Southern Oregon Downs NCC, 3-0
ASHLAND, Ore. – Southern Oregon athletics picked up another win Saturday night with the Raider volleyball team topping Northwest Christian, 3-0, at SOU’s McNeal Pavilion. With the win the Raiders increased their winning streak to six matches and improved to 13-4 on the season and 7-1 in Cascade Conference play. The Sept. 29 win also puts the Raiders at 13 straight home court wins, including eight matches from the 2006 season. The Beacons drop to 7-8 and 2-6 in the CCC season.
Sweeping the match 30-18, 30-16, 30-25 the Raiders made quick work of the Beacons, topping the Eugene based team in just over an hour. The Raiders hit .289 on the night and held the Beacons to .083. Southern totaled 50 kills, with senior Jaclyn Hamilton-Smith (Eugene, Ore.) notching a court-high of 16 kills (.424). Junior Mia Wortel (Estacada, Ore.) had a solid night of hitting as well, tallying 13 kills (.867), while Richelle Millsap (Bend, Ore.) was the third Raider in double figures, nailing 10 kills (.250).
Running the Raiders offense, setters Lindsey Stone (Ashland, Ore.) and Molly Grossmann (Ashland, Ore.) set the pace with 29 and 18 sets, respectively. Dominating the backcourt for SOU, libero Emily Stone (Ashland, Ore.) recorded a match high of 20 digs while also recording Southern’s only two aces of the match. Shanna Claflin (Grants Pass, Ore.) led the match in blocking with seven assists while Wortel totaled five and Millsap added four.
Leading the Beacons, Ashley Blanchfill tallied eight kills while Charlie Van Loon and Cotie Howard added six each. Blanchfill also recorded the Beacons’ solo ace serve of the night. Howard joined Brooke Stribling in blocking honors, recording three assists and one solo block each. Libero Mercedes LeClaire led the Beacons in digs, tallying 16. Setters Alex Jee and Meaghan Hunts split time on the court and notched 12 and 11 sets each, respectively.
The Raiders will continue their CCC play on Friday, Oct. 5 when they host Warner Pacific in a 7 p.m. match at McNeal Pavilion. Southern Oregon will also play host to Cascade College on Saturday, Oct. 6 in a 7 p.m. slated start.