SOU Stops Concordia Streak
PORTLAND, Ore.—Southern Oregon University extended its wining streak to five matches by halting Concordia’s six-match streak with a 3-1 (22-30, 30-23, 30-26, 30-21) win in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action on Sept. 21.
After surrendering the first game, Southern Oregon took the next three to move to 10-4 on the season while Concordia fell to 8-6. With the result, both teams now carry a 4-1 mark in conference play.
Behind two Erika Doremus (Port Orchard, Wash.) aces, Concordia started fast in the opening game by scoring the first five points before a Raider push balanced the game at 7-7. In the next point, a kill by Samantha Yutzie provided SOU with its first lead. After another tie at 17, three kills by Raluca Dinca (Portland, Ore.) helped close the first game for Cavaliers with a 30-22 advantage.
“We did everything right, Southern came out a bit slow but we served tough and kept them out of system,” Concordia head coach Christopher Duenow said.
Down 10-18, the Raiders rallied with seven straight points to contend their way into the second game. Securing the lead at 19-20, SOU clamped down the rest of the way and closed the win with a Lindsey Stone ace to balance the match.
A reversal from the previous game, SOU seized its earlier momentum and marched to a 14-9 before a Cavalier rally evened the score at 17. Trading the next six points, the Cavs broke through with a mini run to take a 23-20 lead before SOU kills by Yutzie, Stone and Richelle Millsap denied a complete comeback.
Millsap powered the Raiders to a game-clinching win with seven kills in the finale, finishing with a match-high 19 successful attacks. Stone led the court with 55 assists while Emily Stone cleared 16 digs for the match best.
“The biggest thing is that they made adjustments late in the second game and we didn’t respond,” Duenow said. “I hope that we are able to take away from this match that when we are on track and executing at the level that we are capable of, we will be in a position to be successful against the top teams in the conference.”
The Cavaliers were led by 15 kills by Dinca while Lindsay Fryer (Bremerton, Wash.) added 11 kills and a team-leading 14 digs.
Concordia continues conference play by hosting the Oregon Institute of Technology at 7 p.m. inside the Cavalier Gymnasium.
“Tomorrow we will just have to clear our minds and come in fresh because OIT will bring a much different feel to the game tomorrow,” Duenow said.