Mattie Jo Johnson hit .667 with 10 kills tonight Eagles on Their Way to Salem and CCC Semifinals 11/7/2017 9:18:02 PM KIRKLAND, Wash. - No. 4 seed, Northwest University punched their ticket to the Cascade Collegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament semifinals, presented by U.S. Bank, with a straight set victory over fifth seeded Southern Oregon (25-21, 25-18, 25-11) tonight. The Eagles and Raiders battled it out in set one with NU taking a 18-12 lead. With the Eagles leading 21-13, SOU would outscore NU with a 6-2 burst to close to within 4 points, 23-19. But, the young Raiders would commit three miscues which would give the Eagles the 25-21 win. Northwest U’s attack efficiency would improve in the second set (.364) as the Eagles would go on an 8-4 run to lead, 21-13, after a Mattie Jo Johnson kill. SOU would again battle back and cut the NU lead to 21-18 on a Dani Johnson kill, but three errors by SOU and a kill by Keann White would end the set, 25-18, NU. It was the third set Southern Oregon came storming back on October 28 and go on to win the fourth to force a fifth set, but tonight, Northwest U would maintain the momentum throughout. The Eagles would go up 12-6 on an Audrey Saelens’ kill and would push their lead to 20-8 on back-to-back kills by Keann White and Amanda Waterman. NU would end the set on a Mattie Jo Johnson kill to move on to Salem and the CCC semifinals. Amanda Waterman led Northwest U (22-7) with 13 kills and a .429 hitting percentage as the Eagles hit an efficient .366 as a team. Mattie Jo Johnson added 10 kills with no errors (.667). Morgan Pilon had a match high 35 assists and Alysanne Van Dyke also a match high with 23 defensive digs. Southern Oregon finishes the season with a 15-11 record and a young team that will return key players next season. Dani Johnson and Taylor Ristvedt led the Raiders with 9 kills each. Ashlyn Flynn totaled 17 digs and teammate Natalie James led SOU with 14 digs. Said NU coach, Steven Bain, “Southern Oregon is an excellent team with a strong tradition and we knew we would have to be on our game to be successful. Credit our ladies though with their preparation and attention to the details of the game plan because we were solid in every phase of the game and were able to play at a high level for an extended period. It was a terrific outcome for the Eagles and we are looking forward to preparing for the next challenge.?” Next Up: NU takes on No. 1 seed Corban on the Warriors home court on Friday night at 7 p.m. No. 2 seed College of Idaho plays No. 3 Eastern Oregon in the first semifinal at 4 p.m.