year players: sophomore transfer Amber Parker (5.24/set) and freshman Victoria Schroeder (3.1/set). Another freshman, the 5-foot-1 Madison McLain, has taken over setting duties at 9.24 assists per set, and Montana State transfer Haley Wells is the new libero. They've hit at a .123 average as a team.

"They've added some key new pieces, and those outsides are pretty dominant," Rohlfing said. "Last weekend they took Carroll – probably a top-25 team by the end of the year – to four sets, and they're going to be a challenge for a lot of good teams."

About Northwest Christian: The Beacons, picked to place eighth in the CCC after going 6-12 last year, have yet to lose but have also not been challenged, collecting two wins apiece against the likes of New Hope Christian, Simpson and West Coast Baptist… Tuesday night's four-setter against George Fox was their most impressive win, as setter Marsha Poischbeg made her debut with 44 assists while veteran seniors Chandler Gabrio and Kayla Ping had 12 kills apiece… Gabrio, a 6-2 middle, ranked fifth in the CCC at 3.56 kills per set and first with 0.45 aces per set last season. She's leading the Beacons again at 2.88 kills on a .276 average… The Raiders downed the Beacons in straight sets twice last year and have swept them in four straight overall.

"As always, they're going to be really aggressive and ultra-competitive," Rohlfing said. "They play with a lot of intensity and we'll have to match that and take care of Gabrio. She's been a thorn in our side for three years."