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Crater downs Ashland for SOC No. 2 seed CENTRAL POINT - Nichollette LeBell had something to prove against Ashland on Thursday night. The Crater senior middle turned in an inspired performance as the Comets defeated Ashland 15-9, 14-16, 15-7 in Southern Oregon Conference volleyball. The victory moves the Comets (13-7, 10-4 SOC) into a second-place tie with Ashland, but Crater will receive the SOC's No. 2 seed in the state playoffs because of a tiebreaking victory over a higher finishing league opponent - Roseburg. The Comets and Grizzlies split their two conference matches. LeBell registered 16 kills and her blocking helped thwart Ashland's attack throughout the match. "(LeBell) came out incredibly fired up," Crater coach Leaf Jensen said. "She dominated the middle." Crater junior outside Erin Kinney also came up big on the front-line with 14 kills, while setter Sarah Yager provided 38 assists. The Comets could have ended the match in two straight games, but they failed to capitalize on three chances at match point. In the third game, Crater took an early lead and built a 10-3 margin before closing out the Grizzlies. EAGLE POINT 15-15, GRANTS PASS 4-3 - At Eagle Point, the Eagles got off to a fast start and never looked back to close out the SOC season with a win. Senior Kara Stuart led the way for Eagle Point with 11 blocks. Sophomore Amanda Grieve notched 11 service points, while sophomore Jackie Shelton chipped in with seven kills. Both the Eagles and the Cavers finish at 5-9 in the SOC. ROSEBURG 15-15, NORTH MEDFORD 8-2 - At Roseburg, the Indians put the final stamp on a season of SOC dominance. Roseburg (28-5 overall, 13-1 SOC) rallied from a 7-2 deficit to claim Game 1, then jumped to a 7-0 edge in Game 2 to cruise to the sweep. Shannon Burmeister slammed nine kills, Mary Pat Junkin dished 12 assists and Mary Hooper and Kristina Cossey contributed seven digs apiece for the Indians. The Black Tornado (11-11, 7-7), fourth in the SOC, opens the postseason at the Metro League's No. 3 seed on Monday. Roseburg is off until the first round of the Class 4A state tournament Nov. 9 at the Chiles Center in Portland. SOUTH MEDFORD 15-15, KLAMATH UNION 5-6 - Meagan Shanahan continued to perform in a consistent manner with five kills and a team-high 15 digs as South Medford finished the season on a positive note while Klamath Union completed conference play winless. The Panthers' tough serving kept the Pelicans off balance, and South dominated the middle with Jenny Brennan (6 kills) and Jessica Rickman (5 kills) Amanda Cox and Natasha Wright each provided 12 digs for the Panthers. Skyline Conference LAKEVIEW 15-15, PHOENIX 12-11 - At Phoenix, in a hard-fought defensive battle, second-ranked Lakeview outlasted the Phoenix Pirates. Junior outside hitter Jess Childress led the way for the Honkers (29-4, 12-2 Skyline), tallying nine kills and three digs while going 13-for-13 from the service line. Junior setter Kelsey Russell paced the Pirates (20-8, 9-5 Skyline) with 31 assists. Junior middle hitter Tiffany Ross added 14 kills and six blocks while senior outside hitter April Darby chipped in with eight kills. The Honkers will host the third place team from the Valco League on Nov. 3, while the Pirates will host the winner of Saturday's Rogue River/North Valley match on Tuesday. ROGUE RIVER 15-15, HIDDEN VALLEY 1-2 - At Rogue River, junior outside Katie Glasscock sparked Rogue River (9-7, 8-6 Skyline) with 11 kills in 16 attempts. The Chieftains also received a productive effort from Kristi Frederick with five kills and three digs. Rogue River setter Ashleigh Artoff contributed 20 assists. NORTH VALLEY 15-15, MAZAMA 5-3 - At Merlin, North Valley sophomore middle Elaina Renius pounded Mazama for 14 kills out of 20 attempts. The fifth-place Knights (16-10, 7-7 Skyline) will open the conference playoffs at noon Saturday at fourth-place Rogue River. Senior middle Whitney Costen had eight digs for the Knights. HENLEY 15-15, ILLINOIS VALLEY 6-6 - At Klamath Falls, Skyline champion Henley completed the conference season undefeated. Junior middle Staci Maupin led the top-ranked Hornets with eight kills. Outside hitter Sam Young added six kills, while Katherine Stock provided 18 assists. Southern Cascade League ST. MARY'S 15-15, LOST RIVER 7-4 - Sophomore Kathryn Zielony had a good all-around performance for seventh-ranked St. Mary's (17-8, 9-1 SCL). She was 13-of-14 serving with a team-high three aces and added eight digs. The Crusaders finish as co-SCL champion with Cascade Christian and will play a seeding match against the Challengers to determine the No. 1 and 2 seeds for the state tournament. The match is set for Nov. 3 at an undecided neutral site. St. Mary's junior middle Christina Vaninetti contributed a team-high seven kills, while junior Libby Trum added five kills and nine digs. Junior setter Melissa Anderson dished out 19 assists. The Crusaders had a 90-percent serving mark with eight aces. CASCADE CHRISTIAN 15-15, GILCHRIST 3-5 - At Central Point, Cascade Christian was forced to rearrange its lineup with the absence of junior middle Kayleen Conley, who suffered a sprained ankle in Tuesday's loss to St. Mary's. Janee Johnson moved from defensive specialist to outside hitter and responded with a team-high four kills, and Vicki Sherman, who moved to middle from outside, added three kills. Defensive specialist Sheena McNeill provided four digs. 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