No. 25 RAIDER VOLLEYBALL (6-7, 3-3 CCC)
6 p.m. Friday – vs. Bushnell (10-6, 4-2) | Live Stats
4 p.m. Saturday – vs. No. 3 Corban (10-3, 4-2) | Live Stats
TICKETS | LIVE STREAMS

ASHLAND – Two teams that appear to be well on their way back to the NAIA Tournament visit Lithia Motors Pavilion this weekend for Cascade Conference matchups with No. 25-ranked Southern Oregon.

Riding a three-match winning streak, the Raiders (6-7 overall, 3-3 CCC) will look to pick up more steam at 6 p.m. Friday against Bushnell (10-6, 4-2) and 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 3 Corban (10-3, 4-2). The Beacons are fresh off their best win of the season, a five-setter at No. 12 College of Idaho, while the Warriors are seeking their fifth Top 25 victory after missing on back-to-back opportunities last weekend.

NAIA TOP 25: The CCC boasted more teams than any conference in the country in last week's NAIA Top 25 – No. 1 Eastern Oregon, No. 3 Corban, No. 12 College of Idaho, No. 17 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and No. 25 SOU – and has three more receiving votes in Walla Walla (Wash.), Northwest (Wash.) and Bushnell. The Raiders hung in despite their losing record based in large part on a strong schedule that has already pitted them against five nationally-ranked opponents. EOU reinforced its No. 1 standing by defeating Corban in four sets last Saturday and is currently tied for first place in the conference with LC State. The teams meet Friday in Lewiston.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Following a first-set loss to Oregon Tech last Tuesday, the Raiders finished the week with six consecutive set victories. They beat the Owls 22-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-19 behind 16 kills from Friley Curtiss and 14 kills and 12 digs from Andressa Ribeiro Soares. They got contributions from up and down the roster in Thursday's sound defeat of Warner Pacific, their 24th consecutive in the series. Curtiss had a team-high nine kills without an error in the 25-13, 25-13, 25-7 sweep.

BRIEFLY:

• In CCC play, SOU has three of the top-10 individuals in kills per set: Maya Watters (3.1), Andressa Ribeiro Soares (3.0) and Friley Curtiss (2.9). Curtiss has averaged 3.5 per set over SOU's last four matches and went for a career-high 16 last week against Oregon Tech.
• Ribeiro Soares has logged double-doubles in kills and digs in four of her last six outings. In CCC play, she ranks second on the conference digs leaderboard (4.0/set). Every other player in the top-10 is a libero. Tais Vega (2.9) ranks 12th.
• Raiders coach Josh Rohlfing is five wins away from the 400th of his career.
• The Raiders are 77-19 in home matches since moving into Lithia Motors Pavilion in 2018. They haven't lost a conference home match to an unranked opponent since Sept. 14, 2022, and – after topping College of Idaho two weeks ago – they've knocked off top-10 teams in Ashland each of the last two seasons.

ABOUT BUSHNELL: The Beacons qualified for the NAIA Tournament last year, going out in the Opening Round, and were picked to finish fifth in this year's CCC preseason poll. They are especially dangerous on the pins, where they feature All-CCC outside hitter Hailey Heider (3.2 kills/set, .154 average) and All-CCC right-side hitter Leah Agost (2.6 kills/set, .292 average). Their win last week at College of Idaho snapped an eight-match losing streak against nationally-ranked competition that dated back to last season. SOU has won eight straight head-to-head matchups.

ABOUT CORBAN: The Warriors have brought home wins from each of their last four trips to Ashland and swept last year's season series, winning both matchups in five sets, though SOU dished out some payback with a CCC Tournament sweep. Like the Raiders, they were national semifinalists a year ago. They brought back four starters from that team, including All-CCC selections Makayla Roginski, a right-side hitter, and Abby Guindy, a setter. Roginski is off to a hot start, posting 3.6 kills per set on .335 efficiency, while Emma Bischoff (2.8) and Kendra Bittle (2.8) are two more of the circuit's most dangerous attackers. SOU is 58-22 in the all-time series.