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North tops South, ties Indians for third North Medford's volleyball team appears to be clicking at the right time. After struggling through the first portion of the Southern Oregon Conference schedule, the Black Tornado has regrouped and earned its fourth straight win Thursday by edging South Medford 15-11, 15-12. Thursday's win combined with Ashland's triumph over Roseburg sets up a one-match playoff Saturday at 7 p.m. at North Medford between the Tornado and the Indians for the SOC's No. 3 seed. Both teams finished 9-5 in league play. "We split with Roseburg so that ought to be a pretty close match," North coach Ron Beick said. "I expect it to be a tough one but we're confident and the kids are feeling strong right now." Jill Carrigan led the charge Thursday with 14 kills and five digs with a .379 hitting percentage. Kara Hwang had nine kills and 10 digs, while Kendra Mitchell and Chaley Higgins each had eight kills. "We had a really balanced attack," said Beick. "That's one of our best nights of the season in terms of balance and kill leaders and hitting percentage." Kaci Maldonado set the stage for such a balanced attack with 31 assists for North. "She did a nice job of placement on her sets," said Beick. "The outsides had a lot of room to hit to because she ran the middle really well and that created a lot of space." Crystal Peterson led South Medford with nine kills and nine digs, while Karla Zenz had eight kills and Carrie Doren had four kills. ASHLAND 15-15, ROSEBURG 13-9 --At Roseburg, the fourth-ranked Ashland Grizzlies finished the SOC season with a 14-0 record but not before Roseburg gave them a mild scare. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first game and a 12-3 advantage in the second game, but the Indians roared back each time behind the hitting of junior outside hitter Megan Morley. Roseburg tied the first game at 13-13 before Ashland pulled way. The Indians (14-14, 9-5 SOC) finished in a third-place tie with North Medford. Morley and sophomore middle Shannon Burmeister led the Roseburg attack. Loriana Berman had 13 digs, six kills and four aces for Ashland (24-4, 14-0). Chelsea Morgan added 21 assists. KLAMATH UNION 15-15, EAGLE POINT 5-13 -- At Eagle Point, SOC runner-up Klamath Union cashed in on an illegal substitution call against the Eagles for the final point of the match. Eagle Point played the Pelicans tough with senior outside hitter Misty Bernhardt collecting nine kills and eight digs. Sophomore middle Kara Stuart stuff-blocked six Klamath Union attacks and freshman Aubrey Harrington doled out 17 assists. GRANTS PASS 15-15, CRATER 13-12 -- At Central Point, Crater had leads of 5-0 and 7-1 in the first game but everything went downhill from there for the Comets. Grants Pass and Crater finished in a tie for fifth place in the SOC with 5-9 record. Sophomore right side Brandi Hall paced the Comets with eight kills, and senior Claire Clelland had seven digs. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.