Leanne Stennett power a kill home as the Raiders roll past Holy Names.
Raiders Punch Ticket For Iowa
ASHLAND, Ore. -- Megan Bartling and Sarah Holgen registered double-digit kills as the 14th-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team scored a 25-23, 25-21, 25-13 victory over Holy Names in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Match tonight at McNeal Pavilion.
Southern Oregon improved to 23-3 with the victory and now advances to Sioux City, Iowa as part of the final 24 for the NAIA National Championship. Pool play begins Nov. 30.
Bartling, the Cascade Conference's attack percentage leader, came away with 11 kills and just two errors for an attack percentage of .474. Bartling also had four blocks. Holgen registered 10 kills and nine digs.
All-American setter Lindsey Stone had 35 assists and six digs, while Becky Johnstone registered 13 digs and Lauren Swetland had six blocks.
Britany Silvia led Holy Names with nine kills, while Samantha Miller had 11 digs.
Southern Oregon struggled out of the gate in the opening set as the underdog Hawks played point-for-point with the hosts.
Swetland had a pair of kills to spark a 4-0 SOU run to push the lead to 15-12 to give the Raiders some breathing room, but the guests never went away.
A kill by Silvia and an SOU attack error tied the first set at 23-23, but a kill by Bartling and a block by Swetland gave the Raiders the victory.
In the second set, SOU jumped out early with leads of 9-3 and 17-9 to cruise to victory.
The third set featured an 8-0 SOU run that broke the heart of Holy Names. During the run, the Hawks had six errors and SOU led 19-9 on their way to wrapping up the match.
Pool play assignments at the NAIA National Championships will be announced next week.