ASHLAND – Warner Pacific became the latest victim of a Southern Oregon attacking clinic Friday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The No. 10-ranked Raiders' 13th win without a loss was a 25-16, 25-16, 25-15 dismissal of the Knights, who watched SOU put down 46 kills with 12 errors for a casually exceptional hitting average of .354.
It made the first-place Raiders 6-0 in the Cascade Conference going into another home match at 7 p.m. Saturday against Multnomah. They're four wins away from matching the cleanest start in team history, having swept through 11 of their opponents.
Sophomore middle
Elliott Cook's hand stayed hot against WPU (2-8, 1-4 CCC) with a season-best 13 kills and 18 swings – her seventh consecutive outing with at least seven.
Taylor Ristvedt poured in 11 kills as and the duo dictated every set: Cook had six in the first, Ristvedt had five in the second, and Cook added five more in the third.
The only time the Knights led was when Haley Yoder delivered a kill on the first point of the second frame. They were off the floor in 59 minutes.
Raider setters
Natalie James and
Hannah Bogatin totaled 24 and 11 assists, respectively, as the Raiders upped their season attacking average to .295, the third-highest in the NAIA.
Makayla Hoyt chipped in seven kills on 13 swings and
Nila Lukens had six on 12.
With a season-low one block, the Raiders leaned on stellar back-row defense from
Emma Ryan (14 digs) and
Kiley Barcroft (6).
Yoder's 10 kills led the Knights, who hit .121 as a team. Outside of her effort, they hit just .024.