OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Southern Oregon Raiders remained perfect on the road, earning a straight-set victory over the Evergreen Geoducks, 25-21, 25-11, 25-19, in a Cascade Conference volleyball match on Saturday afternoon at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.
The Geoducks came out firing on all cylinders in the first set as Evergreen claimed the first six points of the match, forcing Southern Oregon to take an early time out. The Raiders finally caught up at 9-9 and used a 9-1 run of their own to pull ahead, 16-10. SOU continued to throw down kills as they earned the 25-21 set one win.
The second set was close early as the Geoducks managed to stay tight with the Raiders. Southern Oregon eventually showed why they are receiving votes in the latest national poll, scoring the final 10 points of the frame to earn a 25-11 victory and a two-set lead.
In the third set, the Geoducks and Raiders traded the lead five times but SOU went on another big run, this time 6-0, to pull ahead as they eventually secured the 25-19 win to earn the match sweep.
Evergreen was led by a match-high 14 kills from Cassidy Watkins (Tucson, Ariz./Trevecca Nazarene Univ.). Freshman Hapa Patcho (Waipahu, Hawaii/Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Anuenue) finished with 18 kills while Merideth Gurr (Tacoma, Wash./Tacoma CC) and Sonja Arrasi-Nash (Sandy, Utah/Westminster CollegE) each added 13 digs in the loss.
Southern Oregon was led by 13 kills from Natalie Scheller, who had just one attack error on 221 attacks for a .571 clip. Mona Goudarzian added 12 kills while Caryn Westrick and Angela Spieker each put up 19 assists. Libero Renee Yomtob finished with 13 digs on the match, as well as two service aces.
The Geoducks hit the road next weekend, traveling to Warner Pacific on Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. in Portland, Ore. The Raiders return home next weekend, playing host to Northwest Christian on Friday, also beginning at 7 p.m.