Paulla Pinheiro had eight service aces and 13 digs in SOU's sweep of Corban.
ASHLAND – Paulla Pinheiro found yet another way to spark the Southern Oregon University volleyball team Saturday night in its sweep of the Corban Warriors.
The do-it-all junior hitter was one service ace shy of tying a school record as she stumped the Warrior receivers eight times in the Raiders’ 25-11, 25-17, 25-15 Cascade Conference win, which served as the culmination of a perfect five-match homestand at Bob Riehm Arena.
Pinheiro, who is second on the team in kills and digs, set the tone for the night in the first set by serving SOU (12-7 overall, 9-3 CCC) to a 13-0 lead, a run in which she had five of her aces to help the Raiders put away the frame in 15 minutes. Pinheiro also contributed 13 digs.
Corban (5-17, 2-11) has lost to SOU 22 times in a row. The Warriors claimed the first three points of the third set for their only lead of the night.
SOU’s attack was also sharp again, led by Mona Goudarzian’s 13 kills on a .417 attacking average. Liz Madden posted nine kills, Emma Gasman seven and setter Lauren McGowne had 24 assists and eight digs.
The Raiders, helped by Renee Yomtob’s match-high 18 digs, conceded only two service aces for the second straight night. Nikki Keller helped the defense by assisting five blocks.
Jenny Hartman’s 11 kills on 15 attacks proved to be an anomaly for the Warriors, who hit .108 as a team.
Bothered by SOU’s 12 aces, the Warriors were never able to get comfortable. Brookelynn Cole was credited with two of them.
“We matched our serving ability from (Friday) night, and it was probably even a step better,” SOU coach Josh Rohlfing said. “This weekend was easily the best I’ve seen all year from us in that area.”
Michelle Cheshire’s SOU record of nine service aces, set in 1997, still stands.
The Raiders will head to Washington next weekend for matches at Northwest and Evergreen, which were both swept to start the homestand in Ashland.