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--> --> Nov. 5: SOU netters wrap up No. 2 slot at tourney By Sarah Petersen Ashland Daily Tidings It was a bitter sweet victory for the Southern Oregon University volleyball team which clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Cascade Conference tournament with a 30-22, 21-30, 30-24, 30-23 triumph over Evergreen State at McNeal Pavilion Saturday night, but also said goodbye to three seniors. The hard-fought match over the Geoducks (5-13, 4-12) thrust the Raiders (16-7, 11-5) into a second-place tie with Albertson College in league play. SOU, which improved to a 7-1 at home and 42-7 since 1998, garnered the No. 2 draw and quarterfinal bye in next weekend's six-team frenzy based on head-to-head victories against the Coyotes. "We fought our way through this one," head coach Paul Elliott said. "I thought we were looking past this game and straight to playoffs. We overlooked this team. We did just enough to beat Evergreen. We need to play at our high level in playoffs in order to be successful." The Raiders started off on the right foot. In Game 1, SOU jumped out to 16-5 lead with heavy hitting and stellar serving. Senior outside hitter Shelley Gorin ended the game with an ace into the middle of Evergreen's defense to nail down Game 1. In Game 2, the momentum moved from the Raiders to the Geoducks. Evergreen blasted out to a 17-7 lead and stunned SOU by tying the match at one game each. Game 3 was a much different story. Sophomore Kristina Matchett smashed the ball into the Geoducks defense to rally the Raiders to 8-6 lead. A block in the middle by Lindsey Aitchison jumped SOU's lead to 14-11. Service and hitting errors by the Raiders allowed the Geoducks to climb back into the game, before sophomore hitter Sara Tatom fired a shot to the floor to end Game 3 in favor of the hosts. In the final game senior setter Sabrina Garboden went all out making plays and dives to give the Raiders an 18-12 edge. Back-to-back kills by junior Kacee Jacobsen and Tatom put the Raiders up 23-17. A Matchett smash ended the affair. "We held it together just enough to pull off a win," Garboden said. "We are going to have a long week of practice. This game is all mental and we just have to stay focused on what we want in order to get what we want." SOU received solid performances from a trio of seniors playing in their final home collegiate match: Garboden (41 assists, four aces), Gorin (14 digs) and Michele Dardis (seven kills). "It was a very emotional night," Elliott said. "Saying goodbye to three seniors is hard. They are a huge part of the reason for all of our success this season and over the past four years." SOU faces the winner of the Albertson-Eastern Oregon quarterfinal match this Friday afternoon at Concordia University in Portland. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing