BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – After two sets of Cascade Collegiate Conference action Saturday night, Corban's women's volleyball team had the NAIA's No. 16-ranked Southern Oregon on the ropes.

Unfortunately, the visiting Raiders showed why they are ranked among the nation's elite, as they handed the Warriors a heart-wrenching loss, 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 3-15), inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Looking to snap a 12-match losing streak to SOU, Corban came out and continued its momentum from last night's three-set sweep of Oregon Tech. The host Warriors jumped out to an early five-point lead (7-2) thanks to kills from freshman Morgan Hirzel (Fullerton, Calif.), freshman Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore.), and sophomore Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.). Corban's opening run was capped by a combo block from junior Teri Braun (Dallas, Ore.) and Hirzel before Southern Oregon battled back to tie the set at 19-19 thanks to a 17-12 run. The host Warriors would then use a 5-1 run to take a four-point lead (24-20) following another Hirzel kill. SOU would get back within two points (24-22) before sophomore Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif.) ended the opening affair with a kill for the three-point victory (25-22).

In Set #2, both teams would battle back and forth over the opening 44 combined points. With the set knotted at 22-22, Corban used a mini 2-0 run that included a kill by Baskoro and a SOU attack error to pull ahead by two points (24-22). Despite Southern Oregon getting within one point (24-23), Corban used a set-closing kill by Braun for the crowd-pleasing win (25-23) and an early two-set lead heading into the 10-minute break.

After getting an ear full from its coach, Southern Oregon came out in the third set and built a quick lead (7-3) following a kill by Heather Porter. The visiting Raiders would push their lead to as much as eight points (22-14) before Corban would begin a comeback. The host Warriors would ride the serving arm of junior Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) during a 3-0 run that included two kills by Land and one by Baskoro that got Corban within five points (22-17). Unfortunately, the Warriors could not overcome the deficit as SOU got kills from Leah Bergstrom and Leanne Stennett for the 25-19 victory.

Set #4 saw Southern Oregon build another lead (20-15) after a Porter kill. Corban would attempt to battle back, but could not get any closer than three points (20-17) after a Baskoro service ace. The visiting Raiders would get a pair of kills from Chelsea Hartman and a set-ending Porter ace for the seven-point victory (25-19) that would force a fifth and deciding set.

In the final set, Southern Oregon would grab control early with the Raiders pulling ahead by nine points (12-3) behind the strong serving of Becky Johnstone. Corban would score two more points off a Hirzel kill and Raider serving error, but Southern Oregon closed out the match with a set-closing kill by Hartman that handed the Raiders a come-from-behind victory in five sets.

Baskoro led Corban's offensive attack with a team-leading 16 kills, while Land, Hirzel, and Braun added 13, 13, and 10 kills respectively. Freshman Karisa Calderon (Murrieta, Calif.) handed out a career and match-high 31 assists, while Baskoro and Franke anchored the Warriors' defense with a team-best 15 digs each. At the net, Corban registered a combined nine team blocks with Hirzel leading the way with five (2 solo, 3 assist).

Southern Oregon was led offensively by Hartman's match-high 18 kills, while Porter and Stennett added 17 and 10 kills respectively. The Raiders' offense was led by Angela Spieker and Caryn Westrick, as the setting duo combined to hand out 48 assists with Spieker leading the way with 27. Defensively, SOU was led by Stennett and Johnstone's match-high tying 16 digs each. At the net, the Raiders combined to register 14 team blocks with Megan Bartling recording 10 assist blocks.

With tonight's result, Corban falls to 4-11 overall and 3-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon extends its winning streak to four matches and improves to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in CCC play. The Warriors will take a mini break from conference play on Tuesday, September 29th, against NCAA Division III member Lewis & Clark beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Portland.