ASHLAND – One win is all that stands between seventh-ranked Southern Oregon and another Cascade Conference volleyball title after dismissing Northwest (Wash.) with little trouble on Friday night, 25-16, 25-16, 25-17 at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Raiders (26-3 overall, 17-2 CCC) will bring an 11-match winning streak into Saturday's 5 p.m. regular-season finale against Evergreen (Wash.). If they win, they'll own at least a share of the title. And if they finish as co-champions with Eastern Oregon – which also sits at 17-2 going into its final match at Warner Pacific – the Raiders will own the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed and hosting rights to the semifinal and final rounds of the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank on Nov. 15 and 16.
They never trailed the Eagles (13-12, 11-8) after scoring seven straight points to take an 8-3 lead in the opening frame. NAIA Attacker of the Week
Taylor Ristvedt nailed down 13 kills with three assisted blocks and
Nila Lukens had seven of her eight kills in the final two sets, heading a team attacking average of .263.
Kadyn Jones recorded 16 digs and two aces,
Emma Ryan had 14 digs and
Sara Fanger added nine to send the Eagles to a .083 attack and hold Hannah Lord – one of the top hitters in the CCC – to seven kills compared to eight errors on 30 swings.
"I thought both teams played a little tense at the start, but our floor defense really changed the shape of the match and I thought we served really well," SOU coach
Josh Rohlfing said. "I thought we made really good on-court adjustments as the match progressed and that just comes from experience."
Elliott Cook's team-high four blocks helped. She and
Maddie Pernich both had six kills.
Hannah Bogatin directed the attack with 22 assists and two aces, and
Tehani Faitau had 13 assists and once ace.
Kylie Szczepanski was in on five of the Eagles' eight blocks. Tatiana Ensz, Abigail Broussard and Keann White had five kills each.
Following Saturday's match, the Raiders will honor their five seniors: Bogatin, Fanger, Lukens, Ristvedt and Ryan.
