ASHLAND – Outside hitters Sahara Browning and Paula Flores rose to the occasion and helped Walla Walla (Wash.) survive five dramatic sets against Southern Oregon to secure its first-ever postseason victory in the play-in round of the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank on Tuesday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Browning put up 22 kills and 17 digs, and Flores supplied 18 and 18 as the No. 7-seeded Wolves (13-11 overall) won 17-25, 25-18, 25-20, 33-35, 15-12 and advanced to Thursday's quarterfinal round in La Grande. They recovered in the fifth set after squandering six match-point opportunities in a marathon fourth, also getting 53 assists, six digs, three service aces and three blocks from setter Yaimaris Garcia.
The No. 6-seeded Raiders exited the tournament with a 14-14 record. They'll be on the bubble for an at-large NAIA National Tournament bid and learn their fate when the 48-team field is announced next Monday. They bolstered their case with three Top 25 wins over the last three weeks before the Wolves ended a 14-match home postseason winning streak that dated back to 2010.
Flores had five kills during the fifth set, including three during a 6-2 Wolves run that gave them a 13-9 lead. After the Raiders cut into it by stealing the next three points, Natalia Jimenez and Catalina Gutierrez Sebastia teamed up for back-to-back blocks that clinched the match.
SOU freshman middle
Lanie Snow was one block shy of the team record with 13. She recorded six of them during the 68-point fourth, which was the longest set the Raiders have been a part of since the 2007 season.
Friley Curtiss and
Andressa Ribeiro Soares led the Raiders at 13 kills apiece and also starred defensively – Curtiss with eight assisted blocks and Ribeiro Soares with 13 kills for her 11th double-double.
Maya Watters added 10 kills and
Tais Vega collected 17 impressive digs.
Walla Walla will meet No. 4 seed College of Idaho in the quarterfinals. No. 8 seed Northwest (Wash.) swept Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the other play-in match and advanced to face No. 3 seed Bushnell.
