ASHLAND – Southern Oregon pitcher Ayla Davies and Raider beach volleyball pair Lucretia Benolken and Kira Sandoval were upgraded to NAIA Athletes of the Week on Tuesday, the national office announced.

The athletes were recognized a day after Davies earned the Cascade Conference's top pitching honor for the fourth time this season after going 3-0 with one save, a 0.60 ERA, 27 strikeouts and no walks over 23 1/3 innings. The freshman right-hander didn't allow an earned run in any of her three starts, all complete games. She started the week by outdueling Oregon Tech All-American Kacie Schmidt in a 2-1 SOU win and ended it with a season-high 13 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout of Bushnell.

At 18-1, Davies leads the NAIA in wins and ranks second in saves with five. Her 0.65 ERA is the second-lowest in the country and she has logged four more shutouts (11) than any other player in the conference.

Benolken and Sandoval, both sophomores who play as SOU's No. 3 pair, won all three of their matches during the Raiders' 2-1 weekend homestand and were subsequently named the CCC Pair of the Week. They became the first pair this season to knock off No. 2-ranked Corban's 3-pair of Emmi Marks and Jessica McMillian in conference play, doing so in a tiebreaker, then won in straight sets twice in one day against Bushnell's 3-pair.

Benolken and Sandoval stand at 8-5 overall and 8-3 in conference matches. They've helped SOU to second place in the standings at 8-3.