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Ashland completes SOC-season sweep of North Medford ASHLAND - Ashland coach Josh Rohlfing was concerned about Tuesday's Southern Oregon Conference volleyball match against North Medford because the Black Tornado is battling for its playoff life. But the Grizzlies put together a complete performance and dominated the Black Tornado, 15-7, 15-3. "That North is a scary team because their backs are against the wall," said Rohlfing. "And you know they will be prepared." North Medford (5-6) is in a fourth-place tie in the SOC with Grants Pass (5-6) for the conference's final state playoff berth with three games left. Ashland (13-6, 8-3 SOC) remains in second place, one-half game ahead of Crater (7-3). Ashland used 38-for-40 serving to spark the victory. "It was one of our better serving nights," said Rohlfing. "It was a tough serve, and we put it in spots where we wanted and did it aggressively." Senior all-conference setter Molly Grossmann provided another high-caliber performance for the Grizzlies. Grossmann was responsible for 16 assists, two aces and two blocks. "Molly is so solid for us," said Rohlfing. "She gets our hitters one-on-one. That makes such a difference." Ashland senior defensive specialist Tiffany Talbott was strong on serve receive, with seven digs to go with four aces. In the opening game, North jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Grizzlies came back to tie the score at 4-all. Ashland pushed the lead to 11-4, and North never challenged again. Grizzly front-row players Marla Morin and Kacey Zundel combined for 11 kills. Zundel had seven digs and Morin four blocks. North senior outside Amy Bakker contributed a team-high five kills, and senior defensive specialist Tara Siebenlist had six digs. "We were able to do what we wanted to do," said Rohlfing. "We could relax and get our game untracked. They never caught stride. When they looked like they were going to do something, we made some plays that made the difference." SOUTH MEDFORD 12-15-15, EAGLE POINT 15-12-9 - South Medford rallied from an 8-3 deficit in Game 3 to seal an SOC win over visiting Eagle Point. After dropping the first game, the Panthers (4-7 SOC) were on the verge of dropping the match, falling in a 12-10 hole in Game 2 before rallying. Jessica Rickman had 11 kills for South, with the majority coming in the decisive game. Jenny Brennan added eight kills, while Meagan Shanahan contributed eight kills and 19 digs. Kara Stewart had 10 kills and 16 digs to lead the Eagles, who fell to 4-7 in conference play. Ashley Curtis added 10 kills. GRANTS PASS 15-14-15, KLAMATH UNION 8-16-4 - At Grants Pass, Kathy Richard had seven aces and Ashley Bellum added five as Grants Pass held on for the SOC win. Grants Pass led 14-10 in Game 2 but couldn't put away Klamath Union, which rallied to force Game 3. Bellum also led the Cavers (5-6 SOC) with eight digs and six kills, while Ally Codington contributed seven digs and Shanna Claflin six kills. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.