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South keeps hopes alive GRANTS PASS � State playoff destiny is not solely in their hands but the South Medford volleyball team took care of their end of the bargain here Tuesday. The Panthers, needing to win out and get some help elsewhere, kept their playoff aspirations alive with a 15-5, 15-6 Southern Oregon Conference win over Grants Pass. A South Medford victory over Klamath Union on Thursday and a Crater loss to Ashland puts the Panthers into the state playoffs. "What we�ve done is basically rely on our seniors," said South Medford coach Jerry Hagstrom on their playoff surge. "The coaches and I have said to them �how do you girls want to finish this?�" Both South Medford and Crater stand at 6-7 in SOC play but the Comets hold the tiebreaker due to head-to-head success. "It all boils down to how we do Thursday," said Hagstrom. "If they beat Ashland then it�s (playoff berth) theirs." Sara Friend served out the match in Game 2 with points 11-15 and added three aces. Amber Hunt also had three service aces while senior middle Kellie Thomas led the Panthers with 12 kills and no hitting errors. NORTH MEDFORD 15-15, CRATER 3-9 � At Central Point, North Medford cruised to victory in the first game and then overcame an 8-5 deficit in the second to clinch no worse than a tie for the SOC championship. The Black Tornado, 13-0 in conference play and 22-1 overall, can clinch the league title and secure their third unbeaten league season in six years with a victory over Roseburg Thursday in the North gym. Kendra Mitchell and Jill Carrigan each had nine kills and Kaci Maldonado had 30 assists for the Tornado. Brandi Hall, Janelle Sapienza and Carissa Nafe all had three kills to pace the Comets, who fell to 6-7 in the SOC. Crater led the second game 8-5, but North went on a 7-1 run to close out the match behind the serving of Carrigan, Tara Siebenlist and Maldonado. ASHLAND 17-15, KLAMATH UNION 15-3 � At Ashland, junior outside hitter Christina Kalemkeris produced 13 kills, sophomore outside hitter Stefani Talbott had six digs and junior setter Molly Grossman registered 30 assists to pace Ashland to the SOC win. Klamath Union served for game point in Game 1, leading 14-12, but failed to get the job done. The victory clinched a state playoff berth for the 20th straight year for the Grizzlies, who improved to 8-5 in league play. ROSEBURG 15-15, EAGLE POINT 4-5 � At Eagle Point, Megan Morley had six kills to lead ninth-ranked Roseburg to an SOC win. Katie Kahn and Shannon Burmeister added five kills apeice while Mary Pat Junkin had four service aces. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.