ASHLAND – Needing every bit of a 12-match winning streak to end the regular season, seventh-ranked Southern Oregon completed its dominant run with a celebration on Saturday night, defeating Evergreen (Wash.) to secure the 15th Cascade Conference championship in team history at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

The Raiders (27-3 overall, 18-2 CCC) made it back-to-back titles for the first time since 2009-10 with a 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 win, riding Taylor Ristvedt's 19 kills to their 14th sweep of a conference opponent. Next, they'll attempt to defend their tournament title when the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank return to Ashland for the semifinal and final rounds next week.

They finished as co-champions with Eastern Oregon for the second year in a row, but a higher percentage of sets won in CCC matches gave SOU the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed, tourney hosting rights and the circuit's first automatic bid to the NAIA Championships.

The Raiders will play their semifinal match at 7 p.m. Friday against an opponent yet to be determined, after EOU plays its semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The championship is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.

The final touch on Ristvedt's campaign for another CCC Player of the Year award was a .457 attacking average and the highest kill total of her career in a three-set match. Elliott Cook checked in with seven kills, Hannah Bogatin totaled 30 assists and eight digs, and Emma Ryan notched a match-high 16 digs.

SOU has won six regular-seson titles since Josh Rohlfing became the head coach in 2007.

"This winning streak we went on – having eight on the road and knowing every night was do-or-die for the entire second half – shows what incredible character our seniors have," Rohlfing said. "They took the reins and willed themselves to win matches throughout. It's a tribute to their work ethic and what they've put into this program."

The Geoducks (12-17, 10-10) were eliminated from postseason contention with the loss.

Another senior, Nila Lukens, had six kills, as did Maddie Pernich. Kylie Ristvedt added five on 11 swings.

The Raiders rolled through the first set, scoring five straight points to take a commanding 20-10 lead behind five Taylor Ristvedt kills without an error. The second was tied 20-20 before a Pernich kill and Bogatin's ace started a set-ending 5-2 run.

They scored six unanswered in the third set – Makayla Hoyt capped the spurt by teaming up with Lukens and Ristvedt for blocks – to take an 18-13 lead. Ristvedt finished the match with her loudest kill of the night.

Chloee Hunt kept the Geoducks competitive in every frame with 15 kills on 23 attacks and three assisted blocks. Sierra Wolff had 32 assists and Leiko Yamauchi had 10 digs.

The Raiders have swept all but one unranked opponent they faced since the start of September and will enter the postseason with a 14-2 record at home.