EUGENE – After two bleak sets, with a winless road trip appearing all but certain,
Sadie Byrd and the Southern Oregon University volleyball team solved Bushnell just in time on Saturday night at the Morse Center.
Byrd, a 6-foot junior middle, broke the school record for blocks in a match with 13 and the Raiders overcame a 2-0 set deficit for the first time this season to win 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-11 and move back into fourth place in the Cascade Conference.
Byrd's final block – which elevated her above four Raiders who shared the previous record – clinched the match and made SOU 17-8 overall and 11-7 in the CCC with four regular-season matches remaining. The Maple Valley, Wash., product also established a new career-high in kills with 14 on only 21 attempts to lead the team.
Junior setter
Hannah Randall dazzled with 42 assists, 11 kills on 14 attempts, seven digs and two service aces. Over the final three sets, Byrd totaled nine kills and nine blocks while Randall had nine kills.
The Raiders moved to 3-0 in tiebreaker sets during CCC play, with two of those wins coming against Bushnell (16-10, 11-7). The Beacons enjoyed a 2-1 lead in the last meeting.
Simone Gordon poured in eight kills and seven blocks,
Savannah Schwindt came on for a career-high eight kills and five digs, and
Carol Melo had six kills and four blocks.
Kayla Neidigh corralled a team-high 23 digs and
Trinity Atuatasi had 17.
After hitting .045 over the first two sets, the Raiders generated a .225 average the rest of the way. Tied 15-15 in the third, Randall served them to an 8-0 run that included two kills and two blocks from Byrd. Byrd set the tone again in the fourth with assisted blocks for each of SOU's first three points, teaming up with Gordon for two of them.
The Raiders never trailed in the fifth. Tied 5-5, back-to-back Schwindt kills and three unforced Beacons errors gave them all the cushion they needed.
SOU is home for the last time in the regular season next weekend, playing College of Idaho on Friday and top-ranked Eastern Oregon on Saturday. Their magic number to clinch a postseason berth is three.
