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SOU splits at national tournament Loss to College of St. Mary ends championship hopes for Southern Oregon WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Southern Oregon University volleyball team split a pair of pool play matches at the NAIA Championships, but a straight-game loss to College of Saint Mary, Neb. eliminated the Raiders hopes for a quarterfinals berth. The 12th-seeded Raiders (22-10) rebounded from a loss on Wednesday by dispatching No. 20 Loyola, La., 30-20, 30-24, 30-23, but a 30-15, 30-24, 30-14 setback to CSM eliminated Southern Oregon from the chase for a spot in the eight-team championship bracket. SOU, which needed three pool play wins to advance, is now 1-2 at the 20-team event and caps the season on Friday against 13th-seeded Grace (Ind.) College in the pool play finale for both schools. "We played hard and fought the good fight today, but we made too many mental and physical errors to break through against two championship-caliber teams (FPU and CSM)," said SOU coach Paul Elliott in a released statement. "Our players now know exactly what it will take to make it into the elite group, but it just won't be this season." Sophomore Kristina Matchett and junior Kacee Jacobsen had field days against Loyola, striking for 19 and 15 kills, respectively, but SOU mustered only 29 successful attacks in three frames against St. Mary (34-2). Southern built an 18-15 Game 2 lead but a CSM ace and a pair of Raider miscues sparked a 9-1 run that put the Omaha, Neb. school in control for good. "St. Mary was a big, powerful team that played great defense and had great ball control," said Elliott. "We didn't see any weaknesses to exploit." Senior setter Sabrina Garboden amassed 61 assists and 21 digs in Thursday's action. "We're playing for school and regional pride tomorrow (Friday)," said Elliott. "We won't be in the top-eight, but we want to prove that SOU was worthy of the No. 12 seed by beating No. 13 (Grace)." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.