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RAIDER ROUNDUP: SOU advances to NAIA final site By SOU Sports Information Updated: Nov 19, 2022 07:57 PM A A ASHLAND — Southern Oregon didn’t flinch while staring down match point three times in the Opening Round of the NAIA Volleyball Championships. Considering the adversity they’d already met this season, the Raiders were well prepared. To the delight of a raucous crowd, SOU fought off William Jessup (Calif.) 20-25, 27-25, 25-15, 23-25, 17-15 on Saturday at Lithia Motors Pavilion to put itself among 24 NAIA teams left standing. The Raiders (22-10 overall) will make their 11th all-time trip to the tournament’s final site, the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and begin pool play on Nov. 30. Hailey Van Well, SOU’s two-time all-conference outside hitter, turned in season-highs of 19 kills and 15 digs. The sophomore delivered six kills in the tiebreaker set, including the last two in a 3-0 run that ended the contest. The Warriors — fresh off a Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament title — entered the matchup winners of 12 of their last 13. Making their first national tournament appearance, they lost leads of 24-23 in the second set and 14-12 in the fifth, ending their season at 17-10. “This team showed a lot of resilience, and I’m super proud of how they handled themselves down 14-12,” SOU head coach Josh Rohlfing said. “It showed we’re starting to gain more faith in our own skills and trust in one another, and the stakes couldn’t have been bigger when we did it.” Junior right-side hitter Simone Gordon matched a season-high with 14 kills while Carol Melo had nine kills and was in on nine of the Raiders’ 16 blocks, their second-highest total of the fall. Katie Vroman finished with 11 kills and Sadie Byrd had five kills and seven blocks. Taylor Jackson contributed three service aces, while Kayla Neidigh and Van Well had two apiece. Karina Oliveira led the back row with 24 digs, complemented by Neidigh’s 13 and Taylor Russell’s 12. Van Well’s dig total of 15 was any many as she’d registered in her last eight matches combined. Marina Gonzalez had 16 kills and Mata Iupeli had 14 for the Warriors. The Raiders will learn their draw when the final site pools are announced at 3 p.m. Sunday. Men’s Wrestling SOU WINS TWO: At Ashland, Southern Oregon celebrated its first home dual of the season with an upset of No. 7-ranked rival Eastern Oregon on Friday night, and a quick turnaround didn’t faze SOU in a 28-6 drubbing of Corban on Saturday. The Raiders clinched the win over EOU in the heavyweight match, which they entered leading 19-18. Tied 1-1 in the third period, Antonio Garcia went ahead with an escape and padded his advantage over Darrian Hoobery with a takedown en route to a 6-2 decision. A jubilant toss of his headgear resulted in a one-point deduction, accounting for the final score. A couple of upsets keyed the victory. SOU 125-pound freshman Simon Graeber started the night with a 17-10 defeat of No. 23 Luciano Fasulo, and 174-pounder Alex Hernandez topped No. 10-ranked Keegan Mulhill 3-1 with a takedown in the final seconds. Freshman 165-pounder Jordan Faifai added another clutch win for the Raiders, using a reversal to go up 3-2 on Vincent Kramer in the second period and adding a riding-time point for a 4-2 decision. Against Corban, redshirt freshman Kabb Christensen (184) won by fall, redshirt freshman Dylan Straley (157) added bonus points with a major decision, and the Raiders took six decisions — including five that were won by three or fewer points — to up their dual record to 3-0. Women's Wrestling MISSOURI VALLEY OPEN: At Marshall, Mo., SOU produced six placers overall, led by third-place finishers Carolina Moreno (123), Emily Se (143) and Joye Levendusky (170). Grace Kristoff (191 pounds) and Esthela Trevino (101) helped the Raiders go 5-1 in placing matches, taking fifth and seventh respectively in their brackets, and Natalie Reyna placed eighth at 109. Moreno, the NAIA's top-ranked individual at 123, went 6-1 with four pins over two days, losing only against unattached wrestler Katie Gomez in the semifinals. She rolled in her third-place match to a 9-0 victory over Simon Fraser's Victoria Seal. Se, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA, won her first three matches before going down in the 143 semis against Grand View's No. 4-ranked Alexis Gomez in a 3-2 decision. She recovered with a 9-4 win against Augsburg's Katie Lange and pinned Campbellsville's No. 2-ranked Emma Walker for an upset in the third-place match. Levendusky continued her hot start as a Raider with a 6-1 weekend that started with two bonus-point wins. The No. 3-ranked senior put an exclamation on her run by defeating No. 5 Abby McIntyre of Grand View in the consolation semis, 10-2, and No. 6 Liliana Vergara of Campbellsville in the third-place match, 5-0. The No. 11-ranked Kristoff went 6-2 and pinned three consecutive opponents to open the tournament before closing it with a 4-1 win over No. 15 Lessly Sandoval of Saint Mary. Trevino posted a 5-2 record and pinned No. 4-ranked Esther Walker of Midland in the seventh-place match, and Reyna posted a 3-3 record with a pin and two technical falls.