FULLERTON, Calif. — The No. 22-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team moved to 3-1 overall after sweeping tournament host Hope International (Calif.) and dropping a five-setter to No. 15 The Master's (Calif.) on Friday at Day 1 of the Summer Slam in Darling Pavilion.
In the morning session, the Raiders finished off the Royals 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 behind 10 kills from Maya Watters and nine kills on a .500 average from Duda Leite.
Annie Hite and Isabelle Foote combined for 23 assists, orchestrating a .313 team attack. Sophomore Maelle Garon and Kaylie Christopher each had three service aces as the Raiders held HIU to a .098 hitting percentage.
In the first set, Southern trailed 11-12 before a 14-6 run, capitalized by a Marian Vega Castro attack, ended the set. Similarly, the Raiders scored four unanswered points in the third set, taking a 22-20 advantage before shutting the door on the Royals.
The Master's – which opened the day pushing No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) to five sets – prevailed by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 24-26, 15-11 in the afternoon session against the Raiders.
Kinsley Kollman totaled 17 kills on 45 swings to lead three Mustangs in double figures. Kate Wagner had 46 assists and 15 digs.
The Raiders held match point in the fourth set before a kill from TMU's Macy Gebhards leveled the score 24-24. Tessa Zimmermann forced the tiebreaker set after a kill on the next point, bookended by a solo block.
Zimmerman ended with eight blocks and Garon finished with a career-high 22 digs. Watters tied Kollman with a game-high 17 kills.
SOU plays two more games on the final day of the tournament on Saturday, first taking on top-ranked Northwestern at 9 a.m., then playing Life Pacific (Calif.) at 1 p.m.
