ASHLAND – Southern Oregon dismissed College of Idaho in straight sets on Friday night, inching closer to a playoff berth with a 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 victory at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

Junior middle Sadie Byrd, the reigning Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Week, dominated at the net again with seven assisted blocks and six kills on 12 swings. She and the Raiders (18-8 overall, 12-7 CCC) kept the Yotes (9-17, 8-11) at a .095 attacking average.

C of I amassed 16 unforced attacking errors and 13 service errors in the abbreviated match and was swept in Ashland for the first time since 2010.

Hailey Van Well had a team-high nine kills for the Raiders and was in on fuor blocks. Simone Gordon, Carol Melo and Savannah Schwindt recorded five kills apiece, doing their parts efficiently on just 34 combined attempts.

Taylor Russell distributed 14 assists, Gwen Sheldon had 12, and Taylor Jackson chipped in two service aces.

The Raiders were never seriously threatened excepting a 10-8 deficit in the second set, to which they responded with a 6-1 run.

SOU will move into a three-way tie for third place with Bushnell and Evergreen – the Raiders own tiebreakers over both teams – going into Saturday's 7 p.m. senior night match against top-ranked Eastern Oregon.