Raiders-Owls Part III
ASHLAND, Oregon - For the third time during the 2008 season, the Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech volleyball teams will meet Friday afternoon in Caldwell, Idaho.
This time a berth in the Cascade Conference Tournament Championship match is at stake.
The Southern Oregon (19-9) and Oregon Tech (22-6) match will take place at 4 p.m. (MST). In the other semifinal match, the host College of Idaho (21-7) and Eastern Oregon (20-9) battle at 7 p.m. (MST).
The two winners will battle for the conference crown and an automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament at 7:00 (MST) on Saturday.
The Raiders swept the season series from the Owls.
SOU swept OIT in three early in September in Klamath Falls and then in late October, the two teams battled back-and-forth before SOU came away with the five-set victory.
“They are a team that we’ve see a lot of,” SOU Head Coach Josh Rohlfing said. “To beat a good team like them three times in a row is a difficult task. They are a very talented team and they’ve beaten teams that we’ve struggled with and playing at a neutral site makes it a whole different atmosphere.”
The Owls, who sat on top of the conference standings for most the season, finished the season in third place and swept Corban on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals to reach Friday’s semis.
“They just have so many weapons,” Rohlfing said of OIT. “They have so many people that can put the ball away and they have such a quick offense that if we are a step slow they will beat us.”
The Raiders enter the semis on a six match winning streak that helped them secure the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament. During that stretch, sophomore outside hitter Leanne Stennett has emerged as a force.
Stennett has come away with 63 kills, 50 digs, a .361 attack percentage on an average of 3.15 kills per set during the winning streak.
“Leanne is finally healthy,” Rohlfing said. “We knew that she had the potential to play like this, but we had to start out with her playing in the back row. As the season progressed we started involving her more and our offense is really conducive for her style of play. She has a really quick arm.”