Liz Madden reached double figures with 10 blocks
Raiders Sweep OIT in Conference Opener
BOX SCORE
ASHLAND – Southern Oregon overcame a set point deficit seven times and totaled 17 blocks as the Raiders opened Cascade Collegiate Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Oregon Tech Tuesday night at Bob Riehm Arena.
The Raiders, 5-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play, defeated the Owls by set scores of 30-28, 25-16 and 26-24. Oregon Tech falls to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the CCC. Both teams return to action with a pair of matches in Portland this weekend, with the Raiders visiting Warner Pacific and the Owls facing Concordia on Friday.
Haley Kasler led SOU with 12 kills in the win, while Caryn Westrick tallied a double-double with 15 assists and 12 digs. Liz Madden posted 10 blocks and Renee Yomtob led the team with 17 digs. For Oregon Tech, Kristen Walters posted a match-high 13 kills, Kayleigh Whelchel led the way with 33 assists and Marie Baumann finished with 18 digs.
Oregon Tech jumped out to a fast start in the opening set, as the Owls scored eight of the first 10 points. Southern Oregon responded with a five-point run to pull within one at 9-8, and the Raiders used another five-point streak to take a 16-12 lead. A kill by Walters sparked a 6-1 OIT run to push the visitors back on top by one, and neither team led by more than one point the rest of the set.
The Owls reached set point at 24-23, but a kill by Kasler tied the score. After Walters again put the Owls up, Madden tied it up for the Raiders. A service error gave the visitors their third set-point advantage of the opener, but an attack error tied it up again. Whelchel’s kill made it 27-26 in favor of OIT, but the Raiders scored four of the next five points and clinched the 30-28 set victory on a block by Madden and Mona Goudarzian.
The second set remained close up until 11-11, when a kill by Nikki Keller sparked a 14-5 SOU run that included the final seven points of the set. A service ace for Yomtob clinched the 25-16 victory for the Raiders.
Southern Oregon looked like it might pull away and take control in the third set, using a three-point run to pull ahead 13-9. But a kill by Aurora Penoyar sparked a seven-point streak and a 9-1 OIT run that pushed the Owls up by three at 17-14. The Raiders responded and tied it up at 18-18, but OIT eventually took a 23-20 lead on a block by Jen Saltenberger. After an SOU timeout, Kasler picked up a kill to pull SOU within two, but OIT reached set point on a kill by Walters.
The Raiders battled off set point three consecutive times as they closed the set on a five-point streak. The final three points were all scored off blocks for SOU, with Keller involved in all three to help clinch the match victory.