7 p.m. Friday – #18 SOU at Corban – Live Stats/Stream
5 p.m. Saturday – #18 SOU at Northwest Christian – Live Stats/Stream

ASHLAND – The 18^th-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team's seven-match nonleague trip, during which it saw four top-25 opponents, was a successful developmental exercise for its 13 underclassmen. Starting this weekend, there's a little more at stake.

Cascade Collegiate Conference play begins on the road for the Raiders (3-4 overall), who will open up with the Corban Warriors (4-2) on Friday and the Northwest Christian Beacons (0-4) on Saturday for the fourth year in a row, this time on the road. By the time they take the court, they will have had eight full days to regroup and evaluate since taking three straight losses to end the trip.

Corban and NCU haven't traditionally caused the Raiders many problems – they've won 26 straight dating back to 2003 against the former and are 19-1 all-time against the latter. But the Warriors are primed to build on a strong 2015 campaign, having already defeated NCAA Division II opponent Concordia (Ore.) and defending Frontier Conference co-champion Carroll (Mont.), and the Beacons have one starter back at each position from last year's squad.

Briefly:
– Josh Rohlfing, SOU's 10^th-year coach, expected the Raiders to be tough on the block and he's been right so far: They're averaging 2.5 blocks per set, the ninth-best average in the NAIA, and their 16 blocks in just four sets against Montana Tech was the team's highest total since 2014. Middles Emma Gasman and Courtney Macklin are the culprits, combining to average 4.5 kills and 2.4 blocks per frame.
– Replacing their outside hitters was the Raiders' biggest concern entering the season, and sophomore Nila Lukens has answered the call with a team-best 2.5 kills per set on at .205 attacking average. On Aug. 22 at Hope International, she established a career-high with 14 kills on 31 swings.
– Unforced errors have been SOU's Achilles' heel, in part because of the competition and inexperience. SOU's 6.8 attacking errors per set have led to a team attacking average of .145, which currently ranks ninth in the CCC.
– Lauren McGowne is up to 3,570 career assists, pulling her within 192 of Tara Elder (a member of the 2016 SOU Sports Hall of Fame class) for third on the team's all-time list.
– The Raiders have not lost their first CCC match of the season since 2007. That year, they went on to win their next 19 and won the regular-season title.

About Corban: SOU leads the all-time series with the Warriors, 53-7, and hasn't lost in Salem since 1999… Corban returns five starters from last season, including All-CCC outside hitter Amber Parker, who led the circuit with 5.8 kills per set; CCC freshman of the year Madison McLain at setter; and CCC libero of the year Haley Wells… The Warriors went 12-8 last year in the CCC for their best win percentage since 2004, and they were picked to finish fifth this season.

About Northwest Christian: The Beacons have dropped 12 of 13 sets played to this point, losing two matches against UC Merced and one each against Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)… Kendall Bergsten is their go-to attacker with 3.3 kills per set, but her .090 attacking average has contributed to a team average of .098… NCU's lone defeat of SOU was a sweep of the Raiders in Eugene in the second CCC match of the season, just as Saturday's will be… The Beacons went 7-13 in the CCC for eighth place last year and have been picked to finish in the same spot.