NAIA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | POOL C
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Wednesday's Match – SOU 3, Nelson 1
Thursday's Match – Nelson 3, Viterbo 1
Friday's Match – SOU 3, Viterbo 0
ELIMINATION BRACKET

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Southern Oregon stumped another Pool C opponent on Friday night at the NAIA Volleyball Championship. The No. 3-seeded Raiders' reward is the biggest match in program history against their fiercest rival.

They're through to the quarterfinal round for the second time after defeating No. 14 seed Viterbo (Wis.) by scores of 25-21, 27-25 and 25-15 at the Tyson Events Center. The attack continued to fire on all cylinders, mounting a .343 average that was the highest allowed by the V-Hawks this season, and the defense devastated in clutch moments behind five blocks from Linda Conceicao and three from Sadie Byrd, who tied the team's career record.

Now 31-3, the Raiders need a fourth consecutive win against Eastern Oregon to stay alive. Three weeks removed from sweeping the No. 6-seeded Mountaineers on the road in the Cascade Conference Tournament championship, they'll face them again at 6:30 p.m. PST Saturday with their first-ever semifinal berth on the line.

The Raiders – who opened pool play with Wednesday's four-set win over Nelson (Texas) – set up the rematch by avenging last year's straight-set loss to the Viterbo (26-11) in the same spot. After denying the V-Hawks' set point in the second frame, the rout was on in the third.

"Our ability to be steady and balanced through these tight sets continues to build our confidence," said SOU coach Josh Rohlfing, who delivered the team's only prior quarterfinal appearance in 2018. "We were very mentally agile the past two matches in adapting to what we saw from these teams. We're still growing."

The Raiders' lead in the first set was down to 21-20 when Megan Perry took over, delivering a kill that was followed up by a Conceicao solo block. Perry closed it with two more kills on back-to-back points.

The second was tied 18 times before Viterbo went up 25-24 with an ace. Hannah Stadstad extended the set with a kill, Marin Mackey turned it with an ace, and Stadstad teamed up with Mylena Testoni for a block that capped the 3-0 run to give SOU a 2-0 sets lead.

Stadstad tallied five of her match-high 12 kills in the first set and four more in the third, also assisting three blocks. Perry hit at a .381 clip with 11 kills on 21 swings, and Mackey accumulated 10 kills, seven digs and a career-high five service aces.

Conceicao Sadie Byrd combined for 12 kills without an error in the middle. Byrd's career block total went to 526, matching a program benchmark established 28 years ago. Mylena Testoni chipped in 10 digs and five kills for an attack run proficiently by Annie Hite (20 assists, 8 digs) and Vitoria Mattos (19 assists, 3 digs).

"Playing teams this strong in the national tournament and still hitting over .300 is special," Rohlfing said. Including the Opening Round, his team has totaled 141 kills combined to 35 errors in three playoff outings. The Raiders limited the V-Hawks to three blocks.

They also held All-American middle Jada Mitchell to 10 kills on 26 swings, forcing her to commit four errors.

Their next task is to slow down Eastern Oregon, which has advanced to the semifinal round each of the last two seasons. Corban – the team with which SOU and EOU shared the CCC regular-season title – also got into bracket play.

Of the eight teams left standing, seven were top seeds in their respective pools. The only exception is Montana Western, which knocked out the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, Northwestern (Iowa), on Friday.

The SOU-EOU winner will face the winner of a quarterfinal between No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan, the defending national champion, and No. 7 St. Thomas (Fla.) in Monday's semifinals.