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Raiders open home volleyball season against rival Western Coming off a positive opening to the volleyball season, Southern Oregon will look to maintain the momentum tonight at 7 as the Raiders open their home schedule against Western Oregon at McNeal Pavilion. Southern Oregon recently compiled a 3-1 record in winning the Humboldt State Spots World Kickoff Classic. The Raiders tied for first place in the five-team tourney with Point Loma Nazarene and Oregon Tech but earned the tourney title based on winning a higher percentage of games (10 of 14). SOU enters tonight�s matchup with Western Oregon looking to extend its 12-match home win streak. The Raiders, however, haven�t beaten their former Cascade Conference rivals since November of 1991, a span of 20 straight meetings. Western Oregon, in its first year as a NCAA Division II member, went 27-6 last year and earned the school�s 11th NAIA national tournament berth based on a No. 3 season-ending ranking. SOU enters this season ranked No. 29 in the NAIA preseason poll after assembling a 23-11 record a year ago. The Raiders will close out their August schedule with Thursday�s match against Simon Fraser at 2 p.m. at McNeal Pavilion. Leading SOU in the Humboldt State tournament were junior outside hitter Shelley Gorin and freshman Kristina Matchett. Gorin garnered tournament MVP honors after amassing 62 kills for a 4.43 game average, including a career-high 25 against OIT. Matchett, a former Klamath Union all-star, made the most of her first collegiate experience. The middle blocker led the tournament in attack percentage (.500 with only five errors) and blocks (1.14 per game). She also finished third overall for kills (56). Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA