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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 20, 2004 Clutch Raiders make finals By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings A big block, outstanding back row defense, a dynamic multifaceted attack - the Raiders had it all on full display Friday night. Andrew Mariman | Ashland Daily Tidings southern oregon volleyball players Nicholette Le Bel (left), Kristin Ferris (4), Haley Phillips (15) and Ashley Garboden (right) celebrate after a big block during Game 2 of Friday night's four-game win over Carroll College in the Region I tournament semifinals at McNeal Pavilion. And after its Region I semifinal win over top-seeded and 13th-ranked Carroll was in the books, the Southern Oregon volleyball team showed one more strength, perhaps the one that separates it from the rest of the regional pack: confidence. "No," said SOU middle blocker Nicholette Le Bel when asked if the Raiders were intimidated by Carroll's gaudy record (27-7) or national ranking. "Because we know we're a solid team and we're going to win no matter what." When it comes to regionals, Le Bel could hardly be more right. Southern (25-6) used poise and persistence to overcome the Fighting Saints' powerful block en route to a business like 25-30, 30-23, 30-26, 30-27 win before 400 fans at McNeal Pavilion. The victory was SOU's 18th in a row at home and 15th straight at regionals, and advanced the 21st-ranked and No. 2-seeded Raiders to today's championship match against Northwest. "I think we were more consistent," SOU head coach Paul Elliott said. "What I'd seen from Carroll was that they'll play great, then they'll struggle a little bit, then they'll play great and I think that we were just a little bit more consistent." Especially when it mattered most. The Raiders won the last four points in Game 3 and three of the last four points in Game 4, clinching the match on a block by Rachael Baran and Shanna Claflin that landed a foot inside the line on Carroll's side of the net. The final stuff was one of several clutch plays for SOU, which bounced Carroll out of the regional tournament for the third time in four years. The Raiders did it with balance. Cascade Conference Player of the Year Kristin Ferris had a team-high 17 kills, 15 digs and two aces to lead SOU, while freshman Jaclyn Hamilton-Smith added 16 kills and Le Bel ended up with 12 kills and four blocks. Setter Jamie McCreary efficiently quarterbacked SOU's offense and finished with a match-high 51 assists. The Raiders also flexed their back row defensive muscles, as four players tallied at least 10 digs each (besides Ferris, Haley Phillips had 15, Kristen Lilly dug up 14 and McCreary added 10). "It's kind of nice to beat a team that's ranked, and also we haven't lost a game in our gym yet," McCreary said. "It's just one step closer to where we want to be." Carroll's Tiffany Rochelle led all hitters with 19 kills, while teammate Lena Mortensen added 17 kills and eight digs. Coming through After dominating Game 2 to tie the match, SOU found itself in a 26-26 Game 3 deadlock. If the Raiders were nervous, they didn't show it. After a Carroll contact violation, Ferris found floor for a key ace that seemed to stun the Saints. Two points later, after another Carroll contact violation, Saints' middle blocker Nicole Todorovich missed wide right on an open spike attempt and the Raiders took a 2-games-to-1 lead. Game 4 was even closer, as Carroll fought to within 28-27 on Hamilton-Smith's hitting error. But again, SOU shrugged off the pressure while Carroll succumbed to it. On the next point, Carroll's Christie Tyrrell wasted what proved to be the Saints' final opportunity to catch SOU by serving the ball into the net. The Raiders capitalized on their first match point when Baran (three blocks) and Claflin (two blocks) teamed up for the stuff. "I think we're really good under pressure," McCreary said. Elliott agreed. "I think that there's something to being there before," he said. "I think that our experience and being regional champions and winning those types of matches over the last three and a half years has helped." Title time Now the Raiders turn their attention to No. 5 seed Northwest (22-7), which beat Montana Tech 30-18, 32-30, 30-15 in the other semifinal match. It will mark the fourth meeting between the two Cascade Conference rivals this season. SOU leads the season series 2-1, including a five-game win Thursday morning in both teams regional opener. At stake will be the entire season for both teams. The winner earns a berth to the NAIA National Championships, Dec. 1-4 in San Diego, Calif., while the loser will go home empty handed. With the top seed in their rear view mirror, the Raiders haven't lost sight of the road ahead. "It's still our main focus, it's still huge," Lilly said. "It's for the whole thing." 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 Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. 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