ASHLAND — Maelle Garon had five aces and served No. 17-ranked Southern Oregon to 15 straight points in a 25-17, 25-4, 25-21 defeat of Evergreen (Wash.) as the first half of Cascade Conference play concluded on Saturday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Raiders improved to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in Cascade Conference play while remaining undefeated at home (7-0). They finished with a .390 attacking average and held the Geoducks (2-12 overall, 6-4 CCC) to a .032 average.
Garon helped inflate the Raider lead to 18-2 in the second set after a Geoduck service error gave SOU a 3-2 advantage. She served five consecutive service aces during the run and ended the match with 10 digs and six assists. The sophomore's efficiency followed a 30-dig performance on Friday night's four-set win against Northwest (Wash.)
Duda Leite posted a team-high nine kills on 11 attempts and Annie Hite dished a game-high 18 assists. Briella Mathis and Tessa Zimmerman were good on six attacks apiece in just two sets.
SOU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first frame and ended it on a 5-1 run after Violeta Bachvarova put it away. They swung at a .500 clip in the first set and .600 in the second.
Sophia Scroggins led the Geoducks with nine kills and Jayden Vaimaona had 11 assists.
The Raiders ended the night tied in fifth place with Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). They'll see the Warriors along with Walla Walla (Wash.) on next weekend's road trip.
