NAIA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS | POOL E
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Wednesday – Viterbo 3, Columbia International 0
Thursday – SOU 3, Columbia International 0
2 p.m. PST Friday – SOU vs. Viterbo | Live Stats
LIVE STREAMS | SCOREBOARD | POOL PLAY CENTRAL
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – By the end of a marathon second set, No. 12-ranked Southern Oregon had finally broken Columbia International (S.C.). And with the Rams cleared out of their path, the Raiders are one win away from a spot in the NAIA Volleyball Championships quarterfinal round.
The Raiders started pool play by taking a 25-21, 33-31, 25-18 decision from CIU on Thursday at the Tyson Events Center, winning for the 13th time in their last 14 matches and improving to 28-6. The second set matched the longest played at the tournament since the current scoring system was instituted in 2008, but it proved to be the Rams' last stand when SOU ran away with the third.
SOU plays at 2 p.m. PST Friday against No. 5 Viterbo (Wis.), which defeated CIU (32-3) 25-9, 25-12, 26-24 in Wednesday's Pool E opener. The winner advances to play in the elimination bracket at noon Saturday.
After missing last year's tournament due to injury, junior right-side hitter Hannah Stadstad missed seldomly in her debut at the final site. Her total of 18 kills, compiled at a .308 attacking average, was the highest for a Raider in a straight-set match since 2019. She assisted three blocks, and SOU's other right-side, Megan Perry, contributed 12 kills on 24 swings and four blocks.
Stadstad set the tone with six kills on eight attempts and two blocks in the opening frame. Sadie Byrd, SOU's senior middle, was responsible for closing out the second. There were 10 missed set points in the period – the Raiders accounted for the first few after losing a 24-21 lead – but Byrd finished it off with a kill on the 11th. She'd also tied the score at 31 with a kill, and moments later Stadstad gave the Raiders the lead.
Byrd registered nine kills, seven blocks and just one attacking error. As a team, the Raiders' total of 15 attacking errors was their lowest in a month. They hit .271 collectively against a Rams squad that entered the tourney allowing a .109 opponents' attacking average.
"That was as complete a match as we've played this year," SOU coach Josh Rohlfing said. "We were really well balanced, did a nice job of playing to our strengths and continued to put pressure on them. Everyone showed up."
That included setters Annie Hite (26 assists, 5 digs, 2 aces) and Vitoria Mattos (21 assists, 6 digs); outside hitter Marin Mackey, who totaled seven kills, a team-high 16 digs and a season-high five blocks; and, in the back row, Trinity Atuatasi and Kayla Neidigh, who combined for 26 digs and saved the Raiders from falling on a handful of occasions in the second. Freshman middle Tessa Zimmerman chipped in six blocks, helping to hold All-American attacker Kira Rymer Attaway to eight kills.
After winning the second, the Raiders sprinted out to a 10-2 lead in the third and never looked back. The sweep was their 18th of the year.
If they can get past Viterbo, they'll have made it out of pool play for the fourth time in team history. The V-Hawks, champions of the North Star Athletic Association, will enter the match at 32-4 with one loss in their last 17 matches.