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Defense keys North win over Grizz A strong defensive effort from the North Medford volleyball team made the difference in a Southern Oregon Conference matchup with visiting Ashland on Thursday. The fourth-ranked Black Tornado, fresh off a semifinal loss to second-ranked Gresham in the Clearwater Classic last weekend, snuck by the Grizzlies, 15-8, 16-14 behind a feisty defense and a balanced offensive attack. Ashland inched ahead in Game 1, 8-7, before Jill Carrigan picked up three kills and Kendra Mitchell added one to give North Medford the lead for good. "That run kind of swung the momentum for us," said North Medford coach Ron Beick of Carrigan�s and Mitchell�s kills. "That allowed us to finish the game out." In Game 2, the teams once again traded leads before four consecutive attack errors by the Grizzlies and two service aces by Mitchell gave North Medford a comfortable 12-6 advantage. It wouldn�t last, however, as Ashland stormed back and tied the game on a kill by Heidi Lawrence and took the lead following a North attack error. The Tornado�s Candace Fleener answered the Grizzlies� run with two aces to close out the match and keep North unbeaten in SOC play at 11-0. "We dug the ball well," said Beick, "especially in that run towards the end of the second game." Stacy Foster and Brown each had four kills to lead Ashland while Lichen Murray and Kacey Zundell had four digs apiece. Marla Morin added four blocks for the Grizzlies. Kara Hwang led a balanced North Medford (20-2 overall) attack with nine kills, while Chaley Higgins and Carrigan had seven. Hwang had 10 digs and Mitchell added eight to go along with five aces. Kaci Maldonado distributed 28 assists for the Tornado. SOUTH MEDFORD 15-11-15, EAGLE POINT 3-15-13 � At Eagle Point, senior outside hitter Kellie Thomas registered a career-high 17 kills and senior defensive specialist Amber Hunt went 18-for-20 at the service line with three aces as South Medford edged upset-minded Eagle Point. The Eagles, riding the hot hand of junior outside hitter Dani Rouhier, won the second game and built leads of 9-5 and 13-9 in the third before the Panthers rallied for the victory. Thomas slammed home two kills while Hunt and Megan Barry shined at the service line during South Medford�s comeback in Game 3. Karla Zenz added eight kills and Barry amassed 30 assists for the Panthers, who improved to 5-6 in league play, 9-10 overall and kept alive their state playoff hopes. Rouhier finished with 15 kills for the Eagles, who fell to 2-9 in the SOC. GRANTS PASS 15-2-15, KLAMATH UNION 11-15-10 � At Klamath Falls, Kaylene Munson had 24 kills and four blocks for Klamath Union, but Grants Pass used a balanced attack led by senior middle Casey Higgins to post the SOC win. The host Pelicans (3-8 SOC) rallied from an 8-2 deficit to close within 12-10 in the third game before the Cavers (2-9) closed out the match. Lorisa Bliss added 16 kills and Maggie Fisher had 37 assists and 13 digs for Klamath Union. ROSEBURG 15-15, CRATER 8-12 � At Roseburg, Megan Morley had 10 kills to lead Roseburg to the SOC win. The Indians (23-6 overall, 10-1 SOC) led 6-1 in the second game before Crater stormed back to take leads of 11-10 and 12-11. But the Comets couldn�t hold off Roseburg in the end. Katie Kahn added seven kills and Shannon Burmeister had five for the Indians, who also received five digs from Randi Slone. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.