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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 26, 2004 Raiders on the decline? By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings As Southern Oregon's returning starting setter, Jamie McCreary is perhaps more qualified than anyone to measure the impact of Kristina Matchett's departure. Matchett graduated in June, leaving SOU as the most honored, most prolific outside hitter in Raider history. Southern Oregon University's Rachael Baran goes for the block during the 2003 season. Baran and company was ranked No. 10 in the 2004 NAIA preseason poll and starts its season Friday second-ranked Biola. File Photo | Ashland Daily Tidings Still, when asked to evaluate the first post-Matchett team, McCreary was anything but pessimistic. "We still have real strong chemistry with the team," McCreary said following Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage at McNeal Pavilion. "I mean, Matchett was an outstanding player and we are going to miss her, but we also kept two really good outside hitters and they've really improved themselves and they're stepping up. We might not have a go-to player, but we'll have a lot of really strong players all the way around." McCreary and company will have a chance to find out if that kind of optimism is grounded in reality right from the opening kill. The 10th-ranked Raiders start the season Friday at the Fresno Pacific volleyball tournament against No. 2-ranked Biola. They'll then tangle with No. 1 Fresno Pacific on Saturday and play NCAA Division I Oregon on Wednesday. Power outage While Matchett's loss will probably take some of the power and potency away from SOU's previously formidable attack - the high ranking reflects SOU's outstanding record over the previous two years more than its potential for the upcoming season - a slew of returners and a top-notch recruiting class should help ease the transition. Surrounding McCreary and providing most of Southern's offensive punch will be senior outside hitter Kristin Ferris and junior middle blocker Nicholette Le Bel. Ferris, a 5-foot-10 former North Medford High standout, was second to Matchett in kills (332) last season and looked fantastic in Saturday's scrimmage. Le Bel, a 6-footer from Central Point, led the team in blocks (111) last season and should be even more dominant in 2004. Junior Haley Phillips is penciled in as Southern's starting defensive specialist, junior DS Kristen Lilly will be the starting libero and sophomore New Buffalo transfer Rachael Baran will the starting right side. Raider head coach Paul Elliott thought he had another deadly outside hitter in the mix when he brought over Boise State transfer Jess Childress, but the 5-foot-10 sophomore injured her right shoulder in practice and is out indefinitely. Getting most of Childress' playing time will be true freshman Jaclyn Hamilton-Smith from Sheldon. Elliott is confident the returners and newcomers will (eventually) blend nicely, but admits it will be hard to continue the program's recent string of success, which includes three straight trips to the NAIA National Championships. For now, the rebuilding/reloading effort is a work in progress. "I think every practice has been a little bit better," said Elliott, who has a record of 309-143 in 13 seasons at SOU. "But, we've started at a different place the last couple years. We've had to start a little bit more basic and lay some of the ground work. We've had 10 new people come in so it's been a little challenging that way, but we're very excited about the progress so far." Think fast The Raiders don't have much time to gel. They'll begin their defense of the Cascade Conference regular-season title Sept. 8 at Oregon Tech. Their first home match is Sept. 17 against Albertson. SOU's strengths should once again be defense and ball control, and the Raiders block should be better than it has been in previous years. But the Matchett factor that led the Raiders to a 24-8 record and a Region I title in 2003 is gone, and with it could be SOU's edge over the rest of the Cascade Conference. Ferris isn't worried. "I think any year you're going to lose key players and it just depends on whether or not we can step up and get after it," she said. "Our goals are always to play well and get as many wins as we possibly can, and hopefully make to the regional tournament and nationals again." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams