CALDWELL, Idaho - Sarah Holgen recorded 15 kills and 11 digs, as Southern Oregon ended College of Idaho’s 42-match home win streak, claiming the 2011 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship with a 25-17, 25-19, 25-14 victory inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the victory, the No. 12 ranked Raiders (21-4) extended their win streak to 15-matches – winning in Caldwell for the first time since 2005. SOU earned the CCC’s automatic berth to the NAIA Volleyball National Championships, with the 36-team field released tomorrow afternoon.
Southern jumped out quickly in the opening set, using a trio of combo-blocks to take a 10-4 lead. The No. 8 ranked Coyotes (23-3), getting two kills each from Ciciley Fox and Kylee Nawahine, tying the score at 16-16. The Raiders responded, as two kills each from Liz Madden and Natalie Scheller keyed a 9-1 run to close out the set.
Set 2 featured nine ties and six lead changes – with the Lady Yotes taking a 12-11 lead on a Torrey Hulsey spike, but Southern ran off three straight points, including back-to-back kills by Holgen to grab the lead. SOU extended the lead to 20-15 on a Caryn Westrick ace and cruised to the two-set lead.
The final frame was all Southern, sprinting out to a 10-3 lead – recording just one hitting error in the set, to earn the road win.
Scheller and Megan Bartling each had 10 kills for the Raiders, with setters Angela Spieker and Westrick combining for 39 assists – as the SOU attack hit at a .354 clip on the afternoon. Libero Becky Johnstone led Southern with 17 digs.
The C of I got 10 kills each from Fox and Hulsey, with Liz Myers adding eight kills. Kelsey Soos had 31 assists, with Whitney Brigham logging 29 digs – pulling her within eight digs of the CCC all-time record.