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Two missing Ashland teens planned to run away, police say ... WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL One win from Sioux City, Raiders prepare for College of the Ozarks Raiders look for first final-site berth since 2011 By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 19, 2014 @ 7:17 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 10:03 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 19, 2014 @ 7:17 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 10:03 AM » Social News Heading into last week’s Cascade Conference volleyball tournament, Southern Oregon — ranked No. 13 at the time — had a reasonable, though outside shot at landing one of 11 automatic berths to the NAIA National Championships final site in Sioux City, Iowa. But when the Raiders fell flat in the semifinals, losing a five-setter to Concordia, those hopes were dashed and the best SOU could hope for was home-court advantage in the first round. And home-court advantage is exactly what the Raiders got. SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing wasn’t surprised to see the Raiders (22-5), who fell to No. 17 in the final NAIA coaches’ poll, pick up the seventh of nine at-large national tourney bids, nor was he surprised that the Raiders were one of the 12 teams granted a first-round home match. What did surprise SOU’s eighth-year head coach, however, was the selection committee’s decision to pair SOU with College of the Ozarks. The match is scheduled for noon Saturday at Bob Riehm Arena. College of the Ozarks (16-14) won only six of its first 18 matches but came on strong when it mattered most, winning seven of eight Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference tilts before taking the MCAC tournament title. The Bobcats’ reward was a 2,000-mile road trip from Point Lookout, Mo., to Ashland for a do-or-die match. “You know, I hope it’s an advantage for us,” Rohlfing said. “To travel across the country for a single match, that can be a difficult challenge for anyone. I think we would have a difficult time with that.” Statistically, the Bobcats are led by junior middle hitter Jamie Reaves, senior outside hitter Jennifer Weurffel and sophomore outside hitter Chloe Shepherd. Reaves has 369 kills and 107 blocks, both team highs, Weurffel has 276 kills and 321 digs and Shepherd has 222 kills, 321 digs and 25 service aces. Also for the Bobcats, setters Lindsay Boone, a junior, and Sarah Kreul, a sophomore, have 1,096 assists between them, sophomore middle Logan Allen had 201 kills and 73 blocks, sophomore defensive specialist Brandi Stahl leads the team in digs (516) and senior DS Hannah Brown has 287 digs and a team-high 36 aces. “Their middles are their strength,” Rohlfing said of the Bobcats, who have a .183 team attack percentage and 352 blocks. “They’ve got pretty solid positional players everywhere, but really their middles are where they’re getting their kills and they do a really nice job finding ways to get the ball to them, too.” That certainly proved to be the case in the MCAC championship match between the Bobcats and Oklahoma Wesleyan, a match the Bobcats won in four sets. Reaves had 15 kills on 31 swings plus five blocks, and Allen added 11 kills on 22 swings to go with four blocks. Southern Oregon will counter with three middles who have stepped up their game since starting middle Nikki Keller was sidelined with an ankle injury on Sept. 26. Sophomore Emma Gasman has 241 kills, 124 blocks and 25 aces, senior Sam Boehnke out of Ashland High 93 blocks, and sophomore Abbie Hanser 84 blocks. “I don’t get too concerned with middles,” Rohlfing said. Leading SOU’s attack are seniors Motade Atanda and Paulla Pinheiro. Atanda has 397 kills and 261 digs, and Pinheiro 335 kills, 298 digs and 41 aces. Also for the Raiders, Brookelynn Cole has 538 digs, and setter Lauren McGowne 1,017 assists. Since the NAIA adopted a first-round home site format in 2008 the host teams are 59-13 (.819), including 9-2 last season. That’s good news for the Raiders, who are looking for their first trip to the final site since 2011. Rohlfing plans to watch two big wins for SOU on Saturday — after his own team’s playoff match the SOU football team hosts MidAmerica Nazarene at 4 p.m. in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series. “I think we’re very confident in what we’re capable of doing and what we’ve done all year,” Rohlfing said. “I’m excited. We’ll get our match out of the way and then go watch the football game. Hopefully, it’ll all come to fruition.”   By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 19, 2014 @ 7:17 pm Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 10:03 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Explosive Players to Add for Fantasy Playoffs Dec. 2, 2014 at 11:36 pm Week 14 RB Start 'Em or Sit 'Em Dec. 2, 2014 at 5:00 pm Which Dolphins Are Must-Starts in Fantasy Week 14? 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