Megan Bartling had six blocks as SOU fell to top-ranked Lee in five.
Raiders Take No. 1 Lee To The Limit
The 14th-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball team gave top-ranked and undefeated Lee University (Tenn.) all it could handle before falling 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-13 today in the second day of pool play at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa.
Lee improved to 37-0 on the season and 2-0 in pool play. Southern Oregon dropped to 23-5 on the season and 0-2 in pool play. SOU wraps up pool play tomorrow against host Briar Cliff.
Sarah Holgen led SOU with 17 kills, 12 digs and six blocks. Megan Bartling finished with 16 kills and six blocks. Lindsey Stone had 49 assists for the Raiders.
Arlene Ferreira had 24 kills, 23 digs and four blocks for Lee. Kayla Carlisle had 13 kills and Valquiria Caboclo finished with 12 kills and eight blocks.
Southern Oregon came out of the blocks on fire against Lee.
The Raiders battled in the first set to tie it at 15-15 and then rattled off the next five points for a 20-15 lead, the last point coming on a Leah Bergstrom and Bartling assisted block. A pair of Bartling kills helped push the lead to 23-19 and after a bad set and a Holgen kill, the Raiders had won the first set 25-20.
Southern Oregon kept the pressure on the tournament favorites in the second set, jumping out a 10-3 lead. Lee cut the lead to 14-12 before the Raiders went on a 9-2 run highlighted by kills by Bergstrom, Bartling, Stone and Holgen for a 23-14 lead. A service error by Lee and a Holgen kill gave the Raiders the victory and had Lee on the ropes heading into the third set.
Lee didn't waste anytime in the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and they were cruising until an attack error helped cut the lead to 13-12. An ace by Holgen kept the Raiders close at 16-15 and another Lee error got the Raiders within one at 20-19.
Bartling came up with another big kill to trim the advantage to 22-21, but a service error gave the ball back to Lee and they closed out the set and had all the momentum.
Lee cruised in the fourth set, hitting .312 as a team and holding the Raiders to a .081 hitting percentage to force the decisive fifth set.
In the final set, Lee jumped out to a 6-3 lead before SOU stormed back with a Bartling kill and a Leanne Stennett ace for a 7-7 tie. Lee scored the next five points before SOU came back again and tied the set at 12-12 on a Holgen kill, but a block and SOU error gave Lee a 14-12 lead and a kill by Cabocio wrapped up the match.
Stennett finished with 18 digs and nine kills for the Raiders, while Johnstone had 18 digs and Natalie Scheller had 11 digs. Lauren Swetland finished with seven blocks.