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38 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, December 5, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 1, 2004 Raider netters begin play at nationals today By JOE ZAVALA for the Mail Tribune The Southern Oregon University volleyball team opens the NAIA national championships today against two of the top-seven ranked teams in the nation — National American (Calif.) and Lee (Tenn.). But Raider head coach Paul Elliott says that, for now, the Raiders just need to worry about themselves. "You don't know how everyone's going to be," he says, "so our expectation is to play at our level and that we don't come down from how we normally play because we're trying to be these giant killers. We will play with anyone when we do that." SOU (26-6) is the No. 15 seed in the 20-team tournament, which is today through Saturday at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The 21st-ranked Raiders have already proven they can compete with the NAIA powerhouses. In August, SOU opened its season with a straight-game upset of then-No. 2-ranked Biola. Later, the Raiders trounced 13th-ranked Carroll College in the semifinals of the Region I tournament. Advertisement SOU will need all its guns blazing in order to pick up the two wins necessary to even have a shot at advancing past pool play and into the quarterfinals. It's something the Raiders, who are making their fourth straight trip to nationals, have never done. "We have played well enough to sneak in and it just hasn't happened for us yet," says Elliott. SOU opens the tournament at 11:15 this morning against National American (20-4) before wrapping up its first day in Pool B against Lee (43-0), the nation’s lone undefeated team, at 7:30 p.m. The Raiders' final two matches are Thursday against Indiana Southeast (29-5) and No. 8-ranked Concordia (27-3). The Raiders may be short-handed at nationals. Starting setter Jamie McCreary, who leads the team with 971 assists, has been nursing a bad back all season and it seized up on her again before practice last Tuesday. McCreary will probably test her back today, but if she can't play, Elliott will substitute in Melissa Beard. "We want Jamie in there, but Melissa's a great setter," says Elliott. Beard set the first eight matches of the season for SOU and is second on the team with 482 assists. SOU is led by senior outside hitter Kristin Ferris and junior middle Nicholette Le Bel. Ferris, the Region I player of the year, has already become the first Raider ever to compile more than 400 kills and digs in a season. Le Bel, also a first-team all-Region I selection, has a team-high 142 blocks and is second with 346 kills. Getting past pool play won’t be easy. National American is led by junior All-American outside hitter Luciana Camargo and junior regional all-star middle Angela Gregorio. Camargo had 25 kills against the Raiders in a pool play victory at the 2003 national tournament. SOU and Lee have never played each other, although the Raiders watched Lee win a tournament in Portland back in early September. "They were impressive, but they're no Fresno Pacific-impressive," says Elliott, referring to the top-ranked team in the nation. Lee is led by senior hitter Bojana Vulin, a regional MVP, and Brazilian middle Bruna Langner. Concordia's (Calif.) top player is another Brazilian, hitter Raquel Ferreira, who leads the team with a school-record 465 kills to go with 356 digs. Tournament results will be posted at www.naia.org . Joe Zavala is sports editor of the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 482-3456. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities