NAIA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | POOL C
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Wednesday's Match – SOU 3, Nelson 1
5:30 p.m. PST Thursday – Viterbo vs. Nelson
5:30 p.m. PST Friday – SOU vs. Viterbo
POOL PLAY CENTRAL
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The most effective right-side duo in the country made a forceful introduction at the Tyson Events Center in Southern Oregon's first pool-play match of the NAIA Volleyball Championship.
The No. 3-seeded Raiders didn't always have their best stuff against No. 22 seed Nelson (Texas), but Megan Perry and Hannah Stadstad gave them enough to manufacture a 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20 win on Wednesday night in the Pool C opener.
Perry, the Cascade Conference Player of the Year, downed 14 kills. Stadstad, the All-American, had 13. Together, they combined to commit only four errors on 50 swings while attacking at a .460 average. Marin Mackey balanced the court with 12 kills and eight digs from the outside position.
The Raiders (30-3 overall) hit the 30-win mark for the seventh time in team history and ran their winning streak to nine matches. If they defeat No. 14 seed Viterbo (Wis.) in Friday's 5:30 p.m. PST matchup, they'll lock up their second-ever berth in the national quarterfinal round. The top seeds of all eight pools were victorious on Wednesday.
Nelson (30-6), the Sooner Athletic Conference champion, didn't go down easily. After never leading the first set, the Lions flipped a 16-13 deficit in the second by taking eight of the next 11 points behind Samantha Moore, who recorded four of her seven total kills during the surge. They later finished the set with four unanswered points.
The 11th tie of the third made the score 17-17, but Mylena Testoni's kill and Tais Vega's ace on back-to-back points put the Raiders up for good. They needed contributions from all over the floor to seal the frame, getting their last five kills from five different players. The momentum carried into the fourth, where they led by as many as seven points and attacked at a .452 clip.
Testoni (14 digs), Annie Hite (11 digs) and Kayla Neidigh (16 digs) shored up the floor defense. Neidigh, a senior libero, also wound up with two service aces and a season-high 10 assists. At the net, Sadie Byrd posted a match-high four blocks, Perry had three and Linda Conceicao chipped in two to go with seven kills.
Lilly Hanna led Nelson with 12 kills on a .524 average, though the match swung as she slowed down. She only got five swings in the third and fourth sets combined.
The Lions, still seeking their first-ever pool play victory, will face elimination when they meet Viterbo on Thursday.
No matter the outcome of that match, SOU will play Viterbo for the right to advance to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The V-Hawks took last year's matchup in straight sets.