KLAMATH FALLS – One streak ended Tuesday night but Southern Oregon kept the important ones alive by winning the final two sets of a five-set squeaker against Oregon Tech at Danny Miles Court.
Corynn Kopra led five Raiders in double figures with 17 kills (paired with 12 digs), including three in the final frame as eighth-ranked SOU staved off an upset bid with a 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 15-10 Cascade Conference victory.
Gone is the 28-set unbeaten streak that the Raiders brought into the night. But their 14th straight win kept them among five remaining undefeated teams in the NAIA, made them 7-0 in the CCC, and was their 25th consecutive defeat of OIT. The Raiders have needed five sets to finish the Owls in the last three meetings.
The Owls went to 9-4 overall and 4-3 in the CCC.
They were in prime position to get over the hump, especially after a deflating third-set win in which SOU scored five straight to tie it at 24-all until Alexa Burdett's kill and a Raider attacking error finished it.
Kopra boosted the Raiders with five kills to keep them alive in the fourth set, which Emma Gasman capped with an assisted block and a kill. SOU then scored the first four and last three points of the tiebreaker, as Tyana Andrews provided the exclamation point with a booming attack down the sideline.
The comeback required help from everywhere: Andrews finished with 12 kills and 16 digs, Gasman had 10 digs and four blocks, Laura Morse had 10 kills and 10 digs, and Niki Small finished 12 of her 21 attacks while getting in on three blocks.
Setter Lauren McGowne orchestrated a .212 Raider attacking average with 53 assists, 11 digs and two blocks, and Ashlyn Flynn had a match-best 24 digs.
OIT's .178 attacking average was the best by an SOU opponent in 11 matches, though it started at .235 in the first set and sunk in each subsequent frame.
Burdett recorded 15 kills, followed by Whitney Webster's 13, Kristin Depaoli's 12 and Mykala Rubey's 11.
SOU is off until Saturday's 8 p.m. match at Walla Walla, which will be the first ever between the teams.
