NU's Amanda Waterman finished with a double-double
Raiders Comeback Foiled in Fifth Set
KIRKLAND, Wash. - Southern Oregon fought back from a 2-0 set deficit to tie the match, but fell to Northwest University in the fifth set as the Eagles defeated the Raiders 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 21- 25, 15-5), tonight in conference play.
Northwest U would hit .343 and .314 in the first two sets to go 2-0 in the match while the Raiders would manage just .083 in the first set and .191 in the second and still kept the sets tight. Amanda Waterman ended set one with one of her 16 kills with Mattie Jo Johnson getting a kill to end set two.
Set three would belong to the Raiders. An Eagle attack error and Dani Johnson kills would give SOU an 11-5 lead that they would maintain the rest of the set and never trail. Johnson would come up with another kill to make it 24-19 and would close out the set with another kill.
In the fourth set both teams would keep things close with four ties. But, with the set tied at 13-13, the Raiders would outscore NU 5-3 to take the lead for good at 18-16. The Eagles would close to within two, 21-19, but SOU would outscore their opponent 4-2 with Taylor Ristvedt’s kill making it a 2-1 set score.
A quick start by Northwest U in the fifth set would lead to a 10-4 advantage which the Eagles would not relinquish. Back-to-back kills by Audrey Saelens and two miscues by SOU would make it a 12-4 lead with Keann White and Waterman ending the match with two kills.
Amanda Waterman led Northwest U (19-7, 13-5 CCC) with 16 kills and 12 defensive digs while teammate Morgan Pilon totaled a match high 60 assists. Alysanne Van Dyke also finished with a match high, 34 digs and Mattie Jo Johnson had 15 kills hitting .345.
For Southern Oregon (15-8, 12-6 CCC), Dani Johnson led the team with 15 kills. Taylor Ristvedt and Makayla Hoyt each had 11 kills while Ashlynn Flynn led the Raiders with 30 digs. Natalie James and Hannah Bogatin combined for 49 assists, 29 for James and 20 for Bogatin.
Said Steven Bain following the match, “It was a terrific match tonight with both teams playing at a high level and with great energy. Southern's defense was really tight in sets 3 and 4 and forced us into a lot of tough swings. We just reminded our ladies to be patient and continue to work hard and the game would eventually come back to them. When it did, we had a determined mindset and I was really pleased with their ability to make plays when the match was on the line.”