7 p.m. Friday – No. 9 SOU (15-1, 8-1) vs. Northwest Christian (6-8, 1-6) – Lithia Motors Pavilion
7 p.m. Saturday – No. 9 SOU (15-1, 8-1) vs. Corban (9-7, 5-2) – Lithia Motors Pavilion
Live Streams | Live Stats

ASHLAND – Over the next two weeks the No. 9-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team will see each of the three teams lined up directly behind it in the Cascade Conference standings, getting a chance to strengthen its hold on first place at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

The Raiders (15-1 overall, 8-1 CCC) will cross the halfway point of the conference schedule this weekend while playing host to the Northwest Christian Beacons (6-8, 1-6) on Friday and the Corban Warriors (9-7, 5-2) on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. The Beacons have won two straight in Ashland but are on a six-match losing streak, while the Warriors are trying to build a Top 25 case that already includes last Friday's convincing four-set upset of College of Idaho.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: The Raiders outlasted all but the top two teams in the NAIA in maintaining a spotless record. It was muddied for the first time last Friday when Northwest (Wash.) won a 15-12 tiebreaker in Kirkland, ending a 14-match winning streak that went down as the third-longest in team history to start a season. SOU rebounded from the setback with another impressive victory on Saturday – 25-17, 25-20, 25-14 against a resurgent Evergreen (5-3) team that had knocked off Oregon Tech the previous night. The Raiders attacked at a .365 average, their highest against a CCC team not named Walla Walla in three years.

MORE RISTVEDT: Already a CCC Attacker of the Week twice this season, Taylor Ristvedt put forth the best conference weekend of her career in terms of attacking efficiency in Washington. The junior right-side finished with 34 kills over two matches, recording 19 with two errors at Northwest and 15 without an error at Evergreen for a combined .604 average. Her CCC average of 3.1 kills per set ranks eighth in the circuit, and among all qualified hitters in the NAIA her .382 overall average is the sixth best.

AROUND THE CCC: The usual suspects, Eastern Oregon (12-4, 7-1) and College of Idaho (11-5, 6-2), are second and third in the conference standings with next weekend's crucial visits to Ashland looming. Since losing to SOU in five on the opening night of CCC play, EOU has won seven straight, most recently hanging on for a four-set win at Corban. C of I dropped its match at Corban but will get to host the Mountaineers on Thursday night.

BRIEFLY:

• In conference matches, the Raiders rank second in opponents' attacking average (.143) and are giving up fewer aces (0.97/set) and kills (9.6) than anyone.
• The Nos. 2 and 3 spots on the CCC attacking average list belong to SOU's middles, sophomores Elliott Cook (.409) and Makayla Hoyt (.371). Hoyt's overall .422 average is No. 2 on the NAIA leaderboard – she's also fifth in the conference in blocks (1.1) – and SOU's overall average of .295 is No. 4 in the country. The Raiders hit over .300 for the 10th time this season against Evergreen; they hit that number just five times in the previous two seasons combined.
• The Raiders are 6-0 at home, where they've yet to drop a swept. Overall, they've swept 13 of 16 opponents. They've also yet to lose a first or third set.
• Junior Emma Ryan is 11 digs away from 500 for her career, while senior Kiley Barcroft is up to 675.

ABOUT NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN:

• Though they've dropped three straight in the series, the Raiders are 20-4 all-time against the Beacons.
• NCU has struggled with a .174 average in CCC matches but features the most efficient attacker in the conference: junior middle Megan Van Marter, who hits .435 with 2.3 kills per set. Claire Salness adds 2.6 on a .169 average.
• In their last six matches, the Beacons have won a total of four sets.

ABOUT CORBAN:

• SOU is looking to stop a four-match losing streak against the Warriors, who've been ranked for the previous three meetings. The Raiders are 53-11 overall in the series.
• Corban has the third-best opponents' average (.159) in conference play and tops the CCC in kills per set (14.2).
• Junior hitter Adriana Aguayo is the third-most prolific hitter in the CCC at 3.8 kills per set.