7 p.m. Friday – Northwest Christian at SOU – Live Stream | Live Stats
7 p.m. Saturday – Corban at SOU – Live Stream | Live Stats

ASHLAND – Already locked into the No. 5 seed for the Cascade Conference tournament, the Southern Oregon volleyball team has three things left to play for in the final weekend of the regular season: its two senior all-stars, who will be appearing at home for the last time, and some much-needed momentum to carry into the postseason.

The Raiders (14-11 overall, 11-7 CCC) host the Northwest Christian Beacons (10-14, 8-10) on Friday and the 22nd-ranked Corban Warriors (19-5, 15-3) on Saturday with the chance to send middle Emma Gasman and setter Lauren McGowne out on a high note. Both matches start at 7 p.m. at Ashland High's Mountain Avenue Gym.

Last weekend's losses at Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho ended SOU's season-best winning streak at five matches. It also took away the Raiders' hopes of hosting a playoff game; instead, they'll be on the road next Tuesday for the CCC quarterfinals at the No. 4 seed, either C of I or Northwest. The winner will advance to the final site next Friday (and potentially Saturday) at Eastern Oregon – which has already clinched the regular-season title – for the semifinal and final rounds.

LAST CALL: On Saturday SOU will honor two seniors who, since stepping into the starting lineup as freshmen in 2013, have led the Raiders to 81 wins, two appearances in the national tournament and one Cascade Conference title.

Lauren McGowne, a product of Coos Bay's Marshfield High, will depart as one of the most decorated setters in school history. As a freshman, she took over the starting job 10 matches into the season and went on to lead the CCC in assists per set, garnering the Northwest Region Freshman of the Year award. She was an honorable mention All-CCC pick as a sophomore, a third-team NAIA All-American and No. 2 on the national assists list as a junior, and has helped usher 14 underclassmen into the mix as a senior. Her 4,213 career assists rank second in SOU history – her average of 11.84 in CCC play last year was the best in the conference since former Raider All-American Lindsey Stone's mark of 11.98 in 2010 – and she's also accumulated 640 digs and 176 blocks.

Emma Gasman, a 6-foot middle from Clovis High in Buchanan, Calif., also emerged as a key piece starting in 2013. With 995 career kills, she's five away from becoming the seventh player to reach 1,000 in Raider history and ranks sixth on SOU's all-time blocks list with 380. She's also been top-five in the CCC in attacking average all four years and stands at .308 for her career, including a sterling .339 mark in conference matches. Last year she was All-CCC, All-Northwest Region and honorable mention All-American, and she and McGowne are both three-time members of the Academic All-CCC team.

BRIEFLY:
– Saturday marks SOU's last chance for a high-quality CCC win. To this point, the Raiders are 0-7 against the top four teams in the league and 11-0 against everyone else.
– In conference play, the Raiders rank sixth in attacking average (.177) and third in opponents' average (.152).
– Libero Ashlynn Flynn has recorded 20-plus digs four times in the Raiders' last 12 matches after not hitting that mark once in their first 13. Defensive specialist Kiley Barcroft has reached double figures in digs 14 times.
– The Raiders are 5-3 at home in 2016. Over the last five years, they're 49-10.

About Northwest Christian:
– SOU won the first meeting with the Beacons on Sept. 3 in Eugene in a 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 sweep. The Raiders lead the all-time series, 20-1.
– The Beacons are currently tied for the No. 6 spot in the standings with Warner Pacific. They were swept by WPC in the head-to-head series, so the tiebreaker belongs to the Knights.
– In CCC play, NCU is hitting .134 and allowing .177. Taylor Burnett ranks ninth in kills per set (3.2) and they lead the conference in digs per set (16.4) as a team.

About Corban:
– The Warriors won the first meeting with SOU on Sept. 2 in Salem by 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22 decision. It was their first win since 2003 in the series, which SOU leads 53-8.
– The Warriors have been No. 22 in the rankings for three straight weeks. Before this year, they hadn't been ranked since 1999. They've already clinched their best finish in the CCC standings (second) since 1998.
– They rank second in the CCC in attacking average (.247) and fourth in average against (.147). Junior Amber Parker leads the CCC in kills per set (4.1) for the second year in a row, and junior Alaina Gentili (3.7) ranks fifth.