team
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
2
College of Idaho CI 9-1, 1-1 CCC
3
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 3-3, 1-1 CCC
College of Idaho CI
9-1, 1-1 CCC
2
Final
3
Southern Oregon SOU
3-3, 1-1 CCC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
College of Idaho CI 25 25 23 22 8 (2)
Southern Oregon SOU 10 19 25 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | SOU Sports Information

Raiders erase two-set deficit, hand 25th-ranked Yotes first loss

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon finally secured the breakthrough win that had escaped the Raiders since the start of last season. All they had to do was suffer through one of the most embarrassing openings in recent memory, stage a five-set comeback and become the first team this season to knock off The College of Idaho.

Riding the wave of a dramatic momentum reversal, the Raiders pulled off a 10-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-8 upset of the 25th-ranked Yotes on Saturday night at Mountain Avenue Gym, ending their rivals' nine-game win streak and salvaging an opening-weekend Cascade Conference split.

Junior outside hitter Dani Johnson dropped in 14 kills on a .353 attacking average, Makayla Hoyt had 11 kills and six blocks and Malie Rube recorded 11 kills. In the decisive frame, Johnson and Rube combined for seven kills on seven tries and Taylor Ristvedt added three of her eight kills on five big swings.

Over the last four seasons, the Raiders (3-3 overall, 1-1 CCC) are 15-2 in regular-season matches that have gone to five sets. They pulled off the latest thriller after a first set in which they allowed the Yotes (9-1, 1-1) to string together dominating runs of 22-3 in the first set and 10-2 in the second.

Following Friday's sweep at the hands of No. 11 Eastern Oregon, this particular win was badly needed. The Yotes – who won in five sets Friday at Oregon Tech – have already defeated four top-25 opponents and established themselves as a team to beat in the CCC. Last year, the Raiders went 0-8 against the top four teams in the conference standings.

"Having such a young team, for us to know we could come back and flip the switch after they beat us up early is really encouraging," SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing said. "We've been so focused on growth – just competing for the next point and focusing on the moment in front of us – instead of the big picture. But to get this result and be rewarded for sticking to the process is huge."

C of I entered the match with the most efficient attack in the CCC and showed why in the opening frame, converting 15 of 22 swings into kills for a .636 average. SOU's back row helped slow the Yotes down thereafter – they hit .236 the rest of the way – as libero Ashlyn Flynn picked up 23 digs and defensive specialist Kylie Barcroft chipped in 10.

Still, behind Marija Djonovic's 57 assists, five Yotes reached double figures in kills: Taylor Alexander (16), Brenna Meehan (15, 9 digs), Ashley Pagan (10, 19 digs), Alaina Slater (10) and Jackie van Vliet (10).

SOU took control by stealing a third set that was tied at 15 points and saw the lead change four times with a sideout rate of 75 percent (18-for-24). Trailing 20-18, the Raiders used four C of I errors to tie it at 23-all, and back-to-back kills from Johnson and Ristvedt took them to the fourth.

That's when Rube came alive with four kills, and the Yotes aided the Raiders with four service errors. In the fifth, SOU jumped out to leads of 4-2 and 9-5, then won five of the final six points while getting two kills apiece from Johnson and Elliott Cook.

The result ended SOU's four-match losing streak in the head-to-head series with C of I.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday the Raiders will host Oregon Tech, which spent its Saturday sweeping EOU.
 
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