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Crater slips past South Crater put itself in the driver�s seat for the fourth and final playoff spot in Southern Oregon Conference volleyball with a dramatic victory over South Medford, 15-5, 13-15, 16-14, in the Panthers� gym Tuesday. In the final game, South led 13-11, then Crater took a 14-13 lead. After South tied it 14-14 and Crater went up 15-14, the Comets needed five trips to the service line to wrap it up. "We kept siding each other out," said South coach Jerry Hagstrom. "It�s probably the longest game I�ve been associated with since I�ve been here," said Leaf Jensen, his Crater counterpart. The win put the Comets (6-6) in fourth place alone in the SOC, one game ahead of South (5-7). Crater has twice beaten South and needs to win one of its last two matches � against first-place North Medford or third-place Ashland � to sew up fourth. "If we would have lost, we would have been done for sure," said Crater coach Leaf Jensen. "This was definitely a big win." For South to finish fourth, it needs Crater to lose twice and it needs to finish with wins at Grants Pass and Klamath Union. "There�s still hope," said Hagstrom. For Crater, Janell Sapienza had 14 kills and 13 digs, Carissa Nafie eight kills and three blocks, Erin Kinney nine kills and six digs and Audrey Hopp 14 digs. "Our net defense was not good enough to stop their attack," said Hagstrom. "That probably was the difference in the match." South�s Carrie Doren had 12 kills and only hitting error, and Crystal Glover had nine kills and only three hitting errors. NORTH MEDFORD 15-15, GRANTS PASS 12-1 � At Grants Pass, after requiring a comeback in the first game, the fourth-ranked Black Tornado breezed to the Southern Oregon Conference win. Senior middle hitter Kendra Mitchell led the Black Tornado in kills with 14, and senior Kaci Maldonado led in assists with 24. Junior Tara Siebenlist served six straight points to bring the Black Tornado back from a 9-12 deficit in Game 1. Building on a 3-1 lead in Game 2, North Medford�s Beth Rathburn served nine straight points, including four aces, to put the match out of reach. North Medford (22-2, 12-0 SOC) plays at Crater on Tuesday. ASHLAND 15-12-15, EAGLE POINT 8-15-7 � At Eagle Point, Ashland senior defensive specialist Michelle Elston had a strong night serving and finished the match with one of her three aces. Elston also provided nine digs. Grizzly right-side hitter Heidi Lawrence had a team-high six kills and was a force blocking. Leslea Brown added five kills and seven digs and Marla Morin slammed five kills for Ashland. Eagle Point hurt its cause with numerous missed serves. ROSEBURG 15-15, KLAMATH UNION 8-7 � At Roseburg, Megan Morley, Shannon Burmeister and Taylor Jones combined for 16 kills and helped Roseburg control the net. Shelly Black led the Indians with four aces as Klamath Union had difficulty with its serve receive throughout the match. Kaylene Munson had an effective match for the Pels with 10 kills and six digs. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.