SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing earned his 100th career win
BOX SCORE
ASHLAND, Ore. – Sarah Holgen’s 29-kill, 26-dig effort helped propel 13th-ranked Southern Oregon to a 3-1 comeback victory over Concordia University Saturday night at Bob Riehm Arena.
The Raiders dropped the first set by a score of 26-28 before rolling off set victories of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-22 to clinch SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing’s 100th career victory. Southern Oregon improves to 6-2 overall this season and 3-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Concordia falls to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play with the loss.
“We knew that Concordia was going to come in and be a really good team,” Rohlfing said. “I have even more respect for what they’re about and how they’re playing than I did before. I just think they’re heading in the right direction right now.”
Holgen, the three-time defending CCC Red Lion Hitter of the Week, set new career-high marks in both kills and digs for the Raiders.
“Since I’ve coached here, I haven’t seen an effort like that from an individual,” Rohlfing said. “Everyone’s putting out great effort, but her results right now are just phenomenal. I’m proud of her – I’ve coached her for a long time and it’s been fun to watch her.”
Concordia opened strong in the first set, picking up the first three points and maintaining an early lead before Southern Oregon tied it up at 8-8 on Liz Madden’s kill. The Raiders took a three-point lead at 16-13, but CU took a timeout and responded with a three-point streak to tie the set at 17. The teams exchanged points the rest of the way, with the Cavs forcing set-point at 25-24, 26-24 and 27-26 before Angela Spieker’s setting error clinched the game victory for the visitors.
The second set was all SOU as the Raiders bounced back from the close loss in the opener. Southern Oregon scored seven of the first nine points and took an eight-point lead at 16-8 before Concordia used a 6-3 run to pull within five at 19-14. The Raiders responded with a 6-2 run to close out the set and tie the match at one game apiece.
An early 5-1 run gave Concordia a 6-2 lead early in the third game, but Southern Oregon worked its way back to force a tie at 12-12 on three consecutive Holgen kills. With the set tied at 14-14, the Raiders opened up an 11-2 run to clinch the set victory, with Becky Johnstone’s service ace earning the final point.
The final set remained close throughout, with seven tie scores. Concordia’s three-point streak forced the final tie at 22-22, but a pair of kills by Holgen and an attack error by Aria Nojima gave the Raiders the set and match victory.
Southern Oregon hit .272 during the match while limiting Concordia to a .119 attack percentage, including holding the Cavs to a .000 percentage in the second and third sets. Lindsay Mangan tallied 37 assists for CU to lead both teams, with SOU setters Angela Spieker and Caryn Westrick combining for 55 assists.
Natalie Scheller also posted a double-double for SOU, totaling 16 kills and 20 digs while adding five assists. Becky Johnstone finished with 24 digs and Krista Novelli had 13 for the Raiders. Concordia’s Jane Moesche led the Cavs with 11 kills and tallied a double-double with 13 digs, while libero Aubrie Concannon led CU with 22 digs.
“That was an epic match,” Rohlfing said. “That’s going to be a tough team to beat later in the season. (Concordia head coach) Mel (Hambelton) is doing a great job.”
Rohlfing becomes the fastest SOU volleyball coach to reach 100 victories, and his .787 winning percentage (100-27) is the highest mark in program history. After the match, he pointed all the praise to his players.
“That first year I came in and had a good senior-laden group that really laid the groundwork for what we were going to do,” Rohlfing said. “Since that point, the foundation has been strong and we kept building on it and building on it. Right now we’re in a great spot where we’re getting high quality individuals and people who are obviously skilled, so we’re able to accomplish things personally. I’m so appreciative of all the girls and what they’ve put in here – it’s not my 100 wins, it’s those that have played here.”
Southern Oregon will go on the road for its next matches, visiting Eastern Oregon in a CCC match Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.