RAIDER VOLLEYBALL (11-12, 8-8 CCC)
6 p.m. Friday – vs. Evergreen (1-19, 1-15) | Live Stats
6 p.m. Saturday – vs. No. 21 Northwest (13-9, 7-9) | Live Stats
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ASHLAND – Southern Oregon's takedown of the No. 1 team in the country will be remembered in one of two ways: as a clear turning that sparks another playoff run, or as a nice souvenir that marked the high point of a rebuilding season.

This weekend should provide some clarity with SOU (11-12 overall, 8-8 Cascade Conference) hosting Evergreen (Wash.) (1-19, 1-15) on Friday and No. 21-ranked Northwest (Wash.) (13-9, 7-9) on Saturday, starting both matches at 6 p.m. inside Lithia Motors Pavilion. The latter matchup in particular has a chance to shake up the postseason picture as the Raiders attempt to pump their resume with a third Top 25 victory. It's their last home date of the regular season, which they'll finish up on the road next week against two more nationally-ranked opponents.

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders saw an influx of votes in Wednesday's latest NAIA coaches' poll thanks to their big win at Eastern Oregon, shooting to No. 29 from No. 37 overall. EOU slipped to No. 2 and Corban, which also knocked off EOU during the last ratings period, went up three spots to No. 5. Four more CCC teams stayed in the Top 25: No. 12 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), No. 18 College of Idaho, No. 20 Bushnell and No. 21 Northwest. Walla Walla (Wash.) continued to receive votes at No. 28 overall. The final poll will be released Nov. 12, the day after the CCC Tournament's play-in round.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: The Raiders nearly broke through in Friday's five-set loss at then-No. 19 College of Idaho, where they led the tiebreaker 7-5 before the Yotes scored six straight points and prevailed behind 43 combined kills from hitters Mia Hutchinson and Cierra Bohrn. They left no doubt a night later in a stunner of a 25-20, 14-25, 25-23, 25-17 win at EOU, the first in program history on the road against a No. 1-ranked team. Their .243 attacking average was the best for a Mountaineers opponent this season and they built leads of 17-11 in the first set, 19-11 in the third and 13-4 in the fourth to silence a packed Quinn Coliseum. Friley Curtiss logged 17 kills and six blocks to lead the well-rounded performance, which marked SOU's third consecutive win in La Grande.

ROHLFING HITS 400: Josh Rohlfing joined some elite company with his 400th win as the Raiders' head coach at EOU. Rohlfing, who took over at SOU in 2007, became the 21st active coach in the NAIA to reach the milestone. His winning percentage of .731 is the eighth-best among that group. A six-time CCC Coach of the Year, Rohlfing has averaged 23 wins per season and taken the Raiders to the national tournament 10 times.

BRIEFLY:

• Following Friday's match, SOU will recognize two seniors, Andressa Ribeiro Soares and Tais Vega, who are excelling in their final season with the team. Ribeiro Soares, a Brazilian outside hitter, has recorded eight double-doubles and is the only CCC player to rank among the top-12 in both kills (2.8) and digs (3.6) per set in conference play. Two weeks ago at Oregon Tech, she became the first Raider in a decade to accumulate 20-plus of each in a single match.  Vega, a Corvallis product in her third season with the team, has also shined since taking over as SOU's starting libero. She is sixth on the conference leaderboard at 3.3 digs per set and has collected 10 or more in nine of her last 10 outings.
• Junior middle Tessa Zimmermann was voted the CCC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday thanks to her eight-block effort at Eastern Oregon. She is averaging 0.9 blocks per set in conference play, the 10th-best clip in the circuit, and over SOU's last five matches has totaled 29 kills compared to just five attacking errors.
• Sophomore right-side hitter Friley Curtiss has continued her ascent as one of the CCC's most reliable attackers, going for 10-plus kills in eight of SOU's last nine matches and hitting .350 or better in five of those. She is at 2.9 kills per set in conference play to check in at 11th on the leaderboard. Only five hitters above her are doing their damage at a more efficient clip than her .235 mark.
• Of SOU's 12 losses, 10 came against teams currently in the NAIA Top 25.

ABOUT EVERGREEN: The Geoducks sit in 10th place and have been swept in all 19 of their losses, getting their only win against last-place Warner Pacific. SOU hit .437 and got 15 kills from Maya Watters in the first matchup. The Raiders have won seven in a row in the head-to-head series, leading it 44-3 overall.

ABOUT NORTHWEST: SOU will go for a regular-season split with Northwest, which won a four-set decision between the teams on Oct. 3 behind 14 kills apiece from Kaitlyn Mickle and Delaney Sparks. The Eagles are looking to snap a four-match losing streak and remain dangerous behind Mickle, who, at 6-foot tall on the outside, is an all-conference honoree averaging 3.4 kills per set. SOU has won three consecutive matchups in Ashland and is 49-11 in the series.