7 p.m. Friday – Multnomah at No. 5 SOU
5 p.m. Saturday – Warner Pacific at No. 5 SOU
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAMS

ASHLAND – Armed with the new highest ranking in team history, No. 5 Southern Oregon will look to continue taking advantage of its homestand with two more Cascade Conference matches at Lithia Motors Pavilion, at 7 p.m. Friday against Multnomah and 5 p.m. Saturday against Warner Pacific.

Though the Raiders (2-0 CCC) are off to an 11-1 start, they appeared to hit their offensive stride just recently while sweeping their last three matches. In those outings, they posted their top attacking averages of the young season consecutively at .326, .380 and .400. They have a favorable opportunity to build on those numbers against the Lions (1-2, 0-2) and Knights (1-5, 0-2), who both went without a set win in their CCC-opening matchups with Northwest (Wash.) and Evergreen (Wash.).

NAIA TOP 25: Going by the first coaches' poll of the regular season released on Wednesday, the CCC made a glowing impression during non-conference play. Three teams moved up in the ranks: SOU to No. 5 from No. 6, Eastern Oregon to No. 8 from No. 10, and Corban to No. 11 from No. 19. College of Idaho dropped eight spots but stayed in the mix at No. 20. The Raiders' post marks their highest ever in a regular-season edition of the poll. The team that dealt them their lone loss, Jamestown (N.D.), is up to No. 13.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: SOU's first two CCC contests lasted a combined 1 hours 58 minutes as it swept through Oregon Tech (25-15, 25-19, 25-15) and Walla Walla (25-15, 25-8, 25-10). Junior middle Elliott Cook picked up where she left off last season – when she led all players in CCC-only attacking average (.390) – with 10 kills in both matches on a .485 clip and seven total blocks. The Raiders' sharpness was also indicated in the reception-errors column, where they put up a zero in back-to-back matches for the first time this decade. The first victory was their 33rd consecutive head-to-head against the Owls, and they've still yet to drop a set in nine all-time meetings with Walla Walla.

HAPPY BELATED VICTORY: The 29-5 record SOU compiled during the 2018 season turned into 30-4 on Wednesday. Due to the use of a player retroactively ruled ineligible by the NAIA, Viterbo (Wisc.) announced the forfeiture of 34 contests, including their win against the Raider in pool play at the NAIA National Tournament. That will make the Raiders' season their first of the 30-win variety since 1992, and their win percentage (.882) the best in team history.

BRIEFLY:

• SOU's .237 team attacking average ranks ninth nationally, and Taylor Ristvedt's .333 ranks 19th individually. Ristvedt tops the CCC in that category and is second in kills per set (3.2).
• The Raiders also lead the conference at 11.6 assists per set. Freshman Tehani Faitau (5.5) and senior Hannah Bogatin (4.8) are sharing setting duties, and Faitau has a team-high 251 assists.
• Four different Raiders are posting at least two digs per set: Emma Ryan (3.4), Sara Fanger (2.2), Kya Knuth (2.1) and Kadyn Jones (2.1). A fifth defensive specialist, Myla Norvell (1.4), leads the Raiders with 17 service aces.
• Against Oregon Tech, freshman hitter Shelby Young came on with six kills on eight swings in a single set. She got the start against Walla Walla and contributed nine more on just 14 attacks.
• The Raiders are 21-2 overall with 13 sweeps at Lithia Motors Pavilion. They're 17-0 against unranked opponents.

ABOUT MULTNOMAH: SOU is 8-0 against the Lions since they joined the Cascade Conference in 2015 and swept both matchups in 2018. The Lions got their lone win in non-conference play in five sets against New Hope Christian. Their go-to-hitters are Taryn Frey (2.1 kills, .250) and Danae Stokes (2.0, .200).

ABOUT WARNER PACIFIC: The Knights earned their only win against Columbia Bible but have struggled otherwise, winning two sets combined in their five losses. The Raiders have won 13 consecutive matchups, including six in a row by sweep in Ashland, and are 48-4 in the all-time series. Haley Yoder, a 6-foot-2 senior middle, has been strong at the net with 2.6 kills per set on a .266 average, both team bests.