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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 30, 2004 Raiders rout Concordia, inch closer to league title By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Concordia provided the confidence boost the Southern Oregon University volleyball team needed. Andrew Mariman | Ashland Daily Tidings SOUTHERN OREGON'S NICHOLETTE LE BEL rips a kill against Concordia in the first game of the Raiders' three-game win, Friday night at McNeal Pavilion. Le Bel had eight kills and two blocks, as SOU inched closer to a Cascade Conference title. After second-place Northwest University stunned Southern Oregon (18-5, 13-2 Cascade Conference) in five games last Saturday in Portland, SOU needed to regroup for the final four conference matches of the regular season. "It's very important,"Raider volleyball coach Paul Elliott said. "I didn't care if we won in three games or four games, this was a big match for us. After a loss, you never know how you're going to come back." But Southern came back with ferocity, scoring 11 of the first 13 points in Game 1 en route to a 30-12, 30-26, 30-26 win in which the Cavaliers never led. "It definitely showed that we're ready to play,"junior SOU middle blocker Nicholette Le Bel said. The Raiders ran the night with a .344 hitting percentage, while holding Concordia to a .151 average, including a dismal minus-.021 output in the opening game. And that was against the only Cascade Conference team, aside from Northwest, to defeat league-leader Southern this season. "They're a team, if you give them a chance, they'll bite you in the butt,"Raider senior outside hitter Kristen Ferris said. The Raiders went on scoring runs of four, five and seven to achieve a 30-12 decision in the first game. In Game 2, CU came out looking more like a team that had tested SOU in the past. "Concordia came fired up in the second game,"Le Bel said. "When a team comes out like that, I always get excited." Twice - at four and 11 points - the Cavaliers knotted the game, but the Raiders prevailed. That was as good as it would get for Concordia in McNeal Pavilion. The final game floated somewhere between the Game 1 blowout and the Game 2 close call. Southern earned another narrow victory in Game 3 and the three-game sweep of the Cavaliers. The win propels the Raiders into a key match against a strong Western Baptist team (12-7, 10-4) on Saturday night. Southern needs to win two of its final three contests to bring the conference and NAIA Region I tournaments to Ashland next month. "It's a similar match [to Concordia] in the fact that they have two players we need to not stop, but control a bit,"Elliott said. "It's the same M.O." SOU will rely on the clean defensive scheme and good ball-handling that fed their offensive attack against Concordia. "At this point, it's all about one match at a time,"Ferris said. Piling up the numbers Ferris led all players with 19 kills, adding four serving aces and 13 digs. The senior all-star needs six kills and 13 digs to record 300 in each category for the second year. Only three-time All-American Kristina Matchett has put up more than one 300-plus dig and kill efforts as a Raider. "It's a nice bonus, but it's not really important to me,"Ferris said, explaining the team outcome remains her priority. Other Raider team leaders on Friday included 46 assists courtesy junior setter Jamie McCreary, 17 digs and nine kills by sophomore outside hitter Rachael Baran, 14 digs from junior defensive specialist Haley Phillips and an eight-kill, two-block night by Le Bel. Mari Lopes and Amanda Larson paced the Cavaliers with 12 kills apiece. Erin Blythe had a team-high 16 digs. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams