Liz Madden finished with 11 kills for SOU
SOU Volleyball Sweeps Northwest Christian
BOX SCORE
ASHLAND – The 16th-ranked Southern Oregon volleyball extended its winning streak to nine matches and 21 consecutive sets as the Raiders swept Northwest Christian (26-24, 25-19, 25-22) Saturday night at Bob Riehm Arena.
With the win, Southern Oregon improves to 15-4 overall and 12-2 in conference play. Northwest Christian falls to 11-13 overall and 5-10 in the CCC. The Raiders return to action next weekend, when they will travel to Washington for a pair of conference matches against Evergreen State and Northwest.
Southern Oregon took an early 5-2 lead in the opening set, but Northwest Christian tied it up at 6-6 on an SOU service ace, and the Beacons led by as many as three points at 20-17 and 21-18. The Raiders scored a pair on kills by Liz Madden and Natalie Scheller to make it 21-20, and after an NCU point, SOU scored two more to tie it up at 22-22. Southern Oregon eventually took a 24-23 lead, and following Janel Fetters’ kill to tie it at 24, Sarah Holgen put the Raiders up 25-24 with a kill, and an NCU attack error finished off the 26-24 SOU victory.
The Raiders used a 10-1 run to pull away in the second set, turning a 7-6 advantage into a 17-7 lead. Northwest Christian responded with a 12-6 run to pull within four at 23-19 on Lindsey Young’s kill, but back-to-back Holgen kills closed out the set at 25-19, giving the Raiders the 2-0 match advantage.
The third set looked like it might be a blowout early, as SOU built an 8-2 lead. But Northwest Christian battled back to within one point at 13-12 and again at 14-13. Southern Oregon scored the next four points to cushion the lead, but a 9-6 NCU run pulled the Beacons to within two at 24-22 before Megan Bartling ended the match with a set-clinching kill for the Raiders.
Holgen led the way for the Raiders with 15 kills on a .379 attack percentage. Madden added 11 kills and a .444 percentage, and Bartling finished with 10 kills and an even .500 hitting mark. Caryn Westrick led SOU with 26 assists, with Angela Spieker adding 17 in the win. Becky Johnstone posted 12 digs and Renee Yomtob totaled 11.
For Northwest Christian, Maren Mansfield’s nine kills led the way. Cori Wallace tied Westrick for the match-high with 26 assists, and Janel Fetters added eight kills in the loss.