Leanne Stennett had 12 kills to lead SOU past College of Idaho.
Balanced Attack Leads No. 16 SOU Past No. 14 College of Idaho
ASHLAND, ORE. -- Southern Oregon had four players with at least nine kills as the 16th-ranked Raiders swept No. 14 College of Idaho 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 tonight at McNeal Pavilion.
The Raiders are now 7-2 overall and 4-0 in Cascade Conference play and travel to Northwest and Evergreen State next weekend. The Coyotes dropped to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in conference action.
Leanne Stennett led the Raiders with 12 kills to go along with 12 digs. Leah Bergstrom finished with 10 kills. Stennett and Bergstrom combined for 22 kills and only two errors.
Sarah Holgen and Megan Bartling had nine kills each.
Southern Oregon set the tone for the match early in the first set as back-to-back kills by Stennett gave the Raiders a 6-2 lead. Another kill by Stennett pushed the lead to 17-9 and after a Bartling kill at 20-11, the Raiders were cruising. Junior Lauren Swetland, who finished with three blocks, ended the first set with a kill.
The Raiders held the Coyotes to a -.079 attack percentage in the opener, while hitting .400 themselves.
The second set was similar to most SOU-COI battles, with each team unable to breakaway. After tying the set at 19-19 on a service error, the Raiders finally got some breathing room with a COI attack error and a block by Swetland and Holgen for a 21-19 lead. Holgen then scored the final two points for the Raiders with kills.
In the finale, back-to-back kills by Stennett gave the Raiders the lead for good at 13-11.
All-American Lindsey Stone, the reigning Cascade Conference Setter of the Week, finished with 40 assists and in the first four conference matches is averaging 12.1 assists per set.
Natalie Scheller finished with 11 digs for SOU.
Sarah Harris was a force for the Coyotes, finishing iwth 10 kills and three blocks - including two solo blocks. Whitney Owen finished with a match-high 18 digs.