SOU's Natalie Scheller led the Raiders' attack with 13 kills against Concordia on Saturday. Scheller recorded her 13 kills in 20 total attacks and did not commit an error in the match, giving her a .650 hitting percentage.
Offense Leads SOU in Sweep of Concordia
BOX SCORE –
Concordia vs. Southern Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore.—Behind an offense that hit .490 for the entire match, the Southern Oregon volleyball team swept the Concordia Cavaliers 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-14) on Saturday.
Concordia managed a respectable .250 hitting percentage in the match, but had no answer for a sizzling SOU attack.
The win moved SOU to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in the CCC, while the Cavaliers dropped to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the CCC.
The Raiders revved up their offense early on Saturday, hitting .500 in the first set as they totaled 19 kills against only two errors.
That offense led the Raiders to an early 4-0 lead in the set, a lead that SOU would not relinquish.
The Cavaliers did mount a small come back early in the set with a 5-2 run that cut the SOU lead to three at 11-8. Jackie Stein and Melanie Miller each had two kills in the run with Miller’s second kill capping the comeback for Concordia.
Miller and Stein each finished the set with six kills to lead the Cavs offensively in the set. Miller got her six kills on only seven attacks and did not commit an error. That efficiency gave her a .857 hitting percentage in the first set alone.
Brianna Hogan, meanwhile, joined Miller and Stein in leading the Cavalier attack in the second set. Behind those three, the Cavaliers actually outhit the Raiders with 17 kills compared to 16 for the Raiders. The Raiders, however, committed only one error against their 16 kills, while the Cavaliers finished with eight errors in the set.
Still, the improved Cavalier attack kept the set close until a 6-2 SOU run in the middle of the set broke it open for the Raiders. The SOU run came with the Cavs down one at 11-10 and quickly turned it into a 17-12 Raider lead.
The Cavaliers came back with two straight points after the run, but that would be as close as they’d get the rest of the way.
SOU then started hot again in the third set, running out to a quick 9-3 lead, which they’d maintain the rest of the way.
SOU ran out to the early lead behind a three-pronged attack in Natalie Scheller, Haley Kasler and Jordan Crossley. Those three accounted for 14 of the Raiders’ 17 kills in the set, while the entire Raider attack did not commit an error in the third.
The Cavaliers’ Stein, meanwhile, led the CU attack with five kills in the third. Stein converted her five kills in only eight total attempts and did not commit an error to finish the set with a .625 hitting percentage.
Overall, Stein finished with a match-high 16 kills, one off the conference match-high for a three-set match of 17, which Stein set yesterday against Oregon Tech. In addition, Miller came in second for the Cavs with 13 kills in the match and led the team with a .455 hitting percentage.
On the flip side, Scheller led the Raider attack with 13 kills in the match. Scheller recorded her 13 kills without committing an error in any of the three sets Saturday, giving her a .650 hitting percentage for the match. All told, only one attacking player for the Raiders finished with a hitting percentage of less than .450.
Finally, CU setter Lindsay Mangan recorded a match-high 38 assists, which stands as the second-highest total for a three-set match in the CCC this season. Mangan holds the top mark for a three-set match so far with 41 assists, a mark she set yesterday against Oregon Tech.
Next up, Concordia will step out of conference for a home match against Pacific at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The Cavaliers will then return to CCC play with another home match at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14 against cross-town rival Warner Pacific.
The Raiders, meanwhile, stay in conference play with a match at home against Eastern Oregon on Friday, Sept. 14. That game will begin at 7 p.m.