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Raider volleyball kills OIT, sits atop league standings By JENNIFER SQUIRES Ashland Daily Tidings For an early season match-up, there was a lot riding on Southern Oregon University volleyball team's home-opener against the Oregon Institute of Technology at McNeal Pavilion. Both teams held immaculate 4-0 Cascade Collegiate Conference records, meaning the winner of the game would have sole control of first-place in the league standings. The No. 12 Raiders were voted the conference preseason favorite by league coaches, while the Owls sported a school-record nine-match win streak coming into Friday's match. "OIT's a very good team," said 13-year SOU head coach Paul Elliott. "We adjusted to their style of play. Our blocking was outstanding tonight." It only took the Raiders three games claim the lead in the CCC, topping Oregon Tech 30-24, 33-31, 30-22. "We played really efficient tonight and beat them in three, which is huge," said Raider senior All-American outside hitter Kristina Matchett. "Jamie, our setter, spread the ball out really well and our team's just really good all-together." In Game 1, OIT scored the first point, but Southern recorded four straight points and held the lead until a block by the Owls' outside hitter Anita Stanford and middle blocker Jennifer Cueto brought the game to a 14-all tie. At 16-all Raider seniors Lindsey Aitchison and Matchett teamed up to block an OIT ball, giving SOU the serve and the tempo of the game. Junior outside hitter Kristin Ferris served three straight SOU points before Owl defensive specialist Jenilee Thornton's tip-kill put OIT back on the board at 19-17. Oregon Tech scored three consecutive points, bringing the game to a 19-19 tie before Southern regained the lead. A series of Owl errors pushed SOU ahead 23-19. Strong serving by Raider sophomore defensive specialist Kristin Lilly and three Aitchison kills put the game out of reach for OIT, as SOU won 30-24. The start of Game 2 looked like a continuation Game 1. SOU jumped to a 5-1 lead and maintained at least a 2-point cushion until Stanford took charge of the Owls' service duties. With Stanford's leadership Oregon Tech scored six consecutive points, including two aces, to take an 18-15 lead. A side-out gave Ferris, who transferred from the University of Oregon, the serve and got Southern back in the game. A kill by regional all-star middle hitter Aitchison followed by a serving ace by Ferris brought the Raiders to an 18-all tie. SOU kept going, pulling two points ahead of the Owls at 20-18 before a setting error gave OIT the serve. The teams battled within two points of one another to 22-22, then a group effort by Oregon Tech tallied three Owl kills by three different players. SOU mustered one point on block-kill, but it took an OIT serving error to get the Raiders back in the game. With Lilly serving, Southern scored five more points. A dig by sophomore outside hitter Haley Phillips led to another Aitchison kill and Ferris recorded two kills in the scoring rally that lifted SOU to a 29-27 lead. But Oregon Tech wasn't finished. Stanford stole game point from Southern with a quick kill. The Owls brought the game to a 29-all tie. The Raiders scored, then the Owls scored two more. With OIT at game point for the first time that night, Matchett reminded the Owls why she holds the SOU school record for kills. The Klamath Falls-native pounded the ball onto the OIT side of the court and Oregon Tech never saw another chance at victory. Two ball-handling errors by the Owls gave Southern the points needed to put Game 2 away 33-31. In Game 3, SOU came out tough with a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Raiders led wire-to-wire, buoyed by Aitchison and Matchett kills. At 11-7, OIT gained control of the ball on a Stanford kill. Another Stanford kill, followed by a serving ace by senior setter Julie Dancer and two more Owl kills rallied the visitors within one of the Raiders at 11-10. The teams traded points, but 13-12 was as close as Oregon Tech would get. Aitchison, sophomore middle blocker Nicholette LeBel and Matchett tallied consecutive kills that put the game out-of-reach for the Owls. Oregon Tech called time-out to re-group at 16-12. The break briefly distracted the Raiders and OIT scored a point on a serving error. However, the Owls appeared more flustered, giving SOU two easy points on ball-handling errors that let the home team jump to a 20-15 lead. Though the Raiders made their own ball-handling mistakes down the line, when junior SOU middle blocker Kelly Thorton took over serving duties at 27-21, Southern had the game won. Thorton's ace stared a three-point SOU drive to game point. OIT called time-out in an attempt to salvage the match and an Owl tip-kill following the pause tallied one final point for Oregon Tech. Southern responded quickly and deliberately with a kill, closing the books on Game 3 at 30-22. "I think the support of the crowd really fueled the game. That was unreal," Aitchison said. "OIT had a really good offense coming at us. Give them kudos. They did their thing and we were able to stop it. " Matchett led all players with 17 kills, while Lilly tallied a match-high 11 digs. Aitchison recorded 14 kills and seven blocks. Sophomore setter Jamie McCreary assisted 46 of Southern's 55 kills. For the Owls, sophomore middle hitter Marcie Mitzner, the coach's sister, notched 14 kills. The win perches SOU, the two-time defending NAIA Region 1 champions, at the top of the Cascade Conference at 5-0 (5-2 overall) heading into a one-week lay-off. "I think we're already a target," Elliott said. "In this league, there's probably five or six targets. We like that. We like to be pushed and challenged." The Raiders get a week off before hosting Western Baptist College on Friday. The Warriors are 3-1 going into this weekend's play. "They're one of the top teams in the conference," Elliott said. "They'll be a tough match." Elliott cites better ball-control and reducing the Raiders' unforced errors from 28 on Friday night to 18 or 15 as goals for his team during their break from play. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. at McNeal Pavilion. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -